Blogs from Macedonia, Europe - page 9

Today was an interesting day. Following breakfast we set off and stopped just on the outskirts of town for Gus to grab a coffee. We ordered the drinks and an old guy wandered in to the cafe. He looked well out of sorts and we soon realised that every day he would get his shopping and then come to the cafe and sit in the same seat. The exact same seats that we were now in. Well today wasn't going to be any different and he pulled up his chair huffing and puffing that two intruders had upset his daily routine. lol (see photo). Whilst at the cafe a random Merc illegally parked outside which was right next to the roundabout and just next to the pedestrian crossing. A few minutes later the Police pulled up ... read more

Set off early as we knew we had a big day but didn't really know where we'd end up. We often have a plan to stay at a certain place but upon arrival at the destination we discover that there's no where to stay. Today was no exception. We set off after breaky at a local cafe and the GPS thought that it s funny to send us past the same block of apartments.... Three bloody times. Once we were on the right road we soon had Lake Ohrid on our right as we cycled south in order to miss the freeway and take the scenic and much longer and harder route over the mountains. The lake ride was quite pleasant as a cool breeze came off the water. We then started to climb and turned ... read more

Internet hadn't been fixed by the time we left for a very short cycle to Ohrid. The route goes along the edge of Lake Ohrid and past a beach named after several of my friends (photo attached). Apparently when the tide rises at this beach it take a while to drop. Along the route a Formula one car Macedonia style past us... Just. See photo. On another subject we've also noticed that apart from not caring for the countryside their dental work seems to take a back seat as well. Most of the people we've met don't smile as the reason is that they've not got many teeth left and the surviving toothy pegs are a mixture of colours and sizes and which generally placed in random areas of the gums. One guy just needed a ... read more

Firstly I'd like to thank all readers who post comments on the blog. It make the effort of writing the blog worthwhile. I realise that we can't have a cluster or funny story each day but hang in there as they are only just around the next bend. The night at Mavrovo wasn't without incident. Gus and I chose one of the ritzier hotels to stay in. It was recommended and described as somewhere to soak up the serenity of the lake. Although we didn't have a reservation they managed to squeeze us in. In reality we were the only guests in a 60 room hotel as its low season. So low in fact you could crawl under a snakes belly wearing a top hat. The hotel.... Firstly the hot water tank was the size of ... read more

What a day! Floods, heat, interviews, slaughter house, weddings and guns. Lol Undulating 72 km cycle through Tetovo to Gostivar. The gps had a conniption and tried to send us down the main freeway which was also a toll road. Having been arrested in Slovenia by the highway police we didn't want to be on their recidivist offenders list and chose to cycle through a rubbish dump to get to another road which paralleled the freeway. We had a packed lunch from the hotel instead of breakfast so decided to take a break at a World War One cemetery. The graves were well kept which was surprising as all the other grave yards we passed were in a state of disrepair. Photo competition one started when Gus spotted a large locust type creature. My winning photo ... read more