The bus headed north from the city of Tirana to Shkodra. Shkodra is one of the oldest cities in Europe and is a two hour drive from Tirana. We arrived into Shkodra and checked in to the Tradita G&T (which apparently has nothing to do with alcohol!). As the name suggests the hotel was built over 300 years ago in a traditional Albanian style. My room was very small and cosy, with an iron bedstead and wooden shutters with intricate carvings. Myself and the re...

Today was my last day in Tirana for a couple of weeks. I decided to visit Mount Dajti National Park, which is 25km east of the city. As I was leaving the hotel I grabbed a business card from the reception desk so that I would be able to get a taxi back to the hotel. I took the Dajti Express cable car to the top of the mountain. The journey takes 15 minutes and it's a very scenic journey. The cable car rises and falls over bunkers, forest farms and hilltops. Onc...

Don't ask me why but in a fit of madness I had signed up to do a bicycle tour of Tirana. Not only that but the tour was booked to start at 11am so I would be spending the hottest 3 hours of the day on a bike. Mad dogs and Englishmen came to mind. I wandered down to the Square from my hotel with a sense of apprehension. It's been years since I've been on a bike so I wasn't that confident. Coupled with the searing heat - it was clear that this wasn't one of my be...

After an uneventful two hour flight from Gatwick I arrived into Albania's capital Tirana. During the thirty minute taxi ride to my hotel I learnt that the white road markings are purely there for decoration, as are the traffic lights and road signs. I was therefore extremely grateful when the yellow cab, screeched to a halt and I was able to free myself from the craziness. I shakily grabbed my bags and made my way to the reception of the Hotel Select. After a...

Today was the final day in Greenland we left the ship at 9am and headed to the airport. Our flight wasn’t until 5pm that evening so we left our luggage inside the terminal building and headed off to explore the town of Narsarsuaq. We began by taking our last hike on Greenland soil with a walk through the forest that surrounds the airport. Even though my week’s stay in Greenland only focused on a small area of this vast island I have hiked ice glaciers, farm l...