UNESCO has given a World Heritage listing to Ohrid on two separate categories... historical importance and natural beauty. That's where we are spending today and tomorrow... some 166 klms south-east of Skopje in Macedonia. The photos should tell the story of natural beauty... the history follows a familiar pattern... with ruins discovered from all the major periods from Neolithic, Macedonia, Roman, Byzantine, Ottomans and, of course, the crazy hotch-potch of activities inflicted upon Macedonia during the 20th century.
UNESCO has found Ohrid, but tourists appear to be somewhat slower. The Macedonian citizens love the place... they are here in large numbers... but overweight Germans, Englishmen and Parisians are very hard to find. Accommodation, food and drink are priced at give-away bargains. The place seems purpose built for Aussie backpackers... but they have been slow on the uptake. Once they build a decent road into the town... backpackers will crowd out the place.
Tomorrow, we will take a boat ride on the lake to a Neolithic site to look at old bones. We will boat past the palace used by Major Teto to entertain his extensive network of lady friends. We also plan to call in at some remote monastery... perhaps finding the meaning of life... and there are some isolated fishing villages that are supposed to reflect 19th century village life. It should be a good day.
We have spent the last two days in a group of nine on a package taking us through the Balkans. We chose the package option for this part of the trip because we had concerns regarding security. We need not have worried. Macedonia appears safer than Chatswood on a Friday night. There are some interesting characters in our group... but it's taking time to get used to the group dynamics. Everything takes so much longer... every choice is a compromise. A couple of the guys are talented comedians... genuinely funny in a 'campish' sort of way. The ladies are about our age. Two of them are from Tasmania... and have interesting stories to tell. The third lady is from Brazil... limited English language skills and limited mobility. We'll all get along just fine for the next week. By then, we will be ready to revert back to solo travel.
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