Gasper, Prand, and Wilson
June 9th. Walking from Gjakovë to Prizren, Kosovo
Pretty sure I’m not allowed to say I’m in my mid twenties anymore, but otherwise I feel much the same. It’s my birthday, I’m 28. This walk began exactly a year ago, the day I turned 27.
I came out of the mountains today, chose a road walk between Gjakovë and Prizren so as to meet more Kosovarë. A day of many free drinks too. Every few kilometres another merry group of idling men would invite me into the shade of fruit trees, gas stations, or bars. It’s 32°c but it feels hotter, the air is heavy.
Always tough to tear yeself away from a good time, but I hadn’t started walking til nearly midday and it was going to be a 36+ kilometre day in order to meet up with Irfaan and Helen in Prizren, so I was always bidding Mirupafshim too soon.
By some unknown reservoir of will I kept off the sauce until (nearly) 4pm, kafe until then, but after that I caved and accepted a raki (brandy) when it was offered.
I lingered longest with Gasper, Prand, and Wilson. We sat in the shade of apple and cherry trees. I tried to remember the Albanian names for them and got apple right but cherry wrong. Quick as a flash Wilson was up in the tree passing down handfuls of cherries, perhaps thinking I’d never had them before. Qershi shume te mira! I love these men of Kosovarë for their open excitement, their enthusiasm toward this stranger, their merriness and candour.
They fed me kafe, cold water, and snacks, and bid thanks to Tony Blair for bombing the Serbs in ’99. You flinch a little when you hear it, but that history is never far out of sight or mind here.
Finally getting up to leave, rebuffing their efforts to give me yet more snacks, Prand and Wilson hefted my bag up and onto my back and waved me on, while Gasper tried to persuade me to let him drive me the rest of the way to Prizren. I laughed and shook my head and he shook his head but said he respected that.
Kindness continued to conspire against my ever making it to Prizren, but I did get here eventually, and just in time for dinner with Helen and Irfaan too.
Shume dashuri and talk soon xx
