Get ready Ohrid, I'm coming for you!

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Welcome back everyone!

I had a much needed, quite cozy night of sleep after my arrival in Ohrid, so now I'm ready to conquer the city! I have heard so much about Ohrid and I told myself I would make sure I hit up this town during my next Balkans visit. Ohrid is well known for its famous lake, beautiful old town, and overall gorgeous scenery. I'm so ready to discover what this town has to offer and I only have one day to do it. After having some breakfast, I headed out into town.

I decided to head towards the lake. The day started off grey, cloudy with a bit of light rain to top it all off. "Oh well," I thought. Rain or shine I would make the most of my time here in Ohrid. Hey, it's gotta rain sometimes, right? As I approached the pier, I noticed I almost had the whole place to myself. There were a few people here and there, but for the most part the pier was empty. I took my camera out and began taking pictures of the lake, coastline, and surrounding buildings and other structures. I decided to finally walk down the pier to take more photos. While snapping a few shots, I was approached by a man on a boat. I was thinking, "Oh no, I'm not really in the mood for any conversation." But I'm usually a sociable person (when I want to be), so I decided, "What the heck!" A short conversation ensued that went along the lines of, "Hey, where are you from?" "What are you doing in Ohrid?" "Are you here with friends or alone?" "Are you interested in a boat tour of the lake?"
You get the picture! I explained that I was American, passing through Ohrid to see the wonderful sites, my friends were joining me later, and that I was not interested in any boat tours cause my friends were local anyways.

After that brief introduction, we actually began to really talk. As there were virtually no people, meaning no potential customers for him, we ended up chatting for what seemed to be an hour. I'll call him my 'boat friend'. He offered to take several photos of me. He even asked me to stand on the edge of his small boat so I could take a picture like a pirate! 😊 He also mentioned he had seen a Black woman a couple of months ago in Ohrid. I think, however, I was the first Black woman he had actually talked to. I got in his boat and he took me a few hundred yards to the original pier. He had his friend take more photos of us and we chatted some more. My boat friend then invited me for tea in one of the larger tour boats and I accepted. There were other people there when we entered and we chatted even more. After a few minutes inside of the boat, I decided I needed to continue with my tour of the city. Once we headed out of the boat, he took a few more pictures of me. While my boat friend was snapping some last minutes photos, I noticed these young teenage girls in the background taking my pic with their camera phones. Well, that's life for a Black woman in the Balkans. After I said goodbye to my new boat friend, I headed into old town to visit the numerous churches and other famous sites.

I made my way up the cobble stone streets heading towards my first site, the beautiful St. John Kaneo Church. While exploring the local surroundings leading up to the St. John Kaneo Church, I ran into a Polish man, probably in his 60s or so. He was a very friendly man and he was subsequently heading to the same destination. We mutually decided to hang out together! This man explained that he was part of a Polish bus tour group. Apparently the group was covering several countries in just around two weeks. To my understanding, the tour group had a day to visit a new city and continued towards the next destination overnight. He was retired and enjoying his life. He had a wife, who was back in Poland, opted not to come on the tour. I guess that type of traveling was not her cup of tea! We continued to walk towards the Church while taking pictures along the way. We passed a few student groups (probably local Macedonians). Many of them stared at me as we walked by. I was actually expecting it this time! 😊 Once we finally made it to the Church of St. John at Kaneo we stopped to enjoy the wonderful view! Suddenly the weather began to shift. The sun came out and the temperature began to rise. This was going to be a nice, pleasant day after all! Albania was even noticeable on the other side of the lake. Initially we wanted to enter the Church, but at 100 denars per person (about $2.20), it was not worth it.

To make a long story short (I do tend to be long winded), we ended up spending the whole day together. We visited the Fortress of Car Samuil, which cost 30 denars per person (about 66 cents) to enter! After enjoying the marvelous views on all sides of the fortress we headed onwards to explore other Churches and beautiful architecture of the Old Town. After having made a complete circle, we ended up at the same point we started, so we decided to have some tea at the main pedestrian area near the lake. I noticed we were the center of attention. I guess it's not usual to see a young Black woman with an older white man hanging out together in Ohrid, Macedonia. I'm sure many ideas and thoughts crossed the minds of people. Oh well, C'est la vie! (That's life) After having enjoyed our tea we briefly headed down the pedestrian walkway, only to be met by even more curious stares. Soon after, I said goodbye to my new Polish friend. We wished each other well and went our separate ways. I was now on my own, so I decided to exchange a bit of money and then check out the Green Market.

As soon as I approached the Green Market, I was greeted with friendly smiles, hellos, and the usual curious looks. One fruit/vegetable seller in particular was keen on having a photo with me in front of his stand. We took a photo and he even offered me some vegetables as a gift. The next thing I knew some of his fellow buddies also wanted pictures with me. I ended up taking several photos and was offered more free fruit and vegetables. One of the men tried to invite me for a drink, but I politely declined. I would soon be meeting with my host and I also had to stop by the internet cafe. As I said my goodbyes I thought, "This has been a great day from the boat man to the fruit and vegetable men and everyone and everything in between!"

I headed to an internet cafe near the place I was staying. I think the rate was about 66 cents per hour. I think I ended up taking an hour and a half. I needed to get caught up on a lot of things.

Finally I arrived to the studio apartment to take a seat and soak up the memories of my very enjoyable day! Soon after my host arrived from work and we eventually went into town for some tea. I caught her up on my lovely day! Overall, we had a chance to really get better acquainted. At the table beside us I noticed two girls speaking English. One of them had an American accent so I figured she was also a tourist. Shortly after, two guys joined them at their table. While chatting with my host, I noticed one of the guys at the table (where the two girls I mentioned before were seated) kept periodically staring at me. I was thinking, "This jerk!" Oh well, that's a man for you! 😊 These guys soon got up, kissed the girls goodbye and headed out. This same guy was staring at me through the window of the cafe shop as he walked by. "Yeah he's a real jerk," I thought. I continued talking to my host, enjoying our conversation and my last evening in Ohrid. I would certainly miss this place. Next thing I know, the girl (with the American accent) came over to our table. She asked me where I was from. It turns out that she was a local Macedonian who have lived somewhere in the USA for a while. That explains her accent! She also gave me a card with a guy's number on the back. It was the same guy who was starting at me the whole time. Apparently he found me interesting and wanted me to contact him, but he was kind of in a hurry and could not stay long at the cafe. That explains why he was staring at me and why he did not come over to our table. Oh well, I would be leaving Macedonia the following day anyways, plus I was not interested in him, but I kindly took the card from the girl.

After finishing up our tea, we walked back to the apartment building. My host showed me where I could leave the keys and the money (10 euros, about 13 dollars for my two night stay) and we said our goodbyes!

I will miss Ohrid, but it's time to head over to Albania. This should be interesting!

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Comments

[Sasha]

Hello,
I found your post very interesting because i can see how it looks like Ohrid from your perspective i.e. from foreigner view point. But the best thing in it is your positive attitude of mind. I am Macedonian, temporary overseas. Have a good trip. Bye

[Nikola]

SWEET
That was nice story for Ohrid!!! Best wishes from Macedonia!!!