Last Day in Ohrid!

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Around 9am, I woke up from a nice sleep. It's my last day in Ohrid and I had to check out of the guesthouse by 11am (Valentin Apartments, around $7 for a single room/shared bath). I am already feeling a bit saddened since I really enjoyed my stay in Macedonia and I greatly appreciated all the the hospitality I encountered, not to mention the country as a whole, including Ohrid, is relatively inexpensive.

My bus to Budva, Montenegro does not leave until 10:40pm (around 1400 denars one way) so I have another full day to enjoy the town one more time for the road.

I packed all of my bags and kept them in a friend's room and returned to the home of the family I had met the night before! While waiting for one of the guys to come out, I had apple juice with his father while exchanging gestures and broken English/Macedonian phrases.

Finally my friend came out and we went to a local hotel to do my laundry. Since I was leaving later that day, I needed a place with a dryer as well. Fortunately, he has a contact at one of the hotels where my laundry was washed, dried, and placed neatly in bags.... All for free! Can't complain there!

To kill some time, my friend, his young daughter and another friend and I took some beautiful photos of Lake Ohrid and then went to a nice resturant just outside of town for some fresh, Lake Ohrid fish!

Afterwards we briefly hung out at a villa of another one of his friends before heading back to town, where I was dropped off to continue my last stroll around the city. We said our temporary goodbyes since we were meeting up around 9pm to retrieve the laundry and head to the bus station.

I walked to a cafe/bar called Cuba Libre (aka Havana) on the beach to take a pic or two and walk off the delicious food I had just eaten. As I walked around the area, as usual, I received my fair share of stares and curious glances. I have only seen maybe 9 other Black people in Ohrid and none in Struga or Bitola, so I guess I'm still considered exotic in this part of the world.

After leaving Havana Beach I headed into the city center to first pick up a few things from the super market. I know prices will be more expensive in Budva so I thought I'd bring a few snacks from Ohrid!

Next, I went to the internet cafe to catch up on some much needed emails. I spent a total of 2 hours online. Towards the last few moments of my time on the internet, a young guy walked in. Obviously curious, he chose the computer right next to me and told me if I needed any help I could count on him. How nice!

While paying for my internet (60 denar/hour), I decided to leave another 100 denars with the girl at the desk for the guy's internet as well. You know, the one who was seated next to me.... I wanted to pay kindness forward. Pun intended!

Next stop was the market to say goodbye to some friends. There was one particular gentleman who I met back in 2009 at the same market. We have since established some kind of bond so I had to see him again before I left. After a few moments laughing and taking last minute photos, I headed back to the center to see another set of friends I had made during my stay in Ohrid.

I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to the snake crew (people in the center with the snakes). They were so friendly, allowed me take a million photos with both of their snakes, gave me a few souvenirs of Macedonia and even took me out to a local Macedonian hang out spot the night before. The owner even offered to drive me to the bus station, but I told him I already had a ride.

Lastly, I met my friend (from the family I met the night before and ate fish with earlier today) at the hotel to retrieve my laundry. We then visited a few of his friends and family members before dropping me off at the bus station. We hugged, promised to keep in touch and said our heart-felt goodbyes!

I will certainly miss Macedonia! The people were amazingly friendly and hospitable. I'm sure I'll have several homes and hotels to stay in whenever I return.

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