Sunday was another day of discovery or of not knowing what is going on "Nuk e di dy" or "I don't know 2". What I do know is that it is common for communities in Kosovo to have hiking clubs. Hiking clubs can receive support (or apply for support) from outside groups such as USAid, EU Commission, and the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports (MCYS). Hiking clubs in Kosovo have been around since the 1920s when the first hiking club was established in 1928. Because of disputed borders before the war in the late 1990s, hiking was not as popular. It became more popular after the war around 2003 to 2005. Kosovo is mountainous and its lower elevation mountains and rugged terrain are great for hiking.
We knew early on that Kaçanik had a hiking group and that at one time the hiking group was associated with Gjethi. They are now their own group Shoqëria bjeshkatare alpiniste “ Kaçaniku” and on Friday, we were able to connect with them. For those who need transportation, you need only to confirm by a certain time and they arrange for a van or "khombi" to take you to the trailhead. We were able to confirm our desire to participate through Sami, Thom's counterpart and Enis (the hiking club administrator).
Yesterday, we knew they were meeting by the tea shop that is along the river around 8 am and that we were going to a waterfall that was not far from Ferizaj. We arrived to the tea shop and were directed to the parking area by the fortress wall that is across the river from the tea shop. We found a khombi with seating for around 15 people that was almost full. We found seats inside and the last person arrived after us and we took off. The map below shows our trip to Mollopolcë. Our first stop was the Viva Fresh parking lot in Shtime, where we met with more hikers. This was probably the local group in Shtime or Ferizaj hiking group. We were not really sure who the host was for the day, but we believe it was the Ferizaj Hiking Club.
After getting out, waiting for other arrivals, and greetings with other hikers, we again boarded our khombi and were headed to the trail. When we arrived, we were surprised by how many hikers were already there from other hiking clubs in other communities. There was also a news reporter and her crew. This seemed like a big event, but we weren't sure if this was normal or not. As we waited and took many photos, we found a number of English speakers including a man from the Netherlands that had hiked with the Kaçanik group before and he was actually on the khombi that we took. There were a number of people in our group the spoke English at various levels. There was also a teacher from the gymnaz high school, who I have met before and one from the vocational school that I had not met before. The teacher from the gymnaz played his guitar in the teacher's lounge when I was there one day.
After photos and greetings as various clubs reunited, the really large hiking group took off for the first waterfall. We started walking with a guy who spoke really good English. It turns out that he is an English teacher from a small city in Serbia called Presheva and his hiking group had joined the hike today. He said that he taught in an Albanian school and that they teach four languages at his school: Albanian, Serbian, English, and German. He was super nice and helped drag me along when my shoes kept slipping on the damp and trampled trails. In places, it was a steep hike and the number of people hiking degraded some of the trails. The first waterfall was very pretty and after viewing it we crossed a bridge and ladder made of tree branches to then walk above the falls.
After more photos, we walked to the next waterfall and had a little break. This waterfall was made up of many rivulets flowing down over mossy green rocks. It was really very beautiful. The forest along the trail and river were very thick in places and the air was very fresh and cool. After more photos and a short break, we heard the whistle from the leader letting us know that it is time to move on.
We started going up another trail from the waterfall and it appeared as though it would take us back and so far we have walked only a couple of miles. It seemed to soon to be turning back. We took a side trail and walked a bit further until we come to a hut on stilts. It seemed the purpose of the hike today was to celebrate the completion of the new mountain hut and to join in the ribbon cutting ceremony. The hut is for overnight stays and there is a rustic toilet behind it on the hillside. The hut is on stilts and has a wood stove and there is a sheltered picnic area below the hut. The Ferizaj Adventure Hiking Club and the Shtima Hiking Club hosted the event and I believe were responsible for the building of the hut, but I am not sure. They served us lunch complete with grilled sausage sandwiches that they made at a grill by the hut. The bread and salad for the sandwich made a great meal for me, even though some hikers could not believe that a hiker did not eat meat. We sat and talked with a young lady, Tina, who is a dentist in Ferizag and we also talked with Samut, the teacher from Serbia. Enis came over and introduced himself to us. He is the administrator for the Facebook group for the Kaçanik hiking club. He welcomed us to our first hike and invited us to join in others. He said that they decide the locations of their hikes on the Wednesday before the next hike after checking for the best weather and hiking locations. Next week, they may be headed for a camping trip in Albania, but we will not be able to go as it is out Kosovo and Thom is doing a hike with Gjethi. We had coffee with Enis and some others from the Kaçanik group. There were lots of photos, music and dancing.
Later a light sprinkle of rain, ended the celebration and we headed down the mountain back to the khombi. At one point, I slid of the trail and would have ended up in the shallow ravine between the trail and the river, but there where branches place along the trail and I was able to grab them. Samut and another guy pulled me back up onto the trail and Thom rescued my cellphone. No harm done and we were back on the way down again. After quick good byes, we headed back to Kaçanik and some black tea (caj i zi) before heading back to apartment for showers and clean clothes. We were joined for tea by members of the Skopje hiking group who were on their way home. Several of the group were strong hikers in their 70s. It was a fun first day with the hiking group of Kaçanik.
I am finding that every event is a chance to talk about the Peace Corps and what we are doing in Kosovo and the other countries that we are in. People are always interested and want to know more about the volunteer work that we are doing.
This is Enis's write up after the event in Facebook:
"Today we participated in the promotion of the US mountain house "Vjosa" and "Hiking Adventure Ferizaj". We visited the beautiful waterfalls of the village of Mollopolc in Shtime. We met with many friends from different Albanian cities.
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