Day 73 : Pogradec (Wrap Up)

Alexander, the owner of the apartment I stayed in at Tomić Apartments in Ohrid is amazing. He arranged a taxi to pick me up at 11am to bring me to the border for almost the same price as taking a bus (which would had left me about 2km away from the border). 

Of course this is a shared taxi, so after picking me up, he drove around the city for about 10 mins picking up other passengers heading in the same direction. 

I didn't understand the conversation, but it was really nice to see that although everyone is a stranger in the taxi, they were all talking and laughing like old friends having a conversation. 

The driver even made the effort to point out attractions and towns along the way. Even drove and stop by the Musuem on water and said I could get off the car to take a photo if I wanted, even with passengers in the car, all which didn't mind the stops. Of course I was already here yesterday but didn't tell him that and so took a quick photo out of courtesy from within the car. 

As we passed by Galicica National Park, he also pointed out about the 2nd highest peak Magaro at 2,254m 

At 11.50am, I reached the border on Macedonia side. Now the walk begins from here to the Albanian border. 

I found it strange that while I was exiting Macedonia the immigration officer asked if I had an international vaccine cert. It's often only asked when I enter a country 

In less than 5 mins, I cleared immigration on Macedonia side and walked towards Albania on probably one of the most picturesque border crossing I have done on foot. In less than 10 mins, I was at the Albania immigration and without being asked for vaccination certs, I cleared immigration very quickly. 

A guy was waiting at the border and asked if I needed a taxi and I got a nice ride in a 2 door BMW to the town of Pogradec for just €5, reaching Pogradec way ahead of schedule at about 12.15pm. 

I was way too early to check in at the apartment and so took a short walk at the lake to admire the view of Lake Ohrid from the Albanian side. 

As I did so, 2 senior men walked past and then 1 of them stopped and said good morning to me. 

I responded back and he then asked if I was all good and how long I will be in Albania for etc. 

And then before he left, he said "Thank you for visiting Albania". 

WOW! ❤️ Powerful words, which I've never heard from strangers on the street when I visit a country. I am liking the country already. 

I settled in at a nearby restaurant to grab lunch, and with a craving for pasta recently, I ordered a Spaghetti Marinara. It was missing a kick so I asked if they had any chilli flakes or tabasco sauce which they said they didn't. My luggage was still with me, so I pulled out the Chilli Flakes that I got in Kosovo which was recommended by Gina and used it for the 1st time. Just the right kick now! 

At about 3pm, Albi came with the keys to the apartment and I got to check in. A nice spacious apartment just round the corner from the Big Supermarket with a good view from the 6th storey of the water and a stadium filled with people playing soccer. 

He asked if I would be keen to join him for coffee, so I went with him and we talked about life in Albania. He's a nurse and said that he works 6 days a week for 8 hours each day and earns only Euro 400/month. His sister is in the USA with his parents and hope to get a green card and will be able to bring his brother in who is below 21 and currently in Tirana studying. 

He left and I went out to take a walk along the beach. No sunset today unfortunately as it was probably too cloudy. 

When I came back to the apartment, besides not having any WiFi, I noticed there were also no fresh towels. And worse was I noticed the sheets doesn't seem to had been changed as I saw hair on the bed. Neither was the bin in the toilet emptied and the toilet paper was also running low. Very disappointing. 

Albi came back with the things I asked for and changed the sheets. I also noticed there were no hot water kettle but unfortunately not possible to get one on short notice. 

I told Albi and his brother later that the apartment is nice, but they need to have these basic things available if they were to market it on a booking site. 

Heating was also almost non existent with just a radiator that does not warm up the place beyond a 1m distance from the radiator so I was practically freezing overnight while I slept, even though I had 4 blankets piled on me. 

Glad that it's only for 1 night, as I will finally get on the road with Clemens to explore Albania! 

Day 70 - 72 : Ohrid (Wrap Up)

The bus from Skopje to Ohrid takes about slightly over 3 hours, with a 10 mins break midway. 

There were a lot of beautiful views of snow and snow capped mountains along the way, and especially when we drove through the Mavroro National Park. 

But it was extremely hot inside the bus, it felt like a sauna. There was no air conditioning on the bus. 

On arrival at the bus station, Alexander was waiting outside for me in his really nice BMW car. 

He drove around the city and showed me the key spots and then brought me to the apartment, located a short walk to the lake. Alexander had been great with his hospitality and helping with arrangements of getting to my next destination, and would highly recommend staying at Tomić Apartments while in Ohrid. 

The town of Ohrid isn't very big, but it was very calm and peaceful just being here by the Lake and the snow capped mountains around the lake. 

It was nice walking around the Old Town and seeing all the different churches, especially Church of Saint John the Theologian, located at the edge of the lake on top of a hill. 

I also liked Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon with the roman ruins in front. 

I heard there are a total of 365 churches in Ohrid, one for each day. 

Walking through the quaint cobbled streets within the town, you will also discover a Fortress and an Ancient Theatre which still appears to be used.  

The other activity worth doing is making a day trip to St. Naum, located near the border of Albania. 

I also loved all the lalang growing out of the water around the lake and catching the sunset especially after it had set with the twilight colours. 

Food wise, my favourite was dining at The Lion. Run by a Dutch guy and his Estonian wife, they made a decision to move to Ohrid and opened the restaurant last year. Prices were very decent too.