Around Lake Ohrid - day four

The eastern shore of Lake Ohrid is home to the small, mountainous Galicica national park. I had originally planned to hike into the park from gradishte campground (about 4 kilometers from Eleshec) but then I learned that there is better access to hiking trails from the village of Elshani - a short 3km stroll up a steep country road from Camp Eleshec. So I did what my ultra flexible schedule demanded and changed my plans to spend today in the mountains and walk on to Gradishte tomorrow.

I started up the steep road to Elshani in the relative cool of an already warm morning. I walked quickly, racing the heat, and practically bouncing without the weight of my pack dragging me down.

The Elshani trail was easy to find from the top of the road, it was marked by a small picnic area with spring-water fountains at one end of the informal village square formed by the ending of the road.

I climbed the wide trail past the backyard orchards and terraced sheep pastures reaching another spring. There the trail branched into a dozen cow paths and just as I was about to guess (wrong) a local woman dressed in black and carrying a bundle of sticks under one arm set me right.

I hadn't intended to reach the top of anything. I set myself a time limit and just figured I'd see where the trail would take me.

The trail wound through dark woods with moss covered rocks and a canopy of leaves that glowed green in the morning sunshine  then passed through a small meadow filled with golden grass, always climbing, climbing, climbing.

Bated onwards by glimpses of Ohrid's expanse of blue I hiked on until,quite unexpectedly, I found myself very near the shale crowned top of something.  A few minutes later, When i reached it, I discovered it was the top of a ridge that hid more peaks.

The trail went on, but I stayed to enjoy the view for a few moments before starting back down the trail. 

Around Lake Ohrid - day three

I've acquired three stray dogs so far this trip. The first (who I called traveler) followed me through struga yesterday. Traveler was scrappy and ugly with wiry grey hair and abnormally long legs (for a dog). Then this morning a cheerful little white dog with geyish ears insisted on being pet while I waited for my phone to charge, eventually falling asleep by my feet. I called her sunshine and would have tried to keep her if she had followed me out of camp. Instead, it was a small, brown, shot-haired dog with an obnoxious pointy nose who followed me out of camp and all the way into Ohrid - even after I told him to "git" (rather forcefully). I called that dog scrappy because he seemed determined to be my walking companion, but in the suburbs of town, he seemed to think better of the idea and turned back.

Ohrid is the jewel of the lake that takes the same name. Ancient churches, a medieval cliff-top castle, and a beautiful lake (which is covered in a white haze today) make it the top tourist destination in Macedonia. Fortunately, the town has just enough charm to make up for the hordes of tourists who make their way to its cobbled streets every summer. 

My favorite character from the town is Captain Christophe, an old fisherman clad in a brigh yellow shirt, blue trousers, and a white captain's hat. He pilots a bright orange fishing boat from the Ohrid port to a tiny fishing village that sits beneath the town's cliffs and is only reachable by boat.

I'm still in Ohrid waiting until the mid day heat passes, (which might be wishful thinking on my part) but I'm going to post this now since I'm not sure whether tonight's camping spot - Campground Eleshec will have internet.

Around Lake Ohrid - day two

I woke up early hoping to get an early start for the long walk to Ohrid. I was ready to go by 6, but the camp staff didn't show up until 7, so it was nearly 7:15 when I finally got started. The very big bonus to this small inconvenience was that I got to watch the colors of the lake change with the sunrise - I toll loads of photos with my camera, but none with my phone :(

I followed a sleepy little country lane about 3km to the little town of Struga and then, after detouring through what tuned out to be a pleasant little holiday town in search of an ATM, I followed beach trails and paths along the shore. Eventually the shore paths rejoined a country lane that often appeared as if it were about to be swollowed up by the vegetation on both sides.

I walked and walked, often getting bemused and bewildered looks from locals. "Don't you know there's a bus?" I can read in their eyes as they pass me in cars, bicycles and mopeds.

"I know, but that's not the point" I answer silently.

I arrived at camp Andon Dukov just before noon. The manager, Kirill, was busy with some inspectors and invited me to hang out on the beach until they left, which I did. I took a short trip into Ohrid later in the afternoon - looked at a couple of old churches and ate a delicious meal before heading back to the camp to watch the sunset.

Around lake Ohrid - day one

I've just begun my week long meander around lake Ohrid - one of two large lakes that straddle the Albanian/Macedonian borders. 

My task for today was simle: get up early enough to finish packing and find my bus.  I failed at both. I woke more than an hour later than planned and immediately adjusted to plan B: catch a bus toward Korca, disembark where the highway nears the boarder, and figure it out from there.

I did exactly that: caught a shared taxi to the border junction and the took a private taxi from there all the way to campground rino on Ohrud's northern shore and the first stop of my trip. The whole thing cost about $15 more than the bus, but it only took3 hours (as opposed to 5 by bus). 

