A day on the lake

Right, ready to spend the day on the lake?

Our hostess was, once again, overwhelmingly kind to us. She is really trying hard to make us feel at home. “Don’t worry, we are!”

We have a few sites to visit today, all located in the old town, a few metres distance from each other. We are going to have to be creative and find things to do, as we feel we may have done Ohrid by lunchtime.

Today is Saturday. It is quite hot and the town is full of tourists. The first site we come across is an Orthodox church, not highlighted in our book.

A group of tourists has just arrived. Their coach has managed to drive up the narrow, cobbled streets and dropped them right at the entrance, to prevent them from getting tired with the five minutes walk from the centre of the town.

The fee to enter the church is €3.

We head inside €6 the lighter. A few faint paintings are scrawled across the walls, barely visible, otherwise a normal, tiny, poorly lit, dank church. A bit of a rip off if you ask us. GDR

We continue towards the amphitheatre. These romans got everywhere.

They seem to be doing some works. Cables and piles of bricks are scattered everywhere. We may need to go all the way around to get to the top seats. There is no need, the builders let us go through. This is health and safety Macedonian standards for you.

This is like any other amphitheatre. Being there, done that, move on.

This is the Gorna Porta (the upper gate). From here you can get a taxi to get to the castle. I am sure we can manage the climb.

Fifteen minutes and we are at the castle. Castles are interesting. Architecturally they are worthless as they are all normally in a pretty dilapidated state. However, the stunning views are guaranteed. The army and the church have always picked up the best places for their settlements.

Hundred of tourists walk around the castle. We have not seen so many since we visited The Pantheon in Greece.

Our guide is probably right, this is the most visited destination in Macedonia, more than the capital, Skopje. It is weird, we would never have thought of coming to Macedonia specifically to spend our holidays here.

The lake looks quite calm today.

Of course, the national flag. Ex-soviets countries like displaying their flags. Maybe to re-emphasize their identities since the break up of Yugoslavia.

In the background there is the Galicica national park, with its highest peak Magaro (2254m). We are not hiking in Macedonia, it would have been unpractical carrying all the gear for one day. The views is all we will take with us.

At the exit of the castle there seems to be a path that takes us to the most photographed church of the town: “Sveti Jovan at Kaneo”

Yes, lovely from outside. Although it is only 100 MKD to get in (€1.5), we are not in a mood to see more Orthodox churches. They all look the same, they probably have to follow Orthodox buildings standards: not too much light, the glossiness of the iconoclast will make up for it; no altar; jesus has to be in the centre, virgin mary on his right and joan baptiste on the left…

A dog trying to catch a lizard keeps us entertained.

He really wants that lizard and spends ages trying to catch it, continuously leaping onto the bush. There is unlikely to be any bush left soon, the gardener is not going to be pleased. GDR

The lizard is cleverer than him. He gives up and comes to see us, as we are the closest people around.

We move on and the dog doesn’t follow us. That is weird.

There is one thing I want to see before having lunch in front of the lake: the national museum, I might get to know a bit of history about this place.

We don’t really. Only objects from the Palaeolithic era to date are displayed. Not additional information. So it has been a bit disappointing.

What has been interesting is the building, a strange four storey ottoman style house still with some belongings in it. No photographs allowed though. GDR

We head off to the supermarket to buy a picnic for lunch. Suddenly, we get stopped by one of the guys who sells boat trips around the lake.

Him: The trip is €10 to go to the Sveti church and come back.

Us: We have just been there.

Ok. I can take you at the other side of the lake, where we can sail through a canal, stop and walk to some springs. €15, the trip is a bit longer.

That sounds nice, we may go for that one.

Come now.

We are having lunch first.

Please come now. You can have lunch on the boat.

Nope! We rather have it in front of the lake.

He is really keen to secure customers.Today is his big days and although there are lots of customers around, he has lots of competition. There are a dozen boats around here trying to fish for customers.

