We have arrived at a beautiful eco campsite in Vlorë, in the middle of the woods. A sand/bumpy road takes us there and it looks very attractive. The owner is still on the beach so we argue about how the sun is turning and look for a nice spot. Behind us is a Dutch man, he is on his way back from spending the winter in Turkey. Jinte chats with him and proudly tells us that she has already made a friend.

The girls couldn´t be more happy. Horses, rabbits and cats at the campsite!

A Belgin shepherd dog immediately approaches us as soon as Goos is out of the car, Mirre starts to feel nervous. Not another pushy mutt. Fortunately it’s not too bad, it’s a bitch and judging by her nipples, she has a couple of puppy´s. Not much later they also appear. The mother bites away towards Goos, just to determine the ranking. Not much later we meet Bes, the owner. Sympathetic and hospitable man, our age. Albanian, grew up in Sweden. The dog turns out to be his. He made just about everything at the campsite himself. What a job!

We chill, walk, look in vain for flamingos and eat. When the sun goes down, it suddenly becomes swarming with mosquitoes. That just makes Mirre quite panicky. She holds back for the children. At least, she does her best. In the evening we text our locations with “the Dutch”. They appear to be standing of grid on the beach 300 meters away from us. That can not be a coincidence. “We’re going to the beach together tomorrow, we’re going to have a BBQ in the evening?” – Great ideas. “Let’s pick us up.”

 Late in the evening the shepherd dog is busy, rushing from one side of the campsite to the other. She barks a bit and keeps street dogs and jackals at bay. She turns out to be nicer than we thought.

 The next morning we go looking for flamingos for the second time. We see them but they are quite far away and at the edge of the lagoon our focus is more on mosquitoes than on flamingos. Get out of here. We cycle towards a monastery. We saw beautiful pictures of it. With a path of ramps leading to it. Well that was a bit disappointing. A busload of students arrived at the same time as us and it was clear that the photos we had seen had had the necessary filters. Unfortunately!

Quickly on to the beach. Jinte didn’t know anything yet and her face spoke volumes when she saw Thomas. A very big hug followed. They also come to our campsite. Bes arranged delicious meat and fish, plus salad. Enjoy local wine, beer and raki together. Top BBQ and a very pleasant evening. We were just about to start a game when a German young man joined us. Taking a motorcycle trip with his 75-year-old father. Three days on the road and already here, bizarre. The motors is their shared passion. He sat comfortably on his talking chair, but in a nice way. We leave the game for what it is and a little later we go to bed.

Want to watch flamingos again? Yes, the next morning they are really there! It’s not quite a beekeeper’s outfit that we’re wearing, but this time we do enjoy the flamingos! Fantastic sight and the images with the drone are just as beautiful.
Cycling to the beach with the Dutch. We’re leaving again this afternoon, so we’ll enjoy some time together. They play nice, they argue, but they also make up again, making it a very relaxing morning. We have lunch together at a long table at the campsite, pack our things and leave. There is kissing, cuddling and nuzzling. Who knows, maybe we see you in 3 days!