Sunday 1 September 2013

The one with the early start



After Kotor we decided to visit Lake Ohrid in Macedonia. Macedonia was never on the list, we knew nothing about it and we couldn't have even said where it was. While we were away we saw a tweet by Adventurous Kate saying how cheap Macedonia is so that roused our interest. We consulted a map and saw that it is completely on the way to Bulgaria so we decided we would put Macedonia on the list. When we arrived in Kotor the guy on reception at the hostel asked where we were going next and we said Macedonia, he recommended Lake Ohrid and Cat had Lake Ohrid in her phone as someone had previously recommended it (she can't remember who though). Taking people's recommendations has worked really well so far so the decision was pretty much made.




There was a single bus from Kotor to Ohrid. It departed at 7:40pm & arrived at 5:30am.  This is called a "sleeper bus" though I think "stop start lights on lights off bus" is more of an appropriate name. I actually found the journey almost OK. I slept for around 3-4 hours & read World War Z for the rest. Catherine didn't get any sleep what so ever. Poor Cats.

I had hoped on arrival that there would be an open all hours cafe. Grab a coffee, wait for a humane hour & then find our apartment. The cafe was closed, damn it!

While we were thinking what to do next we noticed our teeth were chattering. It was cold. very cold!. We haven't known cold for nearly 2 months. We decided to share a taxi to town with an American girl. We found our apartment easily enough & spotted that there was this huge ancient amphitheatre next to it. I dug out my religious tourist outfit (linen trousers & a cardigan) I had brought these as some churches, temples etc can be very strict & want most of the skin covered out of respect. Catherine was laughing at me in these baggy trousers. She said I looked really weird. It felt really weird. I hadn't worn anything other than shorts in almost 7 weeks. We both were wearing a couple of layers & I threw our large blanket around us. It was very cosy. We stayed there for a while listening to the birds & watching the sun rise. 



At 7 the church bells started to ring. The church was very close & the bells were deafening. I thought the owners must be awake now. I knocked pretty hard to make sure. We definitely woke them up but couldn't check in until 11am so we left our bags & headed off into town in search of coffee. We both felt surprisingly chirpy. 

The town looked great. Bars & restaurants everywhere! The lake was amazing. Finally got to check in & was blown away by the apartment. The view of the lake was pretty damn cool. We haven't exactly been slumming it but we have spent the last 7 nights in bunk or single beds. Here we had a double bed!!! It felt like king size. We had our own bathroom, large balcony with that amazing view. This was luxury. If this view & apartment was in Monte Carlo we would be paying £250 a night. In Macedonia £23. I heart Macedonia. 








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