Thisisvanlife

16/10/2026

We’re nice and remote this evening. Other than a shepherd, we haven’t seen anyone, and hopefully it’ll stay that way.

We’ve tucked ourselves in alongside an old building in the lower part of this abandoned village. There’s a strong wind blowing, and the building is giving us a bit of shelter.

The wildfire on the far hillside is still burning, though it does seem to be showing signs of easing.

We might have left the beach earlier, but we’ve still got a lovely view of the sea from the conservatory.

Here’s to a quiet Friday night.

16/10/2026

Looks like there’s a small wildfire on the far hill. There’s a strong wind this evening, so we’ll keep an eye on things. This is the second one we’ve been close to in the past three months.

16/10/2026

Less than an hour from our beach park-up and we’ve made our way up to the “Abandoned Village of Tragjas”

It’s a bit of an off-road trundle to get up here, but worth it for the view back down to the coast.

We’ll wait until later in the afternoon before exploring the old village, the light should be a lot better then.

We’re also currently surrounded by goats, so we’ll let them graze through, their shepherd is very friendly and has an awesome backpack.

16/10/2026

Said goodbye to Langing for Adventure and Closer To Roots after three days together by the beach. Time to head for the hills again.

16/10/2026

Despite our good intentions yesterday, we didn’t actually go anywhere. The sun came up, we walked the dogs along the beach and decided to exercise our freedom to choose. We chose to stay an extra day, mostly for another pizza.

But today, we really do need to get moving. The jobs are beginning to pile up. We need to find an ATM to top up our Albanian lek, which is a bit frustrating when we’ll only need cash for a few more days and each withdrawal comes with a fee of around €6–8.

Our power is also running low after three days parked up in the shade. The solar panels haven’t been doing much, and we’ve had Starlink running, which draws a little more power than usual.

So, the plan is to get those little jobs sorted, top up our supplies and then head towards Orikum. There’s an abandoned village we’ve been wanting to explore, which is a good enough reason to get ourselves moving again.

15/10/2026

15/10/2026

The Balkans has been our home for the last four months. It’s fair to say that the region has rubbed off on me.

Arriving at the end of June, little did I know that the summer of 2026 was going to be the season that I’d grow my skill set.

I’ve learnt how to “tombstone” off the rocks in Bosnia and strim river banks whilst wearing safety crocs.

In Montenegro it was tackling wild horse that were using the van for a but rub at 4am.

Of course Albania has played a huge part in our summer adventure.

Walking 28km over a mountain with Neri’s uncle and a mule, when we originally set out to get some wood a kilometre away, was pretty unforgettable; as were the mule’s testicles . Making raki, loading corn, unloading a truck full of hay, when I’d only set off for a bit of shopping.

And then there was trying to hold a cow that had been bitten by a snake. Capturing a bear on the trail cam, twice, was awesome.

We’re giving it a few more days, but it won’t be long before we head into Greece for autumn and winter. I’m looking forward to gelling there 😬

15/10/2026

Some days are just vanilla.

Langing for Adventure and Closer To Roots are travelling with kids, so schoolwork also has to be part of the routine.

15/10/2026

Thursday update, we’re going to move on a bit further south today, and keep our direction rough towards Greece. Also sporting my latest head injury, clunked off the table while picking up my flip-flops. It happens more than I care to admit.

15/10/2026

I’ve seen this design online a few times, but never out in the wild. It’s a clever way of creating some extra living space when parked up, although I imagine it would only work with certain types of vehicle. I’d be interested to know how weatherproof it is.