Sunday June 3 – Day 9 Intrepid Trip
We were on our way by 8:30
in a race to the canyon to be the first group there! It is a huge tourist
attraction! We made it!! We all chose to do a boat ride on the dam in the
canyon and a visit to the bat cave. The dam was built in 1932/33 as the river
constantly flooded which affected the city of Skopje. It was quite pretty, dammed at one end, and
filled with the sound of bird song. The bat cave was amazing!! We went down
into the murky depths of the cave with little black bats flittering around us
and the smell of bat urine stinging our nostrils. The stalactites and
stalagmites danced like a psychedelic light show. A feast for the eyes!! I have to admit to never being totally comfortable x number of feet down in a cave; there is always a musty smell, and then I think about how all that rock is just sitting up above me resting on what? And then I flood my thoughts with the incredulity of what I am seeing!!
After the boat ride, Tess,
one of the women on the trip, and I rented a kayak and did about 6 k on the
water. It was fun. She was a great partner and it felt good to be using my body
again. I have missed the pull-ups and push ups!!
We got back into town
around 12:30, and Ray and I headed straight to the Mother Teresa exhibition.
I didn’t realize Mother Teresa is a
“Virgo”…born on August 26….the same day as my friend Robin Campbell! Although
her parents were Albanian she was born in Skopje and lived there until her teen
years. The exhibition was not very informative as to the work she did during
her life, but it did show pictures of her meeting with world dignitaries such
as the Pope, Ronald and Nancy Regan, Edward Kennedy, the Queen of England, a
very young Prince Charles, Princess Diana, and the Dalai Lama.
We wandered back to the
bazaar area, and found a restaurant for lunch. A simple salad! They are the
best!! Throughout the Balkans the salads have been so good. Tasty home grown
tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce or shredded cabbage, sometimes with white goat’s
cheese, and dressing is always on the side! The salads are tasty enough
without the dressing though!!
We had some down time in
the hotel. Ray has been suffering a bit with his foot so we decided a chilled
ffew hours would do us both good. Me mentally because I get my blog done, and
Ray, to put his foot up!
In the evening, with
thunder rumbling in the background, and lightening lighting up the city, we
ventured out to find somewhere for dinner. We were headed to the Bohemian
district, but I don’t think we ever found it!! We found a little restaurant and
rested out of the rain while eating dinner.
Macedonia is extremely
reasonable in the price of everything….Albania was cheaper, but dinners are
still around $10 each!! We can barely eat for that at home in Squamish. And....it is wonderful not having to cook!
It was fairly quiet when we walked home, and we felt very safe walking through the narrow
side streets around the city.
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