Republic of Macedonia

20 - Backpacking Republic of Macedonia

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• published: 15 Jan 2017
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Incredible hitchhiking journey; enjoying Skopje, cooling off in Matka canyon, interacting with locals in Mavrovo, and beautiful Lake Ohrid. Subscribe and join me on this incredible voyage around the world! Blog | http://www.aperezvoyages.com Instagram | Aperezvoyages Facebook Page | https://www.facebook.com/aperezvoyages Snapchat : APerezVoyages Continuing on with my Balkan voyage brings me to my last and final former republic of the former Yugoslavia. From Prishtina, Kosovo, I arrived in the capital city of Skopje. Skopje is an interesting city due to the two sides that are complete opposites. In the east of the river, you have the old town Bazaar which resembles a little Istanbul, with many small cafes and mosques. Crossing the old stone bridge to the other side of the river, is the new side. Skopje 2014 was a massive makeover for this city, and now many monuments, statues, and new/renovated buildings stand in the old square and around the city. While the makeover is not accepted by many Macedonians, it certainly has brought a new personality to the center, and it's quite interesting. Skopje, next to Athens and Podgorica was one of the hottest cities I've been to on my European voyage. Fortunatly, the nearby Matka Canyon was the means to cool off in the shade as well as in the COLD COLD COLD river. In this canyon, you can rent kayaks as well as take boat tours down the canyon. For me, I was good enough with a nice walk along the path down the canyon. In the end, it was definitely the place to cool off. On my travel day, I was initially going to catch a bus to avoid the heat. And I was persuaded not to. But last minute, I hit the edge of the city, and found a ride to Tetovo and another to my desired stop, Mavrovo National Park. This is a massive park in the west of the country bordering Albania with many beautiful lakes, mountains, valleys, and villages. I was lucky enough to catch a ride with a Dutch couple going to Ohrid and also lucky enough to join them on a journey finding a waterfall. In the process, we picked up a villager who was kind enough to all the way to the waterfall, Duf Falls. After we were greeted and wished a great journey away, we stopped for a beer and enjoyed more view of the mountains before parting ways in Ohrid and being welcomed into my Airbnb. In Ohrid, I was extremely lucky to have one of the most budget friendly but valued Airbnb's to date. I had a full kitchen and dining room on one floor with a bed room and terrace on the second floor with a pretty nice view of the lake for only 20 Euros. What a steal. As for my time in this region, due to the heat and the long day before, I simply enjoyed roaming around town and skipped the boat excursion across the lake. I enjoyed my last meal of Cevapi, walked the waterfront, walked through the town, up Samuel's Fortress for panoramic views of Mavrovo, the town, the Lake, the Albanian border and beyond. And to end the day just right, I enjoyed the picturesque view of St Johns church over the lake and enjoyed a nice sunset swim in the lake to cool off after a week of extreme hot weather. To wrap up my time in the former Yugoslavia, I finally caught a short ride in a Yugo and hitchhiked my way to the Albanian border to Tirana. I not only had the pleasure of spending a memorable time in Macedonia but a pleasure of befriending many incredible people. :) Cheers/ Na zdravje Cameras: Iphone 5s & GoPro Music Jovano Jovanke KOK_2313_15 Ocean_At_Night More Sokol Pie KOK_2352A_24 Macedonian_Dance Calgiska KOK_2352B_12 Tirana_s_Street_Market