Monday 29 August 2011
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| Our van Clifford is on the left |
Heard (herd) goats, the town came alive by 6:45. Charles went a few steps to the water to write. It was actually chilly! He said hi to local Loud Donika with a Big Smile. The bright morning light on the lake and hillsides was beautiful and tranquil. Turned out we were camped at a fish market! Little boats came in, out came an old metal balance scale, a new calculator, cash, fish thrown ashore and the fishermen were off. The cell phone for Mr. Buyer rang -- getting latest market prices?
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| Shepherd's hut |
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| Inside the shepherd's hut |
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| Nicole drawing with the kids |
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| "Kye Kye Kule" |
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| Miro and Goya |
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| The chess referee |
Finally with a proper table and chairs, Charles played another game of chess with Goya right by the water. Nicole gave art lesson to three little local girls.
Dian climbed up a steep hill to the top where she found an igloo-shaped sheepherder's hut with religious iconography inside. She reverently placed a watercolor she made of "Mary" and two boys (who looked a lot like Miro and Goya) and hoped it would be received in the right spirit by whomever entered next. Meanwhile, Nicole was responding to the call of nature and was terrified to see a small boy come into sight, and he wasn't a sheepherder. Goya, seemingly unknowingly, marched forward oblivious to his and Nicole's peril. Nicole cried out "Nay, nay, Goya, go away" complete with histrionic gestures but he seemed at a complete loss for warnings in any language, until she finally blurted out, "I'M PEEING!" and he muttered "... oh," with a sheepish grin, thus concluding this episode of Bathroom Travel Terrors.
Back at the vans, little Anastasia was teaching the younger kids in the village the "Kye Kye Kule" song. Being a pied piper has its drawbacks, however, as later three of the rascals hung around the van, and on it, and in it, and wouldn't go away until Mories issued a stern warning. Not in Albanian, but it worked.
Dian took another dip then sang songs for the kids and Nicole chilled in the van until her eyes healed, thanks to the drops from the pharmacist in Tirane, the capital. Also her sore throat improved, but all the time no complaints. What a brave traveler. Charles climbed up for another view -- love that hilltop -- this time to the very peak where the view of the huge lake was 340 degrees. He saw Isabel and the boys swimming way down below on the other side. They came back and said it was great so Nicole and Dian did the same. When everyone finally returned we left Lin, Albania, a village and people we'll never forget. And at least thanks to Nicole's teaching the singing-dancing African song, they won't soon forget us either.
We wound our way through narrow streets out of town and up across the top of the lake to the nearby border crossing into Macedonia (#14!) then headed to Ohrid, on the opposite shore from Lin, because we heard it had a medieval church and ruins. Parking cheaply in the center of town we explored the big market, buying veggies and.... a basketball for Charles! Sure, it's rubber, and too small, and made in China, but only 6 bucks, and now he's ready.
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| Isabel cutting Dian's hair |
We opted for a short boat ride to the bottom of the ancient sites, and negotiated a very good price for seven passengers with a bottle of the captain's own home brewed schnapps thrown in, all for about $11.50. Fortified, we took the long, steep hike up, well worth it. The lower chapel and the basilica, from the 9th Century, were in the Orthodox style that we hadn't yet seen on our travels. We could have easily gotten lost on the way down (not really marked in any language we could figger) except for Tom and his two brothers, Germans but veterans of Ohrid streets because their mother grew up there and they visited every summer, who showed us their personal best route right along the water, cutting through restaurants and private beaches like they belonged there. They stopped to show us where a snake nearly fell on their heads along that path, from high up on a cliff. We drove out of town and once again tried for a great spot on the water but ran out of daylight and patience and settled for an asphalt and dirt lot with a few big trucks, oh well. Too late and too tired for cooking, we nonetheless feasted on Dian's tomato and cheese sandwiches with garlic sauce on good local bread, and retired well-fed and happy with another good day.
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| Photo by Charles |
Dian climbed up a steep hill to the top where she found an igloo-shaped sheepherder's hut with religious iconography inside. She reverently placed a watercolor she made of "Mary" and two boys (who looked a lot like Miro and Goya) and hoped it would be received in the right spirit by whomever entered next. Meanwhile, Nicole was responding to the call of nature and was terrified to see a small boy come into sight, and he wasn't a sheepherder. Goya, seemingly unknowingly, marched forward oblivious to his and Nicole's peril. Nicole cried out "Nay, nay, Goya, go away" complete with histrionic gestures but he seemed at a complete loss for warnings in any language, until she finally blurted out, "I'M PEEING!" and he muttered "... oh," with a sheepish grin, thus concluding this episode of Bathroom Travel Terrors.
Dian took another dip then sang songs for the kids and Nicole chilled in the van until her eyes healed, thanks to the drops from the pharmacist in Tirane, the capital. Also her sore throat improved, but all the time no complaints. What a brave traveler. Charles climbed up for another view -- love that hilltop -- this time to the very peak where the view of the huge lake was 340 degrees. He saw Isabel and the boys swimming way down below on the other side. They came back and said it was great so Nicole and Dian did the same. When everyone finally returned we left Lin, Albania, a village and people we'll never forget. And at least thanks to Nicole's teaching the singing-dancing African song, they won't soon forget us either.
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