A wonderful start; 12km south downhill through steep panoramic countryside - the less precipitous slopes turned to meadows and vineyards. Then a sharp turn west and along the Vjosa River valley. The Vjosa - the last major river in Europe that has not been dammed. Breathtaking countryside - alongside the river flush with milky-blue waters of snow-melt - meadows, strips of young barley and oats and copses, then rising up high high to rock faces with drifts of snow still clinging to the shaded fissures. Some (few) roadside cafés & campsites, including it seems for white-water rafting. What a heavenly stretch - at least 60km of river moving quite fast - but a shallow decline; no steep rapids that we saw. We rode north north west, against a gusting headwind, parallel to the imposing ridge - maybe a thousand metres of near vertical rock - until a westward gorge allowed us through (at the small cost of a short downpour) to the Drinos River, which we followed to Gjirokastra. En route, we passed and spoke with two touring cycling couples; one Austrian - about our age or maybe a bit older - cycling from Greece through Albania and then north through various Balkan / Adriatic countries. The second pair from Germany - in their 30s - he about half way through a 3 month ride starting in Italy, then down the Adriatic and Balkan countries. Gjirokastra - a fine old Ottomon town of late 18th & early 19thC tall balconied stone houses built up fabulously steep deeply cobbled streets by wealthy landowners and merchants. The last 2km up 200m (it seemed much more) of savagely steep cobbled streets to our BnB - one of the fine stone balconied houses in the upper reaches of Gjirokastra with magnificent views over the town and valley below. Albanian raki not as good as Macedonian.