(Days 76 – 82) Bulgaria/Macedonia/Kosovo

Sunday (5/29). Playing tag with T-Storms in the mountains is not recommended. If you get tagged, you’re not “it” – you’re dead. Having played a lengthy game of ‘tag’ yesterday, and with severe storms in the forecast again, I felt comfortable spending an extra day in Sapareva Banya. The city is most well known for thermal pools, popular since Roman times for their healing proprties. There is little evidence of that thermal activity today. A broken down fountain and a small bubbling spring were all I saw on an early morning walk. The town itself is rather agreeable, nestled in the Rila Mountains with a view down across a broad valley. Apart from a few locals enjoying their coffee, I had the town to myself as I strolled through the side streets and neighborhoods.

The predicted storms did eventually arrive, and repeatedly knocked out power. Seemed like a good day to be inside taking care of finances and working on the blog.

Monday (5/30). Today was the quintessential touring day. No set destination – just a direction. No idea what lay ahead – just curiosity. First stop was Dupnitsa. Like so many towns in Bulgaria, it has a beautiful natural setting. It sprawls comfortably along the banks of the Dzhermann River deep in the river valley. That beauty is somewhat  offset by the blight of Soviet era apartments. Eyesores when new, their decaying concrete hulks exude a sad, grim air wherever they exist. I try to ignore them. I found a comfortable spot outside a grocery store and enjoyed my spinach/cheese borek, and watched people going about their lives.

That’s pretty much how the day went. More natural beauty. More towns – some charming, some grim. Always interesting people watching. Hard to imagine a more pleasing way to spend a day. I came to rest less than a mile from the border with Macedonia in a lush clearing in the forest next to a small stream. Once again, well played Bulgaria.

As I prepared to leave this country, I had a few thoughts. The Soviet era was not kind to Bulgaria. It appeared not to have left them poised for success in a modern world. We’ve speculated that a possible holdover is the awesome attitude towards customer service. “Hi!”, me smiling. “I’m looking for this part. Do you have this.” Surly look! “No!” Silence. Menacing surly look. “Would it be possible for you to maybe order this?” “No!!! I can’t help you!!“ Commercial grade menacing, surly look. Repeat at grocery stores, restaurants, bike shops, train stations, etc. This was surprising since most people we met were very pleasant and friendly. What I will remember most…every day in Bulgaria was a visual feast. We gorged ourselves on views of mountains and rivers,  forests and fields.

Tuesday (5/31). As usual, I woke early. While still supine I gradually engaged the brain. “Hmmm. Lots of condensation…I’ll have to dry the fly during a stop today. Wow! Look at the size of that spider crawling outside the tent! Wait! That spider is INSIDE the tent!!! I do not like spiders. I do not like them here or there! I do not like them anywhere! Especially two feet from my face! Let’s just say that spider shuffled off the mortal coil rather quickly.

With that little adrenaline jolt, I quickly packed, hit the road, and added another stamp to my passport. Welcome to North Macedonia. They wisely placed the border on top of a mountain, so my first impression of North Macedonia was a ten mile glide into Krina Palanka. The lack of obvious Soviet architecture was a check in the plus column for me. I quickly got a new sim card, a pocket full of new currency and set about the important business of breakfast. I spread out some gear to dry and started cooking breakfast. I was apparently giving off a slightly homeless vibe because two police officers came by to check me out. Satisfied that I was a harmless Americanski senior citizen, they wished me safe travels.

When we parted a few days ago, Sharon went to Sofia as part of a plan to take a train to the sea shore of  Montenegro. Great plan, except for the Rube Goldberg routing necessary to make it happen. Plan B? A bus to Skopje, Macedonia. Faster, cheaper and more directly on the path to the sea. Happily it also was on my route across the country.

Starting the day I had a vague idea of trying to cover all 74 miles from the border to Skopje. Opposing that idea were my late start from Palanka, a plethora of ups and downs, and the Orb of Death doing its best to melt me. As the day wore on though, I continued to feel good. I did not see a place that made sense to stop. I continued to calculate time and distance and it continued to seem possible. Twelve hours after climbing onto the saddle, I fell into the loving arms of my beautiful bride. OK…”into the arms” in a figurative sense since I was a smelly, sweaty mess and she wanted nothing to do with me. But you get the picture.

