Southern Albania

The last 2 days we have biked southern Albania. The weather has continued to be great, but in the 90s so quite warm. The heat, not the climbing, was the challenge for me.

Our first challenge, soon after leaving Korce, was a section of road (which our guide had ridden 2 months before) where in the interim a bridge had been removed and a bypass was being built. As an aside, the roads are quite variable with some so rough and filled with potholes that packed gravel would be an improvement while others are freshly paved and much better than the chip-seal we are seeing more of in the Pacific NW.

Then in the distance we saw the mountains that marked our destination.

But first lunch - we got to pick our fish. You can't get trout much fresher than this. 

On the way we got to do what has to be the best 13 kilometer downhill I have ever ridden. Smooth asphalt (for a change) and wide open views. This section alone would make the trip worth it.

And finally the highlight of the day's ride.  A valley with mountains as impressive as the Rockies on the Jasper-Banff highway in British Columbia.

We ended the second day of this section of the trip at a warm natural spring enjoying a cold beer.

Tomorrow is to be a day of rest as we van shuttle to the capital of Tirana.

A google photos link to my pictures for this trip thus far. 

Lake Ohrid

Yesterday we biked to Lake Ohrid, staying just south of the town of Ohrid. And today we headed south on the eastern shore of the lake, crossed the Albanian border, and continued by van transport to Korce, Albania.

Crossing the border into Albania - 

The roads have been good and the driver's no worse than many other places I have biked.

A few non cycling highlights:

Lunch at the headwaters (a spring) of Lake Ohrid. A strolling band appeared and Bob (with our guide Susan) felt compelled to dance.

We have stopped at a number of religious sites - this was a monestery of the Orthodox Catholic persuasion at the south end of Lake Ohrid.

A museum dedicated to the bronze age inhabitants on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid. 

Bob is hoping for a cover shot for the Mountain Travel Sobek catalogue next year. Taken on the ride south along Lake Ohrid.

Paper making in the town of Ohrid. 

Ohrid pearls are made using a "secret" emulsion technique that starts with fish scales (from the lake of course). We visited the shop of the family who first perfected the technique 3 generations ago. You can only buy them in Ohrid.

A google photos link to my pictures for this trip thus far. 

Yesterday was the ideal biking day.

Yesterday was the ideal day of biking in my book. A combination of relatively easy miles (35 or 40), warm weather, blue skies, and rolling roads.

We did some of the miles on the road, and then off on a trail through the farmlands for a bit. Ended up with a beer on a lake that reminded me of Lake Tahoe.

Finished with dinner at a lakeside restaurant.

A few pictures.

Mavrova National Park

Today we ride!  After breakfast we said goodbye to the statues of Skopje and headed, by van transfer, to Mavrovo National Park.

We drove around Mavrovo Lake to a high pass, checked out the bikes, and headed out for the first of the day's adventures - a visit to a goat farm with a "hands on" lesson on milking goats. 

I have to say that this was a first for me. We finished with a sampling of goat chess made on the farm, and a shot of rakia, a high test liquor similar to  grappa, slivovitz, and raki, made from grapes - just a taste as we still had 50K of biking ahead.

After lunch we biked back up to the pass (and our van) and put on rain gear as we could see it was raining near Lake Mavrovo. We did get about 30 minutes of rain, enough to make the shoes squishy from water running down our legs, but then it cleared and we continued down a narrow canyon toward our destination.

About 6k from our hotel we stopped for a tour of an Orthodox Catholic Monastery. Bare legs required that we all wear a covering. I think this will be in Elle next month - the biking man-skirt.

The it was on to the hotel in a small hillside town. An hour for a shower and it was time for dinner.

A 35 mile (60k) ride. A little rain. Great scenery. And of course, the goat milking!

The google photos link to all my pictures for this trip thus far. 

Sunday Morning - Skopje

The tour officially starts this afternoon with a tour of Skopje. But I was up and decided to stretched my legs with a statue walk. Sunday mornings are great times for city walks.  Only a few others up, and its still nice and cool. (Yesterday got too hot to do much walking in the afternoon.)

First I did a little web surfing to find out more behind the nickname of City of Statues

The "Skopje 2014" initiative was announced in 2010 to give the city a more historic appearance to inspire local pride, boost tourism, and help forge a strong Macedonian identity. It was to be a facelift based on great civilizations from the past.

But as with most grand ideas, there was a negative side as well.

The program aggravated Macedonia’s already strained relationship with Greece (Greece objects to the former Yugoslav republic's use of the name Macedonia which Athens thinks implies a claim over its own northern region of the same name). 

The two countries both lay claim to being the birthplace of Alexander the Great and Greece felt Macedonia was now taking credit that is not due. (By the way, the Albanians say the same thing about Mother Teresa.) Alexander's mother was from a city in the northern Greek Territory of Macedonia, thus they feel he is basically a Greek. (The Albanians say the same thing about Mother Teresa whose parents were from Albania although she was definitely born in Skopje not far from my hotel).

In addition many Macedonian are critical that the Euros spent on these "frivolous decorations" should have been used to rebuild the infra-structure and in doing so lower the level of unemployment (which hovers around 30% today.)  Peaceful protesters show their disagreement by defacing the statues with pastel paint in what has been deemed the ‘Colorful Revolution'. The city officials, of course, quickly clear the paint away.

Where do things stand in 2018?

First, the true number of statues in Skopje is unknown. The original plan called for 20 buildings and 40 statues. By 2015, the budget had ballooned from 80 million Euro to over 650 million Euro with over 130 objects by public record and no end to the project in sight. And if you count the many statues less than 6 feet tall (such as those on the Art Bridge and Bridge of the Civilizations) there are literally hundreds.

The current prime minister is working to address the Greek's concerns. He has not only removed the statue of Alexander the Great from the airport and renamed it, but is considering removing several others including the massive one of Alexander the Great in Macedonia Square. 

And Macedonia now says it is ready to add a geographical qualifier to its name to help resolve the dispute. An agreement could include Macedonia adding "Upper," "New," or "North" to its name.

If you are interested in a bit more information on the statue controversy, here are a couple of more complete articles.   link 1   link 2

Now a few snapshots of selected statues. 

The Beggar.

The Divers (if the water was lower you could see she is standing on a platform - and also more clearly the feet of the swimmer in the water).

Of course one includes the ever present cell phone.

And if there is one theme besides "bigness" it would be the idea that you can never have enough weapons. Swords, guns, lances. Anything. 

The NRA would love this one - both a pistol and a rifle....

...or a few lances....

...and at least a sword by your side as you make your point (no pun intended).

A google photos link to all my pictures for this trip thus far - and a whole lot more statues. Check out the many animals, religious figures, a pregnant woman, and of course note the many, many, weapons.