Ohrid Lake to Pogradec (day 2)

St Naum Monastery

The bus journey to the start of our first ride took much longer than we expected, lots of road construction, laden lorry’s struggling up the hills. We saw some brave souls cycling and I was glad that we had the transfer even though it was a little cramped. Glad to stop for our coffee break and cool down with a splash of water from the fountain.

Once we got to our start point at a lay-by in Lin on the shores of Lake Ohrid it was organised chaos as Armand wanted us to get going, the bikes needed to be set up, sun lotion applied etc Glad Mike was able to get my Coospo set up as it was nice to see my speed and the grade as we started cycling in our long crocodile by the side of the lake. I was a bit worried about how hot it would be and the strength of the sun. However high cloud and the cooling effect of the lake made for very pleasant cycling temperatures.

Kristi our cycling guide struggled with his bike as the e-motor did not seem to be working so our pace was very inconsistent. It was strange to be cycling in a group, something I have not done since Japan. So I was glad the road was in good shape and fairly flat just to get my bearings. My bike ran very well and for the most part I had the motor off. Was nice cycling through the town when we reached Pogradec at the end of Lake Ohrid. The route along the lake shore was relaxing and pretty. Passed a group of men forking algae/weed out of the lake fringes. Saw an egret, some swans, cormorants and gulls. Noticed a number of small bunkers remnants from the communist regime. They are protected sites to remind people of their history. Apparently during the communist period there was deep paranoia about the threat of invasion from all sides resulting in a massive “bunkerization” construction program across the country. There are reported to be over 750,000 and although built with immense cost and effort the bunkers were never needed.

Our hotel is very close to the border with Macedonia so after a nice lunch of small plates we had a short cycle across to the monastery of St Naum.

Tempted to eat more esp the taztki and fresh warm bread but stopped myself as am sure dinner will also be plentiful. Our hotel the Millennium is very nice. I an sitting on the balcony looking down the lake and thinking this first day has been a success and glad I came on the trip.

The short ride over the border was a delight as the road was quiet with good views of the lake. The Monastery of St Naum was a real pleasure . The monastery was established in 905 in what was then the Bulgarian Empire by St Naum. Unfortunately the original building was destroyed by the Ottomans in the 15th century and rebuilt between C16 and 17 as a multi domed Byzantine style structure on a cliff. The frescoes were beautiful and the whole area had a feeling of calm and peace despite the number of visitors. One thing I liked in the older structure was the offerings of cash placed / wedged next to the 17th century iconostasis. Reminded me of my time many years back when I was in Russia and had the privilege of attending a Greek Orthodox service in a church in Moscow.

At the entrance to the monastery there was a carving of St Naum made from a solid block of walnut by the sculptor Boris Dzeparoski using only a chain saw. It took him only 15 hours to complete

Beautiful alter screen in the newer chapel. We could not take photos in the old chapel

Lovely water feature in the monastery grounds. A very restful area.

Kristi our cycling guide comes from Tushemisht, where our hotel is. He used to farm like his father before him. However the climate warming, lack of rain, (they are in a 5 year drought) has made it too difficult. He now leaves the land fallow and has just taken up cycle guiding as well as opening a pizza restaurant. Admire him as last week was his first time doing longer rides! And now he is our guide with Armand closely in the wings. In retrospect having a guide with more cycling experience would have been helpful as he was definitely finding his feet as a new guide at the beginning of the tour.

See below for a video of our ride. Note to see the full controls click on the < control on the progress bar. This will allow you to watch the video full screen.