Two days in Athens

If anything was going to cure me of the awful post election depression i was suffering, it was going to be an orgy of ancient art and architecture in Athens.
I had to get up at 5am to catch the train  from kalambaka to Athens and for the first time in four weeks, found myself talking to Australians.  I had a feeling they were "liberal" voters so avoided mentioning the election. The trains in Greece are pretty good these days. Certainly they go faster than Australian ones.  In fact, the whole transport infrastructure of Greece has improved incredibly in the last thirty years, while that of Brisbane has barely changed, except for all the infernal toll tunnels. There's  an excellent metro system, tram lines, trolley buses, buses and suburban rail. Still, they do have all that graffiti.  Apparently, the thessaloniki metro csrriages have slready been defsced, before even going into service!
Anyway, got to Athens and decided to walk to my guesthouse via two museums. The national archaeology museum was my first stop. It has a lovely tree filled courtyard, where s coffee and baklava fortified me for orgy to come. Now i could think about people 1000s of years ago instead of now. There were all the must sees, like 'agamemnon's' death mask in gold, the giant statues of zeus and the boy jockey, but it was the little things that caught my attention the most. Dozens of persian arrow head found at thermopylae after killing the 300 spartans, the scenes of domesticity and mourning. I am always struck by the sympathetic and numerous depictions of women in a highly masculine world. The women rarely , if ever look subservient yo their husbands in the many depictions of married couples.
The artistic ability of the greeks, to produce so many tiny masterpieces amazes me. Miniatures of animals in gold and silver soldered to swords, incredible little cut stone representations, like the baby deer (?) suckling.
It is possible to smell the perfume women wore 3000 years and more ago, recreated from a recipe in mycenean linear A script;  to look at what is possibly the world's  oldest mechanical computer, the antykthera mechanism;  i really did feel as if i was walking among the ancients.  The people who created most of these items lived in a world, in southern and western Europe , north africa and the coast of asia minor, that essentially stayed the same in many of its basic beliefs and practices, for 900 years. And it was a world full of movement, incredible religious tolerance and intellectual curiosity. And where skin colour meant nothing at all. Of course, it was also full of incredible acts of brutality, endless wars huge divides in wealth, slavery and short lives, but people today could certainly learn something frome these dead greeks.
I moved on to the museum of cycladic art, passing a lot of greeks dressed in traditional costume. I was tempted to follow them to whatever performance they were about to give, but the statuary of the neolithic cycladic  islands won out. I'd  been here before too, in 1987. I had a very fifferent recollection of it. I think they have retired a lot of the artrfacts, but displayed those left much better, with eccellent signage. I kept wanting to run my hands  over these strangely stylised human forms from 4000 years ago.  They have a real otherwordly quality.
Passed an excavated Roman bath house, uncovered when they put the metro in, a statue of Alexander the great, bust of Euripides,  the temple of Olympian Zeus . There are not many european cities where the past lies in so many layers around you as in Athens. It remained central to western culture for 900 years. Its hard to crefit that  it had become nothing more than a village by the time Greece gained independence from the ottomans less than 200 hundred years ago. 
As i walked,  i realised that for the first time in four years, i felt a little sad that i was no longer a teacher. Teaching about the classical world had meant it was fresh in my head, and i had the awareness that i had been missing this immersion in a world so far removed from my own.  In particular, i had enjoyed teaching students through the works of the first two true historians, herodotus and Thucydides, both of whom can help us think about our own world, through their examination of their own. Herodotus, for his exuberance and delight in the diversity of humanity and his generosity of spirit. Thucydides, for his dark, cynical examination of the way that people can so easily be turned into a mob, continually making disastrous decisions at the urging of demagogues.
Day 2:
Up at seven and acropolis by 8 to avoid the hordes. I could actually pretend the Parthenon  and associated temples were on a lonely hill in the wilds, so long as i was willing to sit in the dirt and look through the many bits and bobs of stonework piled up here and there.  In fact, it wasn't  long before i was joined by 100s of other sightseeers, but i mostly didn't  have them cluttering up my sight. But there was no imagining away the giant crane inside the parthenon, or the scaffolding all across one end. It has been under a state of almost continuous repair and reconstruction since greek independence. The turks did not treat it well. Already  converted to a church by the byzantines, it became a mosque,  which then also doubled as a gunpowder warehouse. With inevitable results. And of course, a local official let a british lord rip off almost all of the decorative sculptures and take them to london.
Wandered down the slopes of the acropolis past the theatre. THE theatre. This is the theatre where drama as we know it, developed. Without it, there would be no shakespeare, no films...The front row seats were interesting for the names of who sat there, inscribed on them. Nearby was a statue of the 4th century comic playwright, menander. Of particular interest to me as i once acted in a play of his. The start of my short lived career on the stage. I think my first role as a parasite, fawning over arisocrats typecast me. Been rebelling against the role ever since.
Determined to get my money's  worth from the 30 euro combined ticket, i then proceeded to visit the roman agora, complete with very intact tower that used to be a water clock; the classical era agora and its museum, the keramicos site and Hadrian's library. The agora museum had some nice little indicators of athenian democracy at work. A lottery machine to allocate places on juries. Prized by the poor, since you got paid. And ostraka, bits of broken pottery, used to write the names of politicians who had got too big for their own boots and could be voted out of town, for ten years. The two they displayed were for miltiades, the general who defeated the persians at the battle of mararhon, and themistocles, who led the greeks to victory at the naval battle of salamis. Being good at your job was no bar from getting exiled.
There was also a big giant money box. When you got married, you paid sphrodite one drachma to make sure the marriage was successful. It is an interesting aspect to greek religion that they had such a transactional view of their relationship with gods. There were lots of little plaques with contracts for all sorts of things, written on them. And all with the writer shaking hands with an sppropriate god, to seal the deal.
At the keramikos site there are a lot of funerary monuments, still in situ, along what used to be one of the main roads out of Athens. Apparently this is where pericles delivered his funeral oration for the first war dead of the peloponnesian war.
By now it was getting on for five, so I'd  been sightseeing for ten hours. Time to head home, exhausted. I guess i walked 15 kms or more.

