I had planned to hike to just out of Plav, camp the night and hike in to get the bus the next day. That had gone out the window. After my rather traumatic night, I spent much of my morning in tears and digging cat holes. What a wonderful image. I was still see things that weren't there. I was hydrated, or at least had drunk as much as I could keep down. Dizziness would be my challenge today.
I had messaged home via my inReach and managed to get someone to book a hotel room in Plav. I needed to sleep and figure out what was going on in my head. Hiking in the heat really didn't help. It was another really hot day but I had planned just to hike the rest of the way back to Plav in one push. I couldn't keep down food at this point so no breakfast and no stop for lunch. All I could think about was getting back to Plav. Just a few miles in I saw the first wildlife of my trip. A brown bear, up a tree. Then a few hundred metres later, wild boar. Having seen no wildlife on the whole trail, they decide to show themselves when I couldn't care less about seeing them.
It was also the day I got to meet and chat to a local family foraging on the mountain side. They spoke little English but we managed to communicate somewhat about what I was doing there and more importantly a little about them. It was a Father and Mother, their young children and the grandparents staying with the horses. They were picking berries, primarily blue berries and would later travel higher up into the mountains. Connecting with the locals is what these kinds of hiking trips is really all about.
After a painful few hours dragging myself along the trail in searing heat, Plav finally came into view. This gave me a spurt of energy to get into town and get to my room. Once down in Plav, I had to find some food as I hadn't eaten all day. I also needed to find something I could keep down. After wondering around the store, I settled on cornflakes. A nutritious and balanced meal for the evening. Oh, and lemon sherbets. I was craving them. After a shower and some more water I fell asleep all afternoon and right through the night.
Funnily enough there are no photos of today as it wasn't really on my mind. I had had such a fantastic time on trail it was a shame to end it like this. Unfortunately, I am still not quite well. Part of the reason the last few blogs have taken so long to come out. I am back at work but by the time I have had a full day, I am so tired I have been unable to even look at a screen. I am fortunate to spend 90% of my job walking. But with whatever I had in Kosovo, I am really struggling with my energy levels. Still sick over 2 months later. Was the trail worth it?
