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Still Waters
"Yet there was a cool breeze from off the lake, which sparkled and rippled as a few small boats disturbed its stillness."
Public Privacy
"I could see no one, and no obvious 'front desk’. It appeared, to all intents and purposes, to be a private home with an extension for visitors."


Good Place for a Writing Session
"Suddenly an old lady jumped out from behind a door and greeted me hurriedly, as if she knew she’d missed me. We had the usual hostel exchange: passport? Payment? Booking? Honestly, I was more concerned with finally being able to dry out my clothes."
Sunset over Albania
"I salvaged the driest ones from my bag and hung up the rest around the comfortable wooden cabin, before joining an American biker for a drink and to watch the sunset over Albania on the other side of the lake."


Lonely Boat
" Sam was midway through a trip through the Balkans on his motorcycle and would be moving on to Bulgaria the next day."
Death of the Day
" He told me that despite the Covid restrictions, it hadn’t been hard to negotiate the different borders."


Birth of the Night
"He could not recommend the route he’d taken enough; nothing had been as enjoyable as riding across Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and now North Macedonia. So ended a very long, very damp day. "
Church of St. Sophia
"As I started to climb the hill, the bars gave way to quiet hotels and church courtyards, one of which, the Church of Saint Sophia, was in the middle of preparing for a wedding. I decided to come back later."


Around the Bay
"I had no clue that there was such a vibrant pearl industry here though, who would’ve guessed? Seems there’s a lot of pearls in the lake here, and the locals certainly want to let you know about their quality. I think I saw more pearl dealers than I’d even seen pearls in my life up until that point."
Well-Preserved
"Unlike Skopje, there had been no devastating earthquake to brutally rip out 80% of the city’s soul. The historic charm had been preserved."


Full Experience
"The whole complex was complimented by Orthodox chanting projected from handy speakers, completing the ambience. Said ambience was that of an abandoned churchyard with disembodied voices singing on a bright sunny day."
Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon
" Truthfully it was mostly ruins, but there was a newer church occupying the space that had a wonderful sea view."


Lost in the Woods
"For a moment I was in a pine forest before arriving at the entrance, which was unexpected and made me think I’d made a wrong turn."
Samoil's Fortress
"The views were better than at the monastery below, but the ruins of the walls were so uneven that it was barely safe enough for two people to pass by."


View to Albania
"Also, the size of the viewing platform meant you had to dither until somebody else left."
View to Lagadin
"However, this did give you plenty of time to take in the whole thing, including the warm breeze and clean air."


Over Ohrid
"The feeling when you breathe in clean air is underrated. It was certainly worth the walk."
Other Side of Ohrid
"On the trip back down, I passed by a different church – Holy Mary Perybleptos – and went into the little courtyard preceding the entrance."


Back to the Streets
"Quickly I was up amongst the private houses and decided to follow a dirt track through a copse to see where it would go."
Holy Mary Perybleptos
" Afterwards, I looked inside the church and discovered a rainbow of frescos that filled up every possible scrap of wall space."


Old Macedonian Theatre
"Next up was the ancient Macedonian Odeon (Macedodeon?), and whilst it was cool to see how intact it was, relatively speaking, there wasn't much to say for it."
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Behind St. Sophia
"I once again passed the wedding at the first church, although this time they were taking photos."
Behind St. Sophia
"I noticed two drones hovering overhead for different angles. I didn’t realise people had started using them for weddings, but I suppose it makes sense. It makes me wonder what weddings will look like in ten years."


Behind St. Sophia
"All robots maybe? Robot priests? That would be neat. I thought it best not to invade their privacy. "
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