After many years away from Greece, i was very happy to have returned. Hopefully it won't be thirty years till i visit athens again. If it is, I'll  probably be doing it ftom inside a coffin!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YZuj8vnNF1y6oK8Q9

Two days at Meteora

The geology of  meteora on its own makes the place worth visiting: giant pillars of conglomerate formed from stream flow into a lake, apparently.When you consider the size of the things that is a lot of pebble deposition. And a lot of erosion since. Add to that all the orthodox monasteries sitting atop some of the pillars and it makes for an incredible landscape that could come straight out of a fantasy  novel.
Unfortunately, my visit coincided with the Australian federal election and its results cast a pall over my stay. At the moment, greece is one of the few countries in the world with a  left wing government. NZ, Spain, Portugal, but beyond that there is a sea of fascist and populist governments, anti science, anti immigrant, and Australia is well and truly one of these places. Depresing for anyone who is concerned about the state of the planet and the sort of society our childen will have to inhabit.
Better to spend my time experiencing places like meteora. Yesterday  i walked up to agios trikala monastery, which still has the winch, rope, hook and rope basket for bringing up supplies. It also has some well preserved frescoes but no sign of any monks. The walk up was a little circuitous, since i bumped into a herd of sheep and their sheep dogs, who really weren't  going to let me pass. Had to backtrack a bit and take a different path. Lots of wonderful views of the pillars. Back in kalambaka i visited a church built in the 9th century that was bursting with very old, and very darkly themed, frescoes. People bring burnt at the stake,  dismemberment, the dead rising from graves. Suited my dark premonitions for the election the next day.
When i got back to my accommodation, an apartment with four rooms let out separately, i heard the buzzer ring, thought i may as well ignore it, but off it went again so down i went to find two young russian girs standing there.  They had encountered the same problem as i did on arrival. No one answering.  But i had the luxury of an EU sim card so could ring the owners. The girls  could not. Anyway, rang for them and let them in, showed them round and we took a guess on which room would be theirs. Was a little funny acting as the host while being another guest. Anyway, they were very nice, tour guides in saint petersburg. I said i was a little scared of vladimir putin and one of them said i shouldn't  judge all Russians  based on him.
Since there was a kitchen i had the luxury of making myself a cup of tea, and the budget saving ability to cook at home. It made a nice change. I think i must be at my travel limit now, wanting a bit of domesticity again. I had an excellent bottle of greek red from lidl. Their wine making seems to have improved a lot since i was last here in 1987.  I spent the evening reading an excellent, appropriate novel. "A thousand ships" by Natalie  Haynes.  A retelling of the trojan war legends from the perspective of the female characters, who are voiceless for the most part, in the ancient  originals. Very moving. I highly recommend it.
Today i did a beautiful hike through the pillars of conglomerate, climbing one that had the tiniest little chapel at the top. I decided i was happier wandering in solitude, admiring the views of the monasteries from afar, with a feeling of dread hanging over me as i wandered the ancient paths. After four hours of wanderings, i bit the bullet and looked at the election results. Which left me shattered. 3 more years of the worst government  in Australia's  history. It made me feel like finding the most isolated monastery and signing up. In any case,  the walk reinforced my belief in the solace of nature. To walk past centuries old, gnarled and twisted oaks reminds you that it is possible to endure. And lovely, ephemeral flowers. When i looked at one of the close ups I'd  taken, i could see tiny little red beetles inside it.
Next stop Athens, before spending 7 days in the Pyrenees, and then home.

Pictures:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/X3odWJynuMLM8H3BA

Two days on mount olympos

The highest peak you can hike up on mount olympos is mitikas at just over 2900 metres. Unfortunately, i only got to 2100 metres. Once again, i forgot that mountains have snow on them. My excuse. There are no mountains with snow on them in Queensland. Anyway, i hiked from the road end at prionia, up to the refuge. Six kilometres, virtually all steeply uphill with lots of rock and log steps to go up, and the odd bit of gradual incline on soft ground to get a rest for sore feet. I walked under broken sunshine, with a nice warmth to the air till the last km or so when it turned chilly. The last km also a fair bit of snow across the track, but a path had been cleared and at one point, i passed the donkeys that bring up food and drink going the other way. The snow was nice and soft, so there was little danger of slipping and sliding to my death.
The refuge was excellent, run by a German woman, Maria, who had grown up on the mountain. There were photos of her and her family across the years, adorning the common room.  An interesting international mix of people stayed the night.  Costa rican couple who had paid a guide to come up with them, a very hard core looking german couple in their seventies who looked like no mountain would mess with them, a couple from somewhere slavic, missed where, who looked relative novices. The guy was wearing jeans to hike. A scottish woman, maureen, who had cycled round the world at fifty, and had continued being adventurous ever since, and a czech geography teacher. Lovely guy who knew more about Australian geography than most Australians. And finally, a group of four twenty-something germans who got in very late and got up very early, five o'clock, waking me up, only to sit around for two hours before setting off.
Most of us decided to head back down in the morning. Unfortunately there was thick cloud, rain imminent and the prospect of the snow on the track further up, being very icy. Seemed not worth the risk. Later my choice was shown to be wise when i bumped into the costa ricans. Even with a guide, they turned back, covered in snow. The guide tolf them it ws too dangerous  to continue.
The walk down was uneventful until prionia. There was a little shower but i made good time. I kept hoping for the sun the forecast had promised and headed into epineas gorge. 12 kms, mostly along the sides of the gorge with occasional drops down to cross the river and go up the other walls. It was so up and down, that despite going from 2100 metres to almost sea level, i actually made an overall altitude gain of 400 metres!
No sooner did i set out than it started to pour. Before long i was soaked through and not really enjoying it. But i did see lots of salamanders, which I'd  never seen before. Just sitting in the track. They were so glossily, brilliantly yellow and black. I was surprised at how slowly they moved off when i approached. And by their numbers.
Thought i would seek shelter from rain for a while at the ruins of a monastery but it was all fenced off,  it appeared, so kept on, dripping wet, until i reached the delightful cave church. Under a big overhang is this cute little church that looks like it's  been transported from mykonos. Whitewash and brilliant blue trim. It sits over a spring. A holy spring, in fact. I took the opportunity to change into dry clothes and waited out the rain for an hour. Only the rain didn't  stop. Set out again and was soon soaking wet again. I finally reached the mouth of the gorge, just as the sun came out. My knees and ankles were in agony. I think the rain exacerbated the arthritis i can be prone to.  I am not sure i have ever walked so far with my legs tensed to avoid slipping on wet rocks and tree roots. My walking poles saved me a couple of times.  I was disappointed not have reached one of the peaks, but pleased i had visited at least the outer halls of zeus's palace. Perhaps i will reach his throne another time.
By the time i found a place to stay, i was out on my feet. I was incredibly worn out. Certainly  a lot more than after the 33 kms i did over the mountains from ohrid to resen. Lay on the bed and fell asleep.

Photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/MB1S2WWSLmrRcJi97

Prionia to refuge A walk details:
https://www.mapmyhike.com/workout/3546792700

Refuge A to litochoro walk details:
https://www.mapmyhike.com/workout/3547013767

Two days in thessaloniki

I might have skipped a lot of stages of the walk, but i did walk for two kilometres down odos egnatia, still the main street of central thessaloniki. Layers of its history passed me by. Here a mosque and ottoman hamam, both bring renovated, all over the place, Byzantine churches, there, the Roman forum/agora and still, around a lot of it, the enormous 4th century walls.
I had only a vague notion of how much there was to see here, before i arrived. Thessaloniki has the most Byzantine churches of any greek city, due to its place as the second city of the eastern roman empire. I lost count of how many i visited, ranging in age from 1500 to 500 years old. Many had subsequent lives as mosques, so most of the frescoes remained covered up for 500 years, lying beneath layers of white plaster. In one church in particular, you could see how the frescoes had been gouged, to allow the plaster to grip better. After 1912, all of them became Churches again, and the artwork resurfaced after centuries in hiding. In some instances you could see how just the eyes had been damaged. Apparently a form of magic potion was created using the paint.
In all of them, the strong religious beliefs of the Greeks was on display. Kissing of saint's paintings, much genuflecting, incense filling the air, flickering candles in their 100s , and lots of little boxes with little piles of paper to write prayers for people. In one place, there were two boxes, one for the living and one for the dead. Religious belief still seems to be a powerful part of greek life. The hagia sophia was full of school kids visiting and they were as keen to kiss the saint's  pictures as everyone else.
The most enormous church from Byzantine times is now just a monument, the rotunda. It was originally built as a temple by the emperor Galerius, then became a church, and then a mosque. It still has its minaret attached. It really is an enormous, impressive building. Galerius really wanted to put his stamp on the city, also erecting a triumphal arch across the eastern end of the via egnatia and building an enormous palace for himself.
The archaological museum was full of some interesting finds. As always, i was moved by the many funerary monuments, one for a gladiator, dead in his first fight, another for a young actor, one for a son outlived by his father. There were offerings to gods. One, an ear, apparently encouraging whichever god it was, to listen to their prayers. And a crudely scratched bit of graffiti, of a persian soldier, created by one, part of the invading army in the early fifth century bce. And there wad a milestone from the via egnatia, still clearly showing its name and location.
Unfortunately, the city is plagued by graffiti, of the crudest type. Tags everywhere, on everything. People's  front doors, walls, even the archeaological sites. Many of the information boards for sites have been defaced.  And for the first time i came across young men in the streets that made me feel vaguely uneasy. And the greeks continue to have only the vaguest notion of obeying traffic rules, with most bus stops filled with parked cars, no stopping for pedestrian crossings and a love of the horn. Still, it's  a step up from Cairo.
Despite its many attractions, i am happy to be heading back into the countryside. Not least because i decided to save a bit of money and stay at a backpackers' hostel. Not something i have ever been a big fan of, but thought I'd  give it a go. When there are 8 men in a room, there's  a good chance there'll  be at least one snorer, and i wasn't disappointed. I was disappointed by the general lack of sociability, with barely a word uttered between us. I did have a brief conversation with a nice guy from madrid, but mostly, the others never opened their mouths even when i said hello to them.  There were two middle aged greek guys staying, who didn't  move from their beds the whole time i was there.  Played on their phones or slept. Weird.  But once again, I chose a taverna with a talkative host and had a good time with him. Even told me a joke about Australians.
Now, to see how far i can hike up mount Olympus. ..
Photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/AMJXd8o9LCY5kr6N6

The royal tombs of Vergina and a walk in the forest.

The royal tombs of king philip, Alexander the great's dad, and assorted other nobility are the raison d'etre of vergina. The main streets are lined with cafes, tavernas and souvenir shops, and the odd hotel. Almost no one, other thsn me, seems to stay here, or visit all the shops, but i guess it might be different in summer . Not that it's not busy here now. No sooner does one fleet of coaches depart than another lot arrive. Disappointingly, Sunday morning  is not the quiet time i thought it might be for visiting. The place was heaving, but fortunately, apart from me, everyone was in a group, getting ushered swiftly from exhibit to exhibit. For much of the time i had things to myself. Happily, the attendants were too busy keeping their eyes on all these groups that i was able to sneak a few photos, to give an impression of the place.
The tombs were only found in the late 70s, under a tumulus in the village. There are four that have been incorporated into what is quite a unique museum. The tumulus, with exposed tombs has been closed in by a building which displays the artefacts found in the tombs. And there are some quite magnificent things to see. It is a macedonian equivalent to tutankhamen's tomb. Lots and lots of gold. The tombs themselves have surviving frescoes on the walls, but you're  not allowed in to see them. Some of the workmanship is amazing. Such tiny pieces to have such fine detail. I also found the tombstones quite touching.
Overloaded on the gold of the sncients, i decided to head for the hills again, this time via the neighbouring village, where there was a little byzantine chapel that was incorporated into the wprld heritage listing. Shut for renovations, but there was a hole in the door to peek through. The pictures aren't  great but they give an idea of its loveliness.
From here, i followed a dirt road upwards, alongside a small creek. Lots of green and serenity. Eventually the road turned to a footpath at the end of which was a delightful waterfall and two young greek guys who'd  been having a picnic up there. Got offered some of their lunch and dome ouzo before we all walked back down together. George and anthony were also keen to know what i thought of the new name for northern Macedonia .  They were vehemently opposed to it. As with the lady in the church yesterday, they called it skopje. They really are quite outraged at what they see as an appropriation of their heritage. Anthony asked if i was a vegan, which i thought odd, but it's  because they work in an abattoir. They had firm views on the importsnce of meat in the diet. They have a heavy metal band, and told me to watch out for them on youtube, but that will be hard given they haven't  got a band name yet. We parted ways the best of friends. On the way down george pointed out all the animal tracks. One was a wolf print. And they confirmed that it was a lynx I'd  seen on Friday.  Place is teeming with animals.  A final dinner with victoria and her son. And another long conversation with him, also about northern Macedonia . No one so far, has a good word for its new name.

Photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8bE26ZUa1N9rQUw78

Into Greece. Wandering round Veria

Got driven into Greece in a swanky big merc.  To my surprise we had another passenger. Phillipa, a woman from Perth. She is somewhere through a year travelling adventurously. Dubai to Iran by boat, through Iran etc etc. We both then got another surprise. There is a time difference between northern macedonia and greece. What had been a train to catch in an hour was now one we were in danger of missing. And there were only three a day from Florina. In the end we caught it easily and it wasn't  long before i was getting off in veria. Now i was back in the EU i had my phone available again and had booked a place in Vergina for the next three nights. I chose it for its cheapness, 20 a night, but now love it for its location. Veria is a big town, vergina is a lovely village, backed by forested hills ripe for a hike.
After depositing my bag i set off for a wander. My hostess, Rula, had suggested it might be possible to sneak into the ruins of Aigea, the city of Philip ii, Alexander the great's dad. They had just shut till monday morning.  Unfortunately, i couldn't  help myself as i passed a fenced tomb that clearly was no longer open to the public. When i saw that other people had been lifting the wire fence and crawling in for a look i was helpless to stop my urge to look at this illicit ruin. Crawled in and went to have a look. Down some ancient steps i went, a Macedonian tomb in front of me. And the siren started sounding. I had tripped a motion sensor alarm! With thoughts of a night in jail and/or deportation running through my mind, i made my way as casually as i could, out the way i had come and across the flower covered field. I soon came across a way marked path so thought i would literally head for the hills until the cops gave up hunting for me. I have no idea if anyone did go investigate the alarm, but spent a good hour or two walking up the track. I saw a mother wild boar and three babies and later, what looked like a wild catish thing. Big. A lynx maybe. Its head looked too wide to be a fox. And finally, a dung beetle rolling a huge dung ball. And of course, all the flowers. As i walked i realised i was going to have to go back to the scene of my crime. I had lost my room key. Now i had an image of a policeman finding it and waiting patiently in my hotel. As it happened the key was still lying in the grass at the foot of the fence . Phew, got away with it.
That evening Rula directed me to the taverna of her friend, where Victoria and her son and i had a long conversation about the state of the country, started by me noting the vat/gst was 24%. The son in particular  was very down about the supposed economic recovery.  We then got diverted into a discussion of the root of the word economy, since it is greek, from oikos, meaning house. Which reminds i also had an interesting conversation with a youngish guy the day before over a coffee. He was also very down on Greece, or perhaps Greeks. Reckoned i was more Greek than they were, since i knew at least something of their ancient past, which he seemed to think most of them were ignorant of. The subject of Northern Macedonia came up. I discovered today from an eager to inform lady in a church, that i should say Skopje not Northern Macedonia. She had a very pained look on her face when she heard me say the dreaded name. So much for that issue being  settled. For me though all these conversations highlighted how many Greeks are completely fluent in English and are very keen to stop you for a chat, which also happened in the bus station, where the ticket seller gave me various tips of places to go, as did the lady in the archaeological museum. And they are so welcoming. Despite all the attractions of the place i was the sole tourist everywhere i went. In the byzantine museum i asked if it was always this quiet. Yes.
So, today it was wander round Veria day. It's  known as little jerusalem, apparently, due to all the churches. Over fifty, i think, just tucked here and there among the modern buildings. All with byzantine frescoes over the walls. The old byzantine cathedral had been a mosque for 500 years, longer than it was a church, but had had the remains of the frescoes revealed from under the white plaster. Just outside was a huge ancient tree, still clinging to life. Lots of falling apart medieval houses and a very few that have been restored. There are three medieval districts, a greek one , jewish and vlach. Need to remind myself about vlachs.  Which I've  done now. It refers to Romanians. Saw a falling apart ottoman hammam, a couple of mosques and a synagogue.
Loved looking at the icons in the byzantine museum. So many virgin mary and jesus ones. And actually not all exactly the same, as i had said of the style of icons the other day. Some pretty freaky looking baby heads though. Later at the archeaological museum i saw lots of little statues of women with little baby winged eros. It struck me how similar the iconography is. I guess i am not the first person to think the representation of mary and baby is perhaps a continuation of this image from classical era religious belief.
My tour of the archaeological museum had to be brief, since i wanted to catch the 1.30 bus back yo vergina. There wasn't  another till 8.30! I did see some nice little artefacts, but the highlight was the irkn sword that had a little golden,  miniature statue of nike set into its hilt. I wonder if she helped the swordsman?

Photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EqyNJtsYNYFQMMzv6

A day in Bitola

Turns out Bitola has a lot of history. I started the day with a quick stroll around  and an obvios observation is that are equally prominent mosques and churches.  I have also noticed that Turkey is very active in providing funds for the restoration of ottoman era buildings.  In a way it seems odd that Macedonians would want to restore reminders of their 500 year long oppression by the ottomans. But it also suggests they are perhaps at ease with their past.
Heraclea lyncestis sits on the outskirts of Bitola, and only started to be excavated in the early sixties. A lot of it remains untouched. What has been uncovered is Roma era, but the place was founded, i think, by the macedonians. It has all the hallmarks of a roman town, baths, law courts, theatre ( unlike western empire amphitheatres. Gladiatorial entertainment never took off in the east), late empire christian basilica, and of course the well paved roads and plumbing, still visible in and on the ground. But the particular claim to fame of the place is its almost intact mosaics, still lying in situ, where they were uncovered. Lots of other little bits of flotsam and jetsam lying around to interest me.  i think the aesthetics of ruins are probably as interesting to me as what they can tell us. I love finding little bits of tombstone lying in the grass or propped against a wall.

Later on i visited the bitola museum and it was a revelation. There were the usual odds snd ends of archeaological finds going back to the paleaolithic, but it was the later things that interested me the most. The icon gallery was a little disappointing, in that almost all of them were from the 19th century. But it does let you see how, to this untrained eye, there had been virtually no stylistic or subject changes in well over a 1000 years. There is saint george, stabbing a dragon, looking exactly as he did when painted in 1000 ce. I guess it also the same with church design, which is also basically the same to my eye.

Now i got to the really interesting bits. The city was apparently a hotbed of resistance to ottoman rule at the end of the 19th century and it was right on the front in world war one. The eastern front, which western europeans rarely hear about. Almost the whole town was razed just like those in northern france and belgium. The fighting was between the bulgarians and french, italian, serbian and russian forces on the allied side.
Once again, in world war two, it was at the centre of partisan resistance to the axis powers, again in the form of Bulgarians,  who rounded up and deported 1000s of jews from the area, and sent to Treblinka. A list of the founding partisans of bitola showed their dates of birth and death. 80% of them were all dead by the end of 1942. The same year they started operations. Two of the founding group were women.
And it was on to a big exhibition about kemal ataturk. Turns out he went to military school in the very building.  So Bitola had a part to play in the founding of modern Turkey as well.
There was a touching letter from a girl who caught Ataturk's eye. Her father found out and forbade her from seeing him again. But the most striking item for an Australian brought up on the ANZAC myth, is the diorama of the fighting st gallipoli. In an act of what RSL clubs might see as heresy, there is not one mention of Australians or ANZACS!
And that is the end of the history lesson.
A last bit of trivia. I find trying to read the macedonian script incredibly hard. An odd mixture of greek and latin script, but with the letters not sounding like you'd  think. H is N, N is I, C is used where english uses S, J is Y and so on. Then there are the really weird ones...
Off to Greece tomorrow. Hopefully to climb mout olympos, but weather not looking good for it...

Photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pyk5nBWU2Sw6x3Pn7

Ohrid to Resen and then Bitola

Since i am writing this eating my breakfast, a word about balkan state bakeries, or pekara as they are known here. They are great. About a dozen choices of savoury pastry treats at this one, and not a meat pie amongst them. Bacon and cheese things, spinach and fetta, mushrooms and cheese, all in slighlty different sorts of pastry. And the most delicious looking sweet tarts, which i resisted, which cannot be said for the huge chocolate croissants. With a coffee, breakfast sorted for less than five dollars. The mushroom lne is delicious! I deserve a huge hit of fat and carbs after yesterday.
Up and out by 7 as i knew it was going to be a big day of walking. Given it was through a natonal park, i was determined to find my own route, using the map of the park i bought, and my topo maps on phone. The designated via egnatia route skirted the northern  edge of the park and involved what seemed like needless use of overrgrown paths and scrambling down slopes and hacking through scrub. As it turned out, my walk certainly inovlved none of that, and contained amazing views all day, but, due to my turning the wrong way at a crucial point, also ended up being 33 kms. When i had climbed to the near deserted village of Ramne, i realized the map i had bought bore as much resemblance to the actual network of paths as a london tube map does to the street  layout of london.  Anyway, i stopped to admire the views of ohrid. The day was perfect. Clear blue skies, a little chilly early on but warming  up nicely. The snow on the peaks was bright in the early sun. And the castle was lit up on the hill above Ohrid. The place has amazing views and yet houses with these million dollar views are rotting away.
A lot of my 1300 metre altitude gain was acheived over the next couple of hours. Very steep, but always with amazing views every time i stopped for a break.  I was really walking blind, since the map was useless. I had a destination marked on my phone topo map, but almost none of the paths that actually existed appeared on it. To make matters worse, while there were the occasional signs, they had been sun bleached into illegibility. And there was a red and white ballisage reuglarly, but i had no idea where it would take me, if i followed it. Which led to me taking a wrong turning about halfway into the walk. The red and white said go left and i went right, thinking it would lead me more directly to where i wanted to go. Instead, it wound about circuitously and eventully joined back up to the marked trail. After that i just stuck with the red and white. I ended going in a completely different way than the route described in the guidebook and eventually emerged into a little clearing in the forest with a tiny orthodox chapel and monastery building.
I had seen it reviewed on google maps and had hoped i would come across it. I will be the second google map reviewer of it. There was a spring, a shelter with table and benches, and a place to hang my hammock. A perfect place to stay the night. But it was only just gone midday, so i pushed on.
For the second time, I noticed paw prints in the path and thought maybe they were bear prints. They didn't look like dog to me. Saw lots of deer tracks as well and briefly, an actual deer.
For a while now, the views had been in front of me, of lake prilep and the huge looking mountain at its side, very snow capped. A lovely view to have before me as i continued down the mountains and hills. I eventually emerged on a flat expanse with apple orchards for as far as you  could see. Never seen so many apple trees. And apples, left rotting by the side of the road and filling the stream. Which was unfortunately also filled with every sort of garbage you could imagine. I cannot understand how people can tip garbage into water courses as i have seen in albania and here.
By now my feet were getting weary. A mini bus passed going the other way and i thought, if it comes back i am going to hail it. As it turned out i didn't  have to. With about 2 kms to go into resen, it stopped and offered me a ride. Given i had done 33 kms now, i jumped in. Got to town and the driver refused to let me pay him. I know it's  only 2 km, but it's  his livelihood. Very kind.
On the drive in, i decided that was my last day of walking the via egnatia. It had been such a great hike that i wanted it to be the last memory i had of it, rather than the kms of walking by the road that awaited tomorrow, or the 24 kms along a straight, flat dirt road to the border. So, asked a guy getting in his car where the bus station was. He explained the directions and then gestured for me to get in. So i got driven there, which my feet were grateful for. It was over a km away. More kindness. Ticket to bitola, less than two dollars for a 40 minute journey. Bitola bus station to town centre, 5 kms in taxi, less than a dollar. I had no idea before this trip, that there were countries in Europe that were still so cheap to travel in. I don't  think cambodia or guatemala were any cheaper.
Nice hotel room, 24 dollars, long hot shower and a bit of traditional macedonian cuisine for dinner.
Oh, and while waiting for the bus i went next door for a beer and was confronted by the no hand guns sign. Thought I'd  stepped into the wild west.

Thought I'd add up total walking time so far this trip: 43 hours plus two in Elbasan I didn't record=45 hours
Total distance: 190.84 kms plus 10 in elbasan= 210.84 kms.
At 4.68 km per hour. Not bad considering the 5770 metres of altitude gain.
More than doubled the most I've ever done in one go.

Photos here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cZmma9tFPoYEdkC1A

Walk details here:

https://www.mapmyhike.com/workout/3531963079

A day in Ohrid

Photos here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UXDxjsBtEdQm1KDq9

Ohrid is s wonderful ancient city and it's  easy to see why it a world heritage site. You can literally see the layers of the past laid bare as you wander from site to site.  Today, those sites are predominantly  byzantine era churches. In saint sophia you can see three layers of frescoes, starting in the tenth century, followed by 13th and 15th century layers. At saint pantalaimon, the frescoes covering the walls were only rediscovered in the 1960s. From the 16th century, the church was converted to a mosque and the frescoes were covered in white plaster. In front of thr church are the remains of an early christian basilics from the fourth century, with some mosaics still in situ.
Apart from churches there are also the well preserved roman theatre, in use today by a load of school children dancing; and the csstle. While most of what you see today was built by a tenth century bulgarisn king, samuel, it dates back to the 4th century bce. In roman times it would have been the military base for the via egnatia.
In the restored house of a pair of 19th century merchant brothers is a lovely mix of period settings, ethnographic material and ancient artefacts. Unfortunstrly, the stsr attraction of a golden death mask dating to 500 bce or so, and found nearby, is on loan to anothrr museum. But there was a lot else to interest me. A foot oil lamp, relief sculpture from the theatre, a lovely ancient greek inscription lamenting the death of a daughter. There was a milestone, perhaps from the via egnatia, and more besides. I loved it. The wood carvings were lovely too, in walnut and only from last century. It is a specialty of this area. The traditionsl dress was gorgeous too. As per everywhere else i went today, the place was invaded by a horde of teenagers on a school excursion. The town was heaving with them, but not many tourists. Had lunch at a restaurant built into a tower of the ancient town walls. Thought i better have something locsl, stuffed peppers. Delicious. Apart  from it being incredibly cold today, Ohrid was an absolute pleasure. So far, northern macedonia reminds me a lot of Croatia. Despite the cyrillic alphabet, a lot of the words are the same,  and despite the different brands of christianity, there is a similar vibe to the people.
Tomorrow i head into the hills for a 25 km or so climb over to Resen on the other side.  I am going completely off grid on this leg, following a park map instead of the route provided,  which tim tells me, is not accurate anyway.

Lin to Ohrid.

