This morning we had a video call with our lovely friend Moter Vera (Sister Vera) who lives in a convent in Shkodra, Albania, also with our dear friend Priest Arian, who lives in Montepiano Italy.
When we cycled through Italy 2 years ago we stopped at a place called Montepiano, which is a beautiful little village high up in the mountains, just outside Florence, Montepiano means flat mountain, well it wasn’t so flat getting there!..
..we knocked on the door of a beautiful little church, to ask if we could put our tent up in the grave yard, this is something we often did throughout the winter when it was getting late, it’s amazing how much better you sleep in a grave yard, we always get a dead good nights sleep.. 😜but it was there where we met our good friend Priest Arian.
Arian is originally from Albania, and it’s where he studied to be a Priest in Albania’s capital, Tirana.
So as Albania was one of the countries we were soon to cycle through, Arian insisted that we visited his sister friends that lived at the convent in Shkodra.
So in February 2019, after weeks of cycling and camping in the cold temperatures and snow of the Balkans, we finally met with Sister Vera and all the other Sisters and family of the Convent in Shkodra, Albania.
We lived at the Convent for a week, and the Sisters hospitality was outstanding, we will never forget the experiences they gave us, from the many stories about life in Albania, they also educated us about the history of Albania, and how they survived the dictatorship, such a terrible time that everyone should know about.
We had an amazing time in Albania, as you can see from the photo below, we kept the sisters entertained by dancing for them in traditional Albanian costume.
The Sisters of Shkodra have a special place in our heart, that much so, we will be visiting them again in the new year as we make our way to Mongolia, they are very excited to meet Comet.
Both Sister Vera and Priest Arian were delighted when we contacted them this morning, as you can see from their faces in the photos, it’s been a long time since we’ve spoken to each other.
So another great start to the day, speaking to these beautiful and kind hearted people, you don’t get any better than that. ❤️
Here’s a video link from our time with Sister Vera at the Convent in Albania, includes Priest Arian.
Chris and Gabs World Cycling Tour 