Berat was our last stop in Albania before we headed off to North Macedonia. We were using the local bus system again and even though we had an idea of our route and how many buses we needed to take we both decided to get an early start as what we thought was an easy trip out to Apollonia yesterday was not actually that easy.
We started off killing it with the local bus arriving just as we got outside which would take us to the bus station. On arrival we found our bus to Elbasan which was leaving in 10 mins so enough time to get a quick coffee. Things were looking easy.
The trip to Elbasan was about 2 hours and we spent the time listening to music and enjoying the scenery. One of the things we have noticed on our bus trips is the amount of houses being built or in the process of being built but sometimes it is hard to tell if they are still in the process of being built or have been abandoned mid build. A lot of the houses are very similar in design in that it is a square and when built it seems the owners build the roof as if it is going to be extended so you drive by with a lot of houses that have reo sticking up from the concrete ceiling and then an external cement staircase on the outside to give them access to the roof/future second level. It gives the place a pretty hodgepodge feel.
When we were getting closer to Elbasan we told the bus driver we wanted the bus to Podradec as unfortunately not all buses leave from the same bus station. He nodded and told us to sit down and we soon came to the bus station where everyone got off. Unfortunately there were no buses to Pogradec so we had to change plans and go to Perrenjas and then catch a bus to Pogradec.
We had enough time for a delicious kofta sandwich and coffee and then we were soon off to Perrenjas. It was another easy trip but we were noticing that things outside were showing the signs of poverty. Donkey and carts, crumbling old houses and rubbish. We soon found ourselves deposited on the side of the road in Perrenjas and with a vague hand signal from the driver indicating the way we should head, we donned our backpacks and headed off down the road.
We were a little unsure as to what we were supposed to be doing and after about 500m of walking down the road in the direction of Pogradec we stopped to think about what we were going to do next. Then all of a sudden a van with Pogradec written on the front appeared!! We waved frantically for it to stop and we jumped on and we were off again!
Pogradec was situated on the Albanian side of Lake Ohrid and things started to get prettier again and it was clear that it was a tourist place. When we got off the bus we knew we had to catch a taxi to the border which was about 7kms away. We were approached by a very vertically challenged man who offered us a reasonable fair and we were off again.
The border crossing was probably one of the quietest we have ever seen with only one car crossing in front of us. We put our bags on said goodbye to our taxi and walked through the border. We were expecting to see taxis etc on the North Macedonian side but other than the 3 border control guards there was nobody.
We were not too concerned as we wanted to go to a monastery a little down the road so we started walking. Sveti Naum Monastery is situated right on the lake so we were afforded lovely views and the gardens around were also impressive with the added bonus that they were filled with peacocks. On the grounds there is a church where Naum was buried and we wanted to go in and see it as it apparently had amazing murals on the walls. You had to pay to get in but as we had just arrived on foot from Albania we didn’t have any North Macedonian Dinar. We showed the man our Albanian Lek to try and pay in that but he took one look at us with our big backpacks on shook his head, asked us where we were from and then let us in for free and proceeded to tell us about the history of the place. First impressions of North Macedonians are that they are a friendly people!
Once we had explored Sveti Naum we then had to work out how we were getting to Ohrid. We walked outside hoping for a bus and were expecting at least a backup of a taxi but again there was not one in sight. Why is it that every time you want a taxi they are never there but when you don’t need one they appear and hassle you for a fare!
There was a bus stop but no timetable etc so we asked some people who were standing around and we got told that there would be a bus in an hour. Their English wasn’t great so we were pretty sure that is what they said. Or it could have been that we had to walk 1km to catch the bus. We tentatively asked another person who then went and asked the first person we asked so got the same answer. So we sat down to wait. Which was fine except for the fact that it was cold and getting dark. But as with most of our adventures and having to put faith in strangers the bus arrived exactly on time and we set off on a very windy road to Ohrid.
The bus dropped us off in town and we had a short walk to our apartment. Last hurdle was getting wifi to call the hosts to be able to give us the keys. This was accomplished by walking into a pizza place across the road who kindly gave us wifi and talked to us while we waited. Our host arrived and we soon were sitting in a lovely apartment with lake and old town views.
A 200km trip only took us 8hrs on 5 buses, a taxi and walking border crossing. But what an adventure! S