After having been soaked thtough on my Sunday outing, i was not looking forward to the same again. The forerecast was 35 mm of rain with heavy downpours. I got up to a freezing cold room and the sight of thick black clouds clinging to the hilltops around the lake. But no actual rain. I decided that if it wasn't  raining when i was ready to leave, i would walk, otherwise i would ask rosa to get a taxi for me.
I set out with my now favourite ne item of clothing, puffer jacket, plus raincoat over the top. It seemed frezzing as i stepped oyt, but as i walked along the shore, listening to the racous croaking of frogs, the sky started to clear. And by the time i was struggling up the steep, slick with mud track in the hills, i had become so hot that i stopped and derobed. The sky was mostly blue and it was sunny and warm. So much for the dire forecast.
It was another lovely walk through scrub and pasture, full of birdsong until i reached the border crossing. I think it's  the first time i have ever walked across a border where you get your passport checked.
It took five minutes and a mini interrogation on where i had been and where i was going and then i was walking off under the huge red and gold stsrburst flag of what is finally the republic of northern macedonia after labouring for years under the official acronym, fyrom. Finally their decades long dispute with greece was over, confirmed that day in the presidential election, where the candidate supprting the name change won. Just. 51% on 45% turnout isn't  really a ringing endorsment. And anyway, all the signs suggest it has happened and that's it. Many cars already have NMK on their number plates.
I was soon walking through a lovely piece of forest back to the lakeside again. It was delightful, sunny, warm, birdsong, flowers, ancient moss covered stone walls and views of the lake and snow capped mountains in the distance. Soon i was in the first northern macedonian village by the lake, where a sign pointed out the vestiges of the via egnatia. I assum it ran straight along the lakeside. I imagine that in future walkers might be able to take that route, if albania and northern macedonia get into the EU. Would save a lot of walking. I spotted the cave church in the cliffs above. Apparently it has some nice frescoes. I knew you needed to get a key but as it happened two old ladies were passing so i tried miming unlocking a door, pointing up at the church and they just pointed me up there, showing me the path. Maybe it is unlocked, i thought, but of course not. A steep climb for a detour to a locked door. But there was something to see, since there were frescoes on the outside of the church as well. Seems remarkable they're  still there, exposed to the elements  as they are.
Now the walking was just flat, along the shore on a little local road. Which eventually came to the gates of a monastery. I walked through it to continue on the path. No sign of any monks though. There was another cave church but another locked door. Finally, the forecast rain arrived but it turned out to be a passing shower. I had now turned off the road and was back on the remains of the via egnatia, right up against the water.  Around the shore, Struga was looming larger. There was a huge mosque approaching, bigger than any I'd  seen in Albania. Which seems odd given the minroty status of islsm here compared to Albania. In struga i also saw lots of women in hijabs, which I'd  not seen in Albania.
By now i was struggling. Not sure why, but my pack had been uncomfortable on my back today and my shoulders and back were complsining. So were my feet even though it was only a 22 km walk. Found a bank and got my new currency of macedonian dinars. About half as many to the euro. Another plastic note adopter, i noticed. Confusingly there are coin and note versions of some currency. It seems so alien to have to change money like this after being so used to the simplicity of the eurozone.
Cheap bakery lunch. 3 things for 1.50 aud. Cheap bus fare of 1.00 aud to go half an hour to ohrid. Yes, i cheated sgain and skipped a leg. It was almost entirely along a busy road. Found my accommodation and promptly confused exchange rates and paid twice as much as i should have. Luckily i realised my mistake, since i don't  think the guy was going to own up. He quoted the room in euros but i paid in dinars. Very cheap at 12 euros a night for an ensuite room.
I was ready for a nap and then out to meet tim for dinner. It has really added to the experience having a walking and dinner companion. If all of roman catholicism was like him the world would be a better place. Thoroughly decent, interesting guy. It is a shame that he will now be a day ahead of me. I am having a day of exploring Ohrid while he braves the 26 km walk through the forest to our next stop. Raced home in freezing cold. It is only hoing to be ten tomorrow. Thank god for the puffer jacket.

Pictures here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3hrhazdyFkojXoYa6

Walk details here:

https://www.mapmyhike.com/workout/3531754438

A day in Lin, 05/0519

My arranged driver showed up at ten to take me off for a half day of exploring  some local sights, plus i needed to go to an ATM  again. First time I've  ever caught a cab to one, i think.
When we got to pogradic we picked the driver, blero's,  cousin up, eglantin, who acted as my translator. For free. He refused to consider the idea i should pay him.
As we headed along the road back towards lin we passed an orthodox church beside the road  so we stopped and i had a quick look. It looked quite old, although the interior decorations  not so much. A mother and daughter followed me in and lit some candles.
By now the rain had started up and by the time we reached the Ottoman bridge it was pouring. Of course, i had not brought my raincoat and was soon halfway to being saturated as i clambered down a load of rocks to a boggy field. It was worth it. It has such delicacy of design. And essentially intact.  On the other side you could still see the signs of a pebbly road leading off into the hills. I wanted to follow it but the surface was so slick i kept slipping.
Back into the car, almost wet through and we headed up a narrow, pot holed road miles from anything and then suddenly a tiny tourist sign appeared.  The illyrian tombs awaited.  Now it was  chucking it down. With a desire to reduce my time in the rain blero drove onto the muddy dirt track.  Since i was already saturated it really didn't  matter. Out i got and  hesitantly made my way up a steepish dirt track. I really didn't  want to end up covered in mud.  Turned the wrong way and behind me i could hear the sounds of a car getting ever more stuck in the mud. Oh well. Eventually i came across the tombs, or at least some of them. 2500 years or so old, i think and looking very much like ones you can see all around the northern Mediterranean. One had some nicely carved  semi pillars but really, they probably  weren't worth the soaking i had got. I am sure there were more to see but being soaked and cold had sapped my enthusiasm.
Back to the car looking like a drowned rat to discover that yes, we were stuck. But amazingly , help was ten minutes away. Turns out the driver has a friend with a 4wd, who lives nearbyish. He managed to just get us out, but snapped his tow rope doing it, and our car ended up completely covered in mud.
Eglantin asked if i would like to take a drink with them all on the way back. First we stopped at one of the car wash places i described yesterday. Tried to pay and was frowned at in a very offended way by everyone.  On to the bar where we sat with all the other men of whatever village we were in, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes under the no smoking signs. Again i tried to pay and eglantin looked very sternly at me. "You are a guest, you cannot pay" .
And this from a 23 year old with no job and no money. He can speak three languages and has a degree but he says there are just no jobs. That is why the bar is full he said. All men with nothing to do. Although there is mining here near the town we walked through yesterday. Chrome and iron. The ruined buildings wereva chrome mine. Now were off to the new vineyard of blero's friend to have a look. He was very proud of it. I was hoping for a sample of his wine but he won't start producing till next year.  After blero's difficult day of driving i gave him extra and was able to persuade eglantin to accept some payment for being translator. I might have got soaked but i had a wonderful time. Albanians continue to impress me.
Back in lin i was still waiting for children to come running up asking to show me the byzantine mosaics, as per the guidebook, but mo suck luck. And the gate was locked. Luckily i was able to climb in and have a look. There is just the one very well preserved mosaic with a cloth over it, but i have a feeling there may be more under all the sand lying on the excavations.
This evening while having dinner i broached the subject of all the rubbish everywhere and suggested the village could organise a clean up. Rosa told me she had the same advice from UNESCO, who have an office in pogradec. She organised one and her and her two kids were the olny people who participated. Having public rubbish bins might help, but I've  seen none anywhere.
And that was my last day in Albania. Possibly the friendliest people I have come across.

Photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DfQ7D198dshqM4Ut8

Fifth day walking. Dardhe to qekes. 16 kms.

The day began with another enormous albanian breakfast of cheese, eggs, bread and marmalade and a huge glass of warm milk!
Today was to be my first day walking with someone else. I had offered tim a room at the airbnb i had booked at the end of today's  walk. An incredibly cheap whole house so he decided he would set out with me. It was pleasant to be walking in company for a change.
The day was gorgeous, with cloudless skies and a lot of walking on clearly roman road. Even though the surface had been covered by crushed rock, the roman stonework reinforcing the way was often visible.
Not long after we left dardhe we came to a little waterfall  and a concrete bridge crossing the stream. Oddly, the enormous slab seemed to be held up by nothing more than a few logs. I felt a little uncomfortable crossing it, only to have a better look underneath and see there were two steel girders sitting below the logs. We decided the logs were just to give walkers a little fright.
Along with yesterday this was the best stretch of walking so far, with lovely countryside and lots of roman stone work. Saw another demolished information board and then two more that had been left alone.
Right near the end of the day's  walking an odd thing happened to our gpx tracks. Mine said to go along a walking track just above the river while Tim's  indicated we should head further up hill on a road. We split up and i reached the bridge over the shkumbini river where i waited for Tim. It turned out that his route had led him right through the property of a family connected to the via egnatia foundation, the kocali's. It's  a mystery why our two tracks were slightly different.
Anyway, Tim turned up a few minutes after me and we crossed the bridge and went into a cafe so i could connect to internet and see where the airbnb was. According to the app map, it was just up the road a bit. One of the hash smoking young guys in the cafe dialled the number of the host for me and i tried calling. Guy answers the phone and says yes, he is alfred, but no i don't  have a booking. He tells me  it is not possible, he is not in the country and then hangs up on me! Never had that on airbnb before. A non existent lodging. I was quite embarrassed that i had offered tim a room in a house that seemingly didn't exist. Luckily, he had been offered room back at the kocali farm so we walked ten minutes back down the path.
As we crossed the bridge we passed a man slaughtering sheep. He was in the process of skinning one carcass hanging from a tree, with three others lying, throats cut, at his feet. It seemed needlessly cruel to be doing his butchering in front of the still living victims to come, in the back of his truck.
We reached the kocali house and were warmly welcomed. Coffee and raki. After one top up i left my glass mostly full to avoid further additions to the glass. It was pretty rough stuff. After a lot of companionable near silence from our hosts i decided to broach the subject of our accommodation and its price. I was led to an enormous room full of four sofa beds. On the way there i saw what is potentially our dinner. A big pan of meat and a bucket with a sheep's  skull in it. Join the dots...If i hadn't  seen the skull i would probably eat, blissfully unaware, but now, i don't  know.
Actually, i do know. I couldn't  eat it. In fact i barely ate any of the dinner we got served, except the home made sour dough , which was delicious. The soup with big chunks of bony meat in it, i barely touched.  Neither of us touched the home made yoghurt in a cup. Can't say it was the best dinner I've had in Albania.
It was a strange experience to be eating surrounded by the family watching tv, chatting and occassionally interacting with us. Which mostly involved plying us with home made raki. By now there was mother and father, in their seventies (?), two adult sons and their wives and four grandchildren. A guestbook was brought out and we read through it. Across four years or so about twenty different groups of people had stayed, including several Australians. When i picked up the book, a NSW police force shoulder patch fell out! One group from germany included a baby. Only four people had passed by so far this year. One guest had used the opportunity to complain about being ripped off since the price was so high. And to be fair, they do charge too much for what is very basic food and lodging. Nearly twice what i have been paying everywhere except the hotel ballkan.
Tim and i were chatting away and reading the comments when i noticed the mother standing expectantly near the table. I presumed she was keen to clear away our things so she could go to bed. I suggested we should retire to the bedroom. Tim came back from cleaning his teeth to report that actually, she had been keen for us to get up because they had not eaten yet!  At ten at night the family was finally getting to eat.
Read a few pages of my third ismael kadare novel and fell asleep.

Photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YPwD4gL8GFd4kbcT6

Walk details here:
https://www.mapmyhike.com/workout/3523605178

Fourth day of walking. Mirake to Dardhe, 22 kms

I will walk back some of yesterday's  negativity, since today was excellent walking.
After another enormous Albanian breakfast; ham, cheese, boiled egg, cucumber, tomatoes, olives and bread and butter; i braved the scary walk along the motorway and was very soon on the  actual via egnatia!
It was a steady climb up to 700 metres, on a lot of renovated Roman road. The views were great. Kept getting peeks at snow capped mountains hidden behind clouds. The weather was mostly sunny and all was well with the world. Despite another long climb, i thoroughly enjoyed myself. Even when i came to the wash outs. A number of landslips had completely destroyed the road and all that was left was a very narrow , sloping path of loose gravel with sheer drops down twenty metres or more.  Very similar to what greg and i had encountered on the monastery walk in egypt. In a way a little more scary since the surface was so loose and sloped. My walking poles were very handy. After that there were no further difficulties although eventually the roman road surface gave way to dirt and gravel. It was still pretty cool to be finally walking along a roman road. In reality though, the road would havd been here long before the romans came along. Despite its antiquity there was again, a remarkable lack of evidence of ancient building of any sort apart from the road itself.
This was made up for by the interesting set of tunnels i explored and the strange looking concrete structures that were nearby. The tunnels were almost entirely devoid of graffiti but there was what looked like some official notice on the back wall.
Walked passed more of the interesting hay bales which might not be. Up close they look like a pile of some sort of branches. One had a tree growing out of the middle.
Also passed a lovely little mosque and soon i was at Dardhe. It is a pleasant little mountain village with a school a shop and a bar/restaurant.
The people here continue to show great kindness. And the children, huge curiosity in foreign walkers. School had just finished when i arrived and i was soon surrounded by most of the kids. We had a fine time chatting away. One boy knew enough english to keep things moving along, and then a young man came over and urged me to use his phone as a wifi hotspot so i could use google translate.
Finally they nearly all drifted off home, checking that i would say hello when they got to school in the morning. I managed to order some late lunch with the help of two girls who had stayed behind. The restaurant is run by their cousin , i think. Another enormous meal for which she only wanted 400 leke, 3 euros. I gave her 600. While i waited for it the two girls, anjelica and... (?) tried to give me an albanian lesson. They had a little albanian english dictionary. And then Leonard appeared. Fluent in english. He is studying it at university. I was now able to confirm that, yes, i would definitely be able to sleep in the school.
After my huge lunch i got taken over by two more kids and shown my room. They were intrigued by all the accoutrements of a long distance walker. And that was the day. A good one.
I lay down on my little bed in a classroom and napped. I woke to the sound of tim arriving. It has been a bonus to have bumped into a fellow walker along the path. And a very personable, interesting one. He has certainly challenged my stereotyped notions of a catholic priest.
We shared an evening meal of bbq chicken and watched s little football on the television.
Earlier, i had decided to have a go at a sponge bath in the school toilets. As i actually had no sponge i found one of the rags the students had been using to clean the floors, gave it a bit of a rinse off and got to it. It was a chilly experience but i felt a whole lot cleaner for the experience.
I slept well despite some gentle, priestly snoring and woke at sunrise.

Photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/afASx7QanuU74Lrx8

Walk details here:
https://www.mapmyhike.com/workout/3521530567

Sixth day of walking; qekes to lin, 23 km

HisPhew, that was a tough day's walking. At least we were loaded up with a big breakfast again; eggs, cheese, bread, jam and a glass of milk. I think the milk was fresh from their farm. It tasted different to bottled milk. Sweeter. Quite a perfunctory goodbye and we were off again. And i soon managed to get lost. Tim stopped for a coffee and i went on ahead. I was daydreaming away and when i thought to check my location i saw I'd  missed a turn off and was about 500 metres off course. The track i was on ran parallel for a while so i thought I'd  keep going and join back up later. When the path i was on turned the wrong way, i set off cross country towards the via egnatia track. I saw tim walk by about 400 metres away, but quite high above me. I kept following animal tracks upwards, but encountered a few obstacles. A deep gully and lots of spiky brambles thag i had to go through. Eventually i ended up in a farm yard with two vicious, but thankfully chained, dogs. Just as i left through a little gate the fsrmer came the other way. I asked where the via egnatis was and he took me by the arm and walked me a km till i reached the track. After a lot of uphill, the way wad down to Perenjas, and i had soon caught up to Tim. My detour added a km to the journey, but meeting the farmer made it worthwhile.
I ummed and ahhed about getting money out, since i wasn't  sure if i would leave Albania tomorrow or monday. As it turns out, it looks like monday, so i don't  have enough money. Oh well. I bought tim a coffee for being willing to detour tp an ATM  and while we drank an old guy came up and very proudly told us he was 86.
Oh, and on the way into town we passed an interesting derelict factory. Two towers had ladybirds painted all over them. In another building, someone had made a house out of one corner.
Off again and a steep climb towards lake ohrid. I had neglected to look at the altitude marks on the topo map and assumed  we'd  be going down to a lake, not up. It's at 700 metres. It was pretty horrible gor a couple of kms, walking on the narrow shoulder of the highway. There were a couple of noteworthy things though. Another plaque commemorating partisans from ww2 and the sight of car wash saturday. All the way up the hill there were little pull ins where a hose wad pouring water down the road waiting for a car to wash. At about half, a car or truck was being washed. An awful waste of water. They use the gushing water hose as a sign that they're  open for business.
Eventually a path took us off the road and onto the railway tracks. It would have been a relatively quick walk down them to lin, except it wad a tunnel all the way. I wad up for it but some locals warned me off. We continued up and up and eventually i took the via egnatis trail marked on the topo map while tim continued on the marked gpx track.
It was a lovely walk doen through pastures and along a dried out creek bed to the lake, a short walk along the shore and now here i am eating chips and drinking beer at Rosa's bnb right on the lake shore, with s room looking out across the lake. After the ladt teo nights it is like paradise ...

Photos are here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/4KenCaLV1txScAst8

Track details:
https://www.mapmyhike.com/workout/3523468219

Elbasan to hotel ballkan. 26 kms

Not much to report after another long walk. My hopes were raised this morning when i saw my first brown tourist sign, pointing the way i had to go. And it listed four things on it! Alas, the sign was as close to any of them as i got. No idea where they were, but i passed none of them.
At least my disappointment in the lack of things to see has been somewhat compensated for by the food I've  been eating. Both nights in Elbasan i ate at a little place just inside the walls specialising in local cuisine. First night i experimented and  had lamb cooked in yoghurt. Veey good. And last night i tried the albanian version of kofta, qofta. An enormous serve of food. And wine. They fill your glass to the brim here. Two glasses of wine and you're  2/3 way through a bottle. Most decorated walls I've  ever seen. First night i was thre i kept knocking things off everytime i moved. I was the only guest both nights. I don't  think there were any other tourists in elbasan overnight. I certainly saw none.
Anyway, back to today. First 8 kms were sooo boring. Along a bitumen road through suburbia basically. Virtually nothing of interest until i came to a stand of enormous and very old oaks at the site of a spring. Apparently it has been a stopping place for animal herders and traders for centuries. The walk guide book relates the story that the oaks grew from the sticks herders used to tether their animals.
Finally the road gave way to a dirt track that led up into the hills. The walk became more pleasant as views began to open up and the air became fresher. Walked almost entirely uphill for the next 14 kms, reaching 597 metres. I started at 50. Saw a group of teenage boys riding their bikes and an old couple walking and that was it. Very quiet except for all the birdsong.
Then it was a steep drop to the river valley again and a dodgy walk along the shoulder of the motorway to get to the only accommodation available at hotel ballkan. Probably the most expensive place i will stay all trip at 30 euros. Had to bargain them down from 50.
Along the way today i saw three indications that there has been some effort to promote the walk. Just before the oak trees there was a sign letting me know this was the via egnatia, then, high in the hills there was suddenly a red and white route marker on a rock. Just the one in all the kms I've  walked. Odd. Finally, there was a sign at the end of the path i came off to get onto the motorway. It would have been interesting since it seemed to describe the next leg of the walk. Unfortunately it has been almost entirely destroyed. At least one person seems uninterested in encouraging walkers...
To be brutally honest, after three days walking across 75 kms, this is never going to be a popular walk. It lacks things to see, variety in walking, too much walking on bitumen roads and almost no infrastructure. It was a worthy effort to try promoting the route by the via egnatia foundation, but i feel this walk is not worth doing. Certainly not the first five legs, remembering i skipped two. Perhaps the next few days will improve... life is too short to be doing crap walks when there are so many good ones.
I went down to dinner only to see one other solitary diner. With a copy of the via egnatia guidebook in front of him. Turned out to be someone i hade briefly communicated with about the walk, tim redmond, who turns out to be a catholic priest. He was previoulsy a doctor and is a teacher of biblical languages. He also happens to have walked all the way from canterbury to here over the course of a few years. As well as much other long distance walking. I enjoyed an evening of eady conversation with this most unpriestly seeming priest.