Today was another travel day.

I had grown to love my time in Skopje.   It had only been three days but it felt like home.   I don’t know how to describe it.   Some places just feel that way and Skopje was one of them.

Anyway, I was sorry to be going but I had somewhere new to be.

Ohrid!

Ohrid is a tiny lake side town a few hours southwest of Skopje.

I’ll be spending the next 3 days here and, to be honest, I don’t have much planned.

I guess I just figured I’d relax and entrench myself in the small town vibe and see where the days take me.

It’s probably a good thing that I don’t have much planned the next little bit because I woke up this morning with a sore throat.

Yikes!

God, I hate being sick while traveling but if ever there was a time to be, this was it.

I could just settle in my hostel in Ohrid and just relax and recuperate.

Bus to Ohrid

I took the 11am bus from Skopje to Ohrid this morning.

The bus ride was 3 hours but the time passed fairly quickly.   The bus was big and spacious and I got the front row to myself so I had plenty of legroom.

We had one rest stop during the ride and on the way there I saw a big billboard sign advertising a candy called Krem Banana with the big words “Gluten Free” plastered on it.

Well, wouldn’t you know, in the gas station we stopped at there was a box of Krem Banana.

Naturally, I bought the box cause I’m always on the hunt for gluten free junk food while I travel.

So, there ya go – a classic case of billboard advertising working.

Hello Ohrid

We arrived in Ohrid around 2pm and my hostel was a short 10 minute walk away.

There was a pharmacy on the way so I picked up some cough drops to help with my sore throat.

I checked in and my string of having a bottom bunk bed has ended.

I always email a hostel beforehand to request a bottom bed but this one never responded.

So, I’m in the top bunk tonight and then I can move to the bottom bunk for the last 2 days.

No big deal.   I believe this is what would be categorized as a “first world problem”.

Oh, by the way, there is a resident cat here.   It’s some little stray kitty that the hostel has adopted.

Cute, ain’t he?

A leisurely lunch

Since I literally had no plans for the rest of the day, I took my sweet ass time getting lunch today.

I sat down at a restaurant on the lakeside someone on Facebook had recommended and looked over the menu.

Meat, meat, salad, meat, meat, meat.

Hmmm…

Meat it is!

I got the Macedonian Shashlik which was listed as pork, sausage, chicken, steak, bacon, and veggies with potato and rice.

What I wasn’t expecting was a swinging skewer with my meats and veggies skewered onto it.

I’ve never been served a swinging skewer.   It was weird.   I ate it all.

Sunset on the lake

I hung around the hostel for a couple hours in the afternoon just kind of listening in on different conversations.

The crowd here seems really young and more into partying than exploring the city.   There was talk of going to a club at 1am.

Going at 1am!

God, please don’t let any of those people be in my dorm room.

Please, please, please.

Hey, you know, sometimes you click with the people in the hostel and sometimes you don’t.

Granted, when I was a young 20 something, that was what I was all about too so can’t really blame them.

Honestly, it’s the only time when I’m backpacking when I feel like I don’t belong but it’s easily shaken off by moving onto new adventures.

Anyway, at 6:00 I walked back onto the main street to get a fruit smoothie to calm my throat down.

It was near sunset so I just kept walking to the lake side.   The place was packed with people sitting on park benches just out enjoying the night and waiting for the sun to set.

I walked further along the lake side until I found a pier and took a walk all the way down.

Standing there, taking it in, I realized, I do belong.

This is my adventure.

And, I, am living the dream…