Yes the ‘cat’ is missing.
On our small boat tour of lake Ohrid to visit Saint Naum monastery, we had a frightened stowaway cat just ship. Luckily we were able to rescue the poor thing and hopefully all is well in the end. There are stray cats everywhere in the Balkans!
I got up early as I thought the boat tours would need sometime. I just had coffee and a most delicious croissant with jam and sweet cream.
It was cool and quiet along the waterfront but the sun was warm.
I never considered that the boat tours wouldn’t run with just a few people. But after a bit it was clear one of the small catamarans would run (in fact was two)
I was seated next to a chatty family from Copenhagen. They are just here for a long weekend which seems funny after all the planning I have done.
We have three stops in our almost full day tour. First stop - Bay of Bones!
A fairly recent discovery it is an ancient settlement that was built on pilings over the water. The huts are stick built and then covered with mud. It’s interesting and I would want a hut with a lake view.
The next stop is a small monastery only accessible by boat. The walls of the lake are mostly shear cliffs - like the rest of the trip. Everything goes straight up. It is another small church and a monastery building. What I find fascinating about these churches are the blocky solid feel. Even a gothic church tends to be open and airy among the granite columns. These are small and dark and severe. And there is a lot of ornamentation - mostly painted on the walls or paintings.
And our final stop is Saint Naum which is famous for its size and the hilltop overlooking the sea that it occupies. The monastery itself has been converted into a hotel but in the center of the complex is another small church. Equally as impressive.
We have a couple hours here and there is a huge fresh water spring that feeds the lake - with boat tours - as well as a restaurant. And even some nice beaches. The wind picked up during the last leg of the tour and we will be transported back to Ohrid by bus.
The restaurant is nice enough but the waiter is only interested in selling me the most expensive items. After some back and forth, we settle on Macedonian pie, which is kind of like a cheese and leek tart and lake eel in a red sauce. They are both quite nice and make a nice lunch. (Tipping is not the norm here so building the check isn’t necessary but I’m sure there is incentive to upsell)
Sadly things go a little downhill from here as the bus situation is pretty disorganized and guess who gets to stand for the 40 minute ride back. Surely the 15yo Dane could have make some accommodation for an elderly man!
The lake is roiled upon arriving back to Ohrid. Waves and spray are crashing over the sea wall. Thankfully I am not on a ferry tomorrow.
I’ve had a lot of trout on this trip and the idea of another serving doesn’t sit well. So I have had a nice tomato, cucumber and feta cheese salad and smallish lake fish that are fried and eaten whole. I would have preferred them smaller and a bit crispier but they are very nice. Ice cream cake for dessert.
Ohrid is actually famous for its fresh water pearls, which in the simplest sense ‘paste’. They are made with ground up shells and a secret adhesive and then painted with a paint made from fish scales. Fish similiar to what I had for dinner.
It feels very Greek here with everything in Cryllic and even a strolling band. (Capital H - backward y - upside down h. In English is CUN)
There are a couple sites I’d like to see in the morning (Ohrid had 365 churches. That number has been whittled down. But occasionally you will see one that has been repurposed) and then it is back on the road to Berat, Albania.
[the US state department issued a world wide travel advisory for tourist destinations and demonstrations. Just to prove the system works, I got an email from every embassy on my travel list. At the moment I see no reason the change any plans. But it is a strange world we live in.]
On our small boat tour of lake Ohrid to visit Saint Naum monastery, we had a frightened stowaway cat just ship. Luckily we were able to rescue the poor thing and hopefully all is well in the end. There are stray cats everywhere in the Balkans!
I got up early as I thought the boat tours would need sometime. I just had coffee and a most delicious croissant with jam and sweet cream.
It was cool and quiet along the waterfront but the sun was warm.
I never considered that the boat tours wouldn’t run with just a few people. But after a bit it was clear one of the small catamarans would run (in fact was two)
I was seated next to a chatty family from Copenhagen. They are just here for a long weekend which seems funny after all the planning I have done.
We have three stops in our almost full day tour. First stop - Bay of Bones!
A fairly recent discovery it is an ancient settlement that was built on pilings over the water. The huts are stick built and then covered with mud. It’s interesting and I would want a hut with a lake view.
The next stop is a small monastery only accessible by boat. The walls of the lake are mostly shear cliffs - like the rest of the trip. Everything goes straight up. It is another small church and a monastery building. What I find fascinating about these churches are the blocky solid feel. Even a gothic church tends to be open and airy among the granite columns. These are small and dark and severe. And there is a lot of ornamentation - mostly painted on the walls or paintings.
And our final stop is Saint Naum which is famous for its size and the hilltop overlooking the sea that it occupies. The monastery itself has been converted into a hotel but in the center of the complex is another small church. Equally as impressive.
We have a couple hours here and there is a huge fresh water spring that feeds the lake - with boat tours - as well as a restaurant. And even some nice beaches. The wind picked up during the last leg of the tour and we will be transported back to Ohrid by bus.
The restaurant is nice enough but the waiter is only interested in selling me the most expensive items. After some back and forth, we settle on Macedonian pie, which is kind of like a cheese and leek tart and lake eel in a red sauce. They are both quite nice and make a nice lunch. (Tipping is not the norm here so building the check isn’t necessary but I’m sure there is incentive to upsell)
Sadly things go a little downhill from here as the bus situation is pretty disorganized and guess who gets to stand for the 40 minute ride back. Surely the 15yo Dane could have make some accommodation for an elderly man!
The lake is roiled upon arriving back to Ohrid. Waves and spray are crashing over the sea wall. Thankfully I am not on a ferry tomorrow.
I’ve had a lot of trout on this trip and the idea of another serving doesn’t sit well. So I have had a nice tomato, cucumber and feta cheese salad and smallish lake fish that are fried and eaten whole. I would have preferred them smaller and a bit crispier but they are very nice. Ice cream cake for dessert.
Ohrid is actually famous for its fresh water pearls, which in the simplest sense ‘paste’. They are made with ground up shells and a secret adhesive and then painted with a paint made from fish scales. Fish similiar to what I had for dinner.
It feels very Greek here with everything in Cryllic and even a strolling band. (Capital H - backward y - upside down h. In English is CUN)
There are a couple sites I’d like to see in the morning (Ohrid had 365 churches. That number has been whittled down. But occasionally you will see one that has been repurposed) and then it is back on the road to Berat, Albania.
[the US state department issued a world wide travel advisory for tourist destinations and demonstrations. Just to prove the system works, I got an email from every embassy on my travel list. At the moment I see no reason the change any plans. But it is a strange world we live in.]
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