Campground rino is a lakeside patch of lawn encircled by trees where tents and RVs line up as they arrive.

Judging by the size of the other tents around me, I'm the only backpacker staying here tonight - most of the people here seem to be families car-camping.

After getting everything set up, I ate a quick lunch and then took a stroll down the lakes shore, past sunbathing women and children frolicking in the lake's gentle waves, to the Kalishta monastery complex. There, I was able to see two cave churches (dating from the 13th and 14th centuries), two more modern but still exquisite churches, and listen to the sounds of a children's choir rehearsing.

The plan for tomorrow is to walk to the Town of Ohrid, and hopefully find camping along the way. 

Coexistence: inside the pyramid

The pyramid is among Tirana's most famous buildings. Usually empty, right now it is host to a cross boarder exhibition of modern art called coixistence designed to explore cultural commonalities (and differences) between the nations along the Adriatic Sea. The exhibition was great, and the opportunity to see inside this landmark was really wonderful. 

A quick trip south

Having a few days between airbnb guests, I decided to take that time to head to southern Albania. I'm deliberately avoiding the famed southern coast until the crowds return to work and school in September, but the southern mountains and lakes were all on the table. My trip took me to the cities of Elbasan, Korca, and Gjirokastra, and I'm already planning the next one (I'm thinking to cycle around lake Ohrid)

Elbasan:

Korca:

Gjirokastra:

Catching Up

It's been such a long time since I last posted here that I'm almost ashamed to come back and write anything. But for those of you who know me best, I feel like this

It's been an eventful winter and spring.  I traveled through south-central Kazakhstan by train and bus, flew up to Astana to catch a KHL playoff game (the Barys last home game of the season), re-visited the Kolsai lakes (and nearby lake Kaindy) and helped lead a student group on a theatre trip to London all while continuing to explore and enjoy life in Almaty.

Last year I decided not to renew my contract with the school in Almaty and to spend this year (or as much of it as I can afford to spend) traveling through the Balkans.

Of course when I say "traveling through" what I really mean is "living in." I left Almaty on June 30th and flew to Tirana, Albania where I contacted a real estate agent to help me find an apartment.  Traveling all over Tirana scouting out places to live was a great way to get to know this community and to learn a bit about the different areas of town.  I finally settled on a 2 bedroom apartment just outside of "The Block" an area known for it's restaurants and it's proximity to the town's only big park - the m

Most people who follow this blog know that I've been working on another "project" and to be quite honest that project kind of pushed this to the back-burner for a while. But I am absolutely determined to not let that become a permanent state of affairs and from now on you will begin to see more mobile posts - posts of pictures and videos I take and make while I travel, uploaded more immediately - but on the flip-side, edited less.  Of course this mobile posting will also mean a bit less writing (have you ever tried to write a blog post on a touch screen phone? It's very, very, tedious)

If you want to know the name of the "project", it is "more of the road" (moreoftheroad.com, and also on Twitter and Tumblr) and is meant to be quite different from these little letters home - you are welcome to follow me in any and all of those places, but know that I will be posting many of the same things here as I do on Tumblr.

So, to everyone out there reading this and missing me: I miss you all too and hope to see much more of you in the future)

Cheers!

A Holiday in Spain

Ok, this post is rather overdue so expect it to be a bit of a long one.  I promise to include a lot a pictures so that there is at least something pretty to look at while you read.

This year's winter break took me to Spain.  Turkish Airlines had a good deal on tickets (just over $500 round trip from Almaty) and so my parents, who work in the middle east, and I agreed to spend our holiday together in this hope-fully-warmer-than-Kazakhstan country.

After spending virtually no time in any of the cities (and consequently having absolutely nothing on which to base the following statement), Our first stop, Madrid, was my favorite of the Spanish cities that we visited.  While I have no doubt that there were thousands of tourists in town for the holiday, it didn't feel forced or fake. Instead, it felt like a major European metropolis: fast-paced, busy, and colorful.  For our one day in town, we visited the train station (to get our tickets for the rest of the trip sorted out) and the nearby Reina Sofia where we spent way too long on the first floor before discovering the magnificence of the second and third floors.  If I ever visit that museum again, I'll be sure to go to the second floor first next time.  We spent the twilight hour of the late afternoon exploring the Parque del Retiro and finding dinner along the always-busy Gran Via.