Although we tend to vary our picnic, it always includes the usuals: bread, a bit of cheese, a bit of meat, and some fruit. Most benches overlooking the lake are occupied but me managed to find one which, although not in the first row, it still offers fabulous views of the lake.

So, let’s go for a boat trip. But before, we go back to the supermarket and get some drinks: a beer for Gary and an iced coffee for me.

On our way to the supermarket, the boat guy stops us again:

Him: Are you ready?

Us: We are gonna get some drinks

Gosh, he is keen.

We are finally ready to go, and he is finally happy, he had some customers.

The boat could hold 12 people, we are only two.

Us: How many customers have you had today?

Him: Another couple.

Us: Only? It is quite busy today.

Him: Yes, but there are lots of boats.

We don’t really get how he can make money out of this. He has a big boat. So far, today he has made €60 but he had to do two trips.

But we don’t really understand people either. There are also boats which take up to 30 people and the trip costs €10. These boats are packed. This trip is much better value for money, you pay €5 more but you have the boat for you.

The other boat probably goes much further, maybe right across the lake and would last three hours, but we still prefer the personal service. GDR

We set off, leaving Ohrid village behind.

He offers us home-made Rakija, a grape-based firewater which any Macedonian can make.

Him: The government is trying to get its claws and make us pay taxes for something we make and consume at home.

Gary has a glass. This stuff smells like cleaning windows liquid. I wet my lips, that is enough for me.

Quite a charming guy. He is an engineer but he has never worked as one.

All jobs are in Skopje.

No matter where you go in the world and how underdeveloped the countries are, you always come across the same problem: high rate of youth unemployment. Globalisation opens markets and gives people access to more opportunities but it also brings more competition. Young generations have it tough, no doubt about it.

We are getting closer to our destination.

First we sail through the canal.

A few private boats are parked at each site, getting ready for the summer.

Serene, calm, tranquil…such an enjoyable trip!

After 20 minutes sailing, we arrive at the other side. A few guys are mending a boat and drinking Rakija.

A dead boat, not worth repairing it, not worth removing it, it has just been left to rot.

The guy takes us to a fishing farm where different species of trout are bred, mostly Ohrid trout as it is becoming so rare.

So, did I have one of these last night?

Lots of restaurants put them on the menu but it is not really Ohrid trout, as very few restaurants are given a licence to fish them from the lake.

So, I could have had a fake one but paid for a proper one!

Maybe not, as we ate in one of the poshest restaurants in town. But we are glad to hear that the people from Ohrid are heavily protecting the species.

You can go to jail if they catch you fishing without licence.

We have also learnt that the trout is not only an environmental problem but a political problem. The Albanians don’t care about the disappearance of the trout. So what the Macedonians do, the Albanians undo. This is simply because there have always been rivalry between the two countries, and this is an excuse to piss each other off.

We continue to walk to the springs. A quick stop to freshen up our necks and faces and take a picture of the lovely patterns that the algae forms with the running of the  water.

There is also a restaurant here. The menu offers interesting local dishes.

Fresh trout of course.

and carps. They bring us bad memories, all those tiny needle like bones we had in Shkoder.

Live music… this restaurant has everything. We will come here tonight. It is only 3 kms from home.

Let me tell you a story. This woman portrayed in the statue below took the laundry to a spring. When she finished, she forgot to turn the spring off and flooded the valley. So she is the one to blame for the birth of the lake. Thank you woman, it is a lovely lake.

Time to get back. In front of us, the views from the village. Very pretty.

It has been a nice, peaceful, entertaining, educational trip. And we have also got a suggestion for dinner tonight. We thank the guy and wish him good luck.

It is now 17.00, time to head back home, have a shower, abuse the WIFI and go out for dinner to that lovely restaurant.

Not before we feed the swans with some leftover bread. In the distance, a boat full of people is leaving the dock. It is our guy, luck has smiled on him today. We wave happily at him.

Dinner was delicious. We’ve had meat dishes. The starters have impressed us: rolled pancakes stuffed with spinach and soft cheese and Macedonian salad.

It has been a lovely day, it has been a lovely lake.

SM