Day: January 30, 2006

Wow, this morning we received more than 100 messages, of which the majority were sent on Sunday between 19H15 and 21H00.  Did the web site www.sergegirard.com reach the saturation point?

We move on but with a slightly different group because this morning René and François took a plane from Tirana and Christian and Fulvio arrived to replace them.  I would like to  thank the Hervouet travel agency, our partner for the different flights that ensure the rotation of our followers.  All these comings and goings are very professionally organized by Elodie.

Today, no delays, no problems: the airports weren’t blocked by strikes or snow.

At 13H00 we left Tirana to join Serge and Eliane, who left in the morning.  Eliane had to drive, feed Serge, take photos for the web site and even take movies in between.  She went through the Macedonian border alone with Serge.  She keeps things running very smoothly, our Eliane does, and on top of that she became a grandmother for the fifth time on Saturday.
 
Several anecdotes for the end of our route in Albania, where the scenery is magnificent:

1.An improvised race with a boy on a bike going up hill,

1.A policeman (checking for speeders through his binoculars) stopped Serge and talked with him in the perfect French of Victor Hugo,

1.Youngsters speaking English were proud to pose for a photo with Serge,

1.Customs officials who requested three of the race’s T-shirts,

At kilometer 42, at an altitude of 1000 meters, we reached the Macedonian border.  When we left Tirana at noon the temperature was 20°C in the sun.  The change was drastic: cold, with snow at the edge of the road.

Serge passed  Struga and when he arrived in Ohrid night had fallen.

Serge ran 247 km in Albania, a country which made an impression on us and of which we will keep good memories for a long time.