A glimpse of another country
Date: 30 June – 3 July 2025
We can’t claim to have seen North Macedonia, or at least I hope we haven’t. Our route skirted around Lake Ohrid on the NM side, and while we began in an untouched backwater, Radozhda, the rest of the lakeside is heavily touched.
Our next stop was the city of Ohrid, and the only reason I’m not making the obvious jokes is thanks to the dinner we had on the outermost jetty of a restaurant offering a carbon-copy version of the traditional local menu. The food was fine, the sun setting over the lake was sublime, and although my reaction to the seething hordes of fellow tourists was utterly predictable, the evening won me over, so no ‘orrid jokes from me.
The following day was a short one, what we call a day off. We had wanted to visit Sveti Naum, the monastery established in 905 AD and one of NM’s main attractions. We had heard they served meals and I had imagined a monk serving tankards of dark ale, but settled instead for a plastic cup of draught beer and a pizza by the lake as the whole site is now just a large and tidy TMZ. We swam near the spring that feeds the slightly slimy lake and left feeling no holier for the experience.
Next day, an awesome ride 800 m up and down over the Galicica National Park took us to the border and to one of the best experiences of the whole tour.
Dolna Gorica is a small village with gravel roads and free-range livestock. Chickens, sheep and cows wander freely, and donkeys rummage in rubbish bins. Curiously, most houses date from the 1960s, with only the occasional crumbling mudbrick shed to remind us of older times.
Zana, our host, invited us to the family home at the far end of the village for a home-cooked meal – for a modest price, and made entirely from her garden. Even the cheese and wine were hers. The fish, roasted on a bed of diced potatoes, carrots and garlic, came from the lake – close enough. While we ate, she wandered off to find her cow (named Baba), milked it, and started on that evening’s cheesemaking.
Breakfast (included) was a repeat performance, and we were heavily loaded as we pedalled over the 300 m hillock to Korçë — and the end of our TransDinarica journey.
From here we’ll freelance our way across southern Albania, catch a ferry to Corfu, then another to Italy for more fun with the Apennines and Roman roads.
Max elevation: 748 m
Min elevation: 681 m
Total climbing: 283 m
Total descent: -225 m
Total time: 05:13:14
Max elevation: 896 m
Min elevation: 696 m
Total climbing: 774 m
Total descent: -743 m
Total time: 07:19:25
Max elevation: 1584 m
Min elevation: 732 m
Total climbing: 1033 m
Total descent: -883 m
Total time: 05:39:07
Max elevation: 1124 m
Min elevation: 842 m
Total climbing: 707 m
Total descent: -621 m
Total time: 05:27:38
More than wonderful! Jill is looking like a cycling racing machine!