30 August 2025 (overcast, thunder, lightning, rain 26C) 0km

There's something definitely European about waking to the smell of a bad sewage system, wafting around your campsite. It's not there all the time, but when it is, you know about it. 

After all sorts of noises in the night, we once again woke after dawn, with nowhere we needed to be. We are taking three days here.

It's cheap, handy to a supermarket (with staff sadly lacking in personality), close to the beach, which includes a place we can workout (as our upper bodies definitely need a wake up call) and we are undercover.

Woke to overcast skies with the threat of rain, thunder and lightning in the forecast. But, for the time being, it wasn't raining, so we shot down to the beach.

Met a couple down there who told us that there was a red flag out and you weren't allowed in the water.

Now, we are talking about the Med here. It did have a bit of a shore break, compared to usual, but then we thought, perhaps that smell this morning was a sewage leak into the sea.

So, not wanting to bathe in other people's muck, we gave the swim a miss and instead took a cold shower at the beach, which was actually quite warm as the water had been warming in the pipes, even through the clouds. Still refreshing though so we wandered up to the old abandoned building with terraces, to work out.

The sky looking a little different this morning.

Away from the crowds, although, too early for that anyway. Enjoyed a good half hour and feeling much better for it, we wandered back to camp and arrived just as the rain began to fall.

Good downpour with thunder and lightning show. 

Our view from the shelter, nice and dry while it's bucketing down.

It's now 1.20pm and its been constant. As one of the workers pointed out

"You have the best site in the camp today."

So good in fact, that about an hour ago, a German couple came with loungers and set up under our shelter. I wouldn't care, but they have a huge camper.

It's that ol animal magnetism again..! 

A little weird, but I suppose they have a nice view of the toilets?

With nothing we had to do, we checked out some hotels or apartments in Albania where we hope to take about ten days off.

Thought the climbing was done for Europe, but we've got some to finish Albania with by the looks of it. 

Hoping the weather will subside for a couple of hours so we can get to the shops. Big shop today, as Montenegro, like so many other countries, close on Sunday.

Obviously Jesus had the trade unions on the job back in his day.

"Right boys...one out....all out" 

As I compose this piece, Julia is napping beside me.

It's funny how we are in bed by 8 or 9pm, but she can still grab some zzzzz's in the afternoon. 

Ju here. Of course what Pete is forgetting here with his nice new mat, is the one downside to this camp is we are literally pitched on stones. 

As my mat goes down each night, I get woken with sharp stones digging into my hip. That means waking up enough to carefully get off the side of my mat, with my knees digging into the stones, so I can blow some more air into my mattress and then try to get to sleep again, all without waking him up. This is generally happening three times a night now, so not getting great quality sleep.

Then while I'm trying to nap this afternoon, Mr Leaf blower decides to start up right next to us so all I managed was about ten minutes. Leaf blower guy is on a bloody mission that's for sure. He started at 8am, right as we were calling Jimmy. Less than ten steps from our tent, his Mum starts on the shower block with the water blaster. No ear muffs on either of them I might add. It's amazing Jimmy could hear us.

He must have exhausted the battery after an hour so plugged it in at the shed next to our tent. Every time he came back to get it throughout the day, he would start it right by us and blow away probably the same leaves he'd blown away this morning, only the wind blew them back. Never saw him with a rake or a bag of leaves. Talk about pointless.  And so it went on until 7pm. Must be a new toy. Back to Pete.

Had some nuts and nectarine for lunch plus tomato bun for me, as per usual and got stuck into looking at accommodation for ten days in Albania and a couple in Corfu (for when we fly out to Liverpool) and when we arrive in Liverpool (although, we arrive at 1am), so we'll probably crash at the airport, or just stay awake and put the bikes together then cycle to Peggy's. 

Finally, we have booked a hotel in London for two nights prior to our flights to NZ in October. 

6.15pm and we walked down to the beach, to see if I'd left my sunglasses there. (Turns out they were in the tent).

A few puddles about after all the rain.

A close up view of the beach here so you can see what we mean by no sand. Also if umbrellas or deck chairs break, it seems they just leave them laying in the sand. Not even I like that but my neat freak of a husband can't stand it.

Cool mural to tart up yet another abandoned building.

While we were down by the beach though, we bought some cevapi for dinner from the takeaway joint, which we had with last night's leftover rocket, corn, hummus and tomato. So good having a fridge!

Blogged and read until 8.15pm when we were both getting heavy eyelids so hit the hay.