Wednesday (6/1). We set out today to remedy our woeful ignorance of Macedonia.  We learned that because of it’s location as a crossroad between west and east, pretty much everyone with an army at one point or another had Macedonia under their thumb. They are immensely proud that on September 8th, 1991 they gained their independence…peacefully. We learned that in July, 1963 70% of the city of Skopje was destroyed in a massive earthquake. It left 200,000 people homeless. Unfortunately, the solution to quickly rebuild? You guessed it. The famous Soviet concrete apartments. In the last 20 years however, the city poured money into rebuilding and beautifying the downtown area. They have succeeded!

As we touristed Skopje, we talked about next steps. After several days on her own, mostly off the bike, Sharon felt ready to climb back on. That decision led us to rethink routes and priorities. With endless possibilities come endless decisions we have to make. Eventually we settled on a route north into Kosovo, then west into Albania. You could put everything I know about Kosovo on the head of a pin and still have room for some dancing elephants. So we shall see…

Thursday (6/2). Ben was twelve years old when war came to his small village in Southern Kosovo in the late 90’s. To escape the bloodshed, many in the region boarded a train to Macedonia. Not sure about all the details, but Serbians with Kalashnikovs either fired on the train or just forced it to turn back. Soon after, he and his family hiked for two days with no food over the 8,000′ Ljuboten peak into Macedonia. The U.S. and European allies arrived in an effort to stop the killing. It was messy and difficult. Life was uncertain. But to this day, what every Kosovar knows deep in his or her soul, is that U.S. efforts saved lives. Their gratitude knows almost no bounds. That’s a powerful perspective we don’t often get to experience first hand. U.S. aid, in whatever form, often has a very real impact on peoples’ lives.

When Ben found out we were Americans, he told us his story and invited us to spend the evening. That was the beginning of a day like no other. We spent the day in Kacanik waiting for Ben to take care of personal matters in Skopje. A handful of people joined forces to help us find a sim card. Then a shopkeeper gifted us some ice cream when he discovered we were Americans. A woman in a park gifted us clothes – just because she was nice. We stopped at a young man’s coffee shop to wait out some rain. We had a lovely chat and he sent us on our way with bottled water and some chocolate. All day long people stopped to chat and profess their love for America.

Ben was delayed, so we arrived in his village of Bigec before him. No problem! Everyone who saw us made it their mission to direct us to the right place and make sure we were comfortable and felt welcomed. We ended up on a neighbor’s porch with drinks and snacks with Albert serving as translator. When it was determined Ben might not make it back until late, phone calls were made and instantly dinner and another place to stay was arranged. In spite of the language barrier, we had wide ranging conversations. Everyone had a gut-wrenching story to tell about the war, and repeatedly shared their gratitude for America’s efforts in bringing it to an end. It was surreal. It was wonderful. It was the best day ever. Eventually Ben arrived and we returned to his home to sleep. Thank you Ben, Albert, Horuni, Ilir, Ibrahim and all the others whose names I can’t remember. Thank you for giving us the best day of our trip.

Friday (6/3). We could have stayed in Bigec forever, but our goal today was Prizren. Standing in the way was a 23 mile climb to Prevalla. Ben loves to mountain bike and had always dreamed of making the trip to the top of the pass. We set out early and 5-ish hours later arrived. Ben was an excellent tour guide, sharing details about the villages, the mountains, and the history of the area. It was hard. It was fascinating. And all too soon, it was over. After lunch in Prevalla, Ben headed home. Thank you again for giving us memories we will always cherish! Prevalla was so beautiful, we decided to spend the night at 5,000 feet in the mountains.

Saturday (6/4). When you find yourself in mountains so similar to Colorado’s San Juan peaks, there’s only one thing to do…climb higher! And so we did. Along the way we met Tirana the shepherd and walked with him a bit. He knew two English words, so we didn’t speak much. But he pointed out beautiful smelling flowers, and all the other ‘fantastic‘ things he loved about his work place. We parted “Tiran, David – mik, friend”.

It felt good to hike in the mountains! Later it felt good to sit in the shade with a cold drink looking up at the mountains where we’d been. Later still, it felt good to ride down the mountains, even in a bit of rain. Seventeen glorious miles down to Prizren.

It is hard to get my head around how many experiences get crammed into one week. One week ago I was riding solo through Bulgaria. Now Sharon and I are happily hanging in Prizren with…who knows what lies ahead. I love our life right now. I hope you find ways to love your life as well. STC!