The next morning we were speeding southward through olive tree-dotted hillsides on one of Spain's high-speed Renfe trains to Seville.  The train was comfortable and fast.  It frequently exceeded 300 kilometers per hour and we arrived in Seville just two hours after leaving Madrid.  Our stay in Seville was short and the one afternoon we spent in town was just long enough to enjoy the orange-tree lined streets, eat a very delicious meal, and marvel at Seville's massive Cathedral Catedral de Santa María de la Sede.  Now on my list of great buildings to re-visit some day, this wonder of architecture holds a million delights from the massive double set of organ pipes perched high above the floor, to the tiny courtyard with a single marble basin to the treasure rooms (common - they're called TREASURE rooms) and, of course, the bell tower (the Giralda) which gives you an amazing view of the city.

Pueblos Blancos - White Towns

Arcos de la Frontera, Spain

Our ultimate goal was to spend the bulk of the holiday in the Pueblos Blancos or white towns of Andalusia, and so the next morning we boarded a bus bound for Arcos de la Frontera where we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  The old part of Arcos lies high above the surrounding landscape on the narrow plateau between two cliffs.  The town rises steeply on both sides and many of the streets are really staircases making a good portion of the town inaccessible to cars.  We stayed in a small apartment chiseled into the rock of the cliffs.  Our landlord informed us that the apartment was once a coal storage facility that was later converted into living quarters. From our sitting room window, we could see the reservoir far below and hear the buzz of the vespa motors as they sped up the cobbled street.  We spent our days exploring the narrow, cobbled alleyways and staircases, and even took a walk down into the valley to get a good view of the town below. 

The town was festive for the holidays.  Christmas carols played from loudspeakers mounted on light poles all over town and a ceremonial arch and pretty blue lights brought a festive air to the village.  On Christmas eve we stayed up until midnight to hear the ringing of the Christmas bells from the town's churches, and on a wet and dreary Christmas morning, we happily munched on "nun cookies" the delicious chocolate cookies we'd purchased from the town Convent before braving the rain to have a feast at one of the local restaurants.

On the 26th, after misreading the bus schedule a couple of times and then asking the bus drivers for directions, we caught a bus northward about half an hour to Villamartin, where we had a picnic lunch and then caught another bus eastward across the top of the Sierra de Grazalema natural park to the famously picturesque town of Ronda.  Our original plan was to make the two-hour bus trip in the morning, but with the stop-over in Villamartin, we didn't cross the park until mid-afternoon just as the grey of the clouds began to break into glorious light.  The mountains and cliffs of the park took on a magical hue as the golden light gradually lit up the green slopes.  We arrived in Ronda shortly before dusk, found our hotel just across from the bull ring, and set out to find dinner.

The view from the bus window en route to Ronda

Bull Ring in Ronda, Spain

We spent our two days in Ronda wandering around the cobbled streets, shopping in the little boutique shops selling everything from hiking gear to candy, walking in the vineyard and olive-grove dotted countryside, sampling wine at the Wine Interpretation Center, and just generally relaxing.  We, of course, visited the bull ring (the birthplace of modern bullfighting), and spent quite a lot of time along the gorge (El Tajo).  While quite a bit more expensive than Arcos, (and practically packed with tourists), Ronda's beauty - and the ease in which one could walk out into the country side, makes this beautiful little town one of my favorites.

The "new bridge" in Ronda Spain

The countryside around Ronda, Spain

Ronda from a distance

 Barcelona

A fountain in Barcelona, Spain

The morning of the 30th we caught the bus back to Seville, and then jumped on a train to Barcelona on almost the complete opposite side of the country.  I'm not usually one to cross an entire country for a two day stay, but time constraints meant that we had to leave Barcelona for Madrid the afternoon of the first.  In Barcelona we mostly shopped and meandered through back streets marveling at the lengths of the lines to get into museums.  Note to self: line up before the museum opens.  Of all the places we visited, Barcelona felt the most "touristy."  The old town took on an almost plastic "disneyland" does-any-one-actually-live-here kind of feel as throngs of English, French, and German speakers filled it's narrow streets and alleyways.  The newer parts of town felt more balanced.

Our last morning, we dropped our luggage off at the "Left-Baggage" in the Train station, and took a walk up to the art museum and the Olympic park.  From the top of the hill we gazed over the rest of Barcelona: the skyscrapers on the other side of town, hidden from us in the center by hills and monuments - when I go back, that is what I plan to see.  For me, the coolest thing in Barcelona is the ultimate expression of useful art, a giant steel dragon sculpture with a staircase in it's mouth, and fun/fast slides down it's tail and wings.  Every city should have art that can be sat in and played on.

Art to be played on Barcelona, Spain

Madrid Cathedral

My last day in Madrid, I saw my family off and then wandered the streets in the rain.  I went into the Madrid Cathedral to get dry (I'm afraid the beauty of Seville's cathedral ruined met - Neither Barcelona's, nor Madrid's did much to impress) and later found a sporting goods store to pick up some yaktrax for my Russian Tutor before catching the bus to the airport.