Balkans 7. North Macedonia, Lake Ohrid and surrounds

May 04, 2024

covers 22 - 26 April 2024

across Lake Ohrid from our campsite at 07.30

and from the same spot 4 minutes earlier

The omens weren’t suggesting the best of days for us when our electricity supply burst into flames as we were about to prepare breakfast. It had been raining heavily for most of the night and our power supply cut out about 07.30. I thought I’d seen a wisp of mist drift past and had got up to look when a German camper passing by said ”there are flames” as I opened our sliding door. Pausing only to don my waterproof coat and galoshes I leapt into action. Our supply was/had been via an extension lead from a house and where that and our plug were joined was definitely alight. I pulled them apart and once we were separated from the supply I was somewhat more relaxed. No toast for breakfast then although the pessimistic of you will realise that we might have been the toast ourselves if the fire had happened in the middle of the night. The converter lead we’ve had to use quite often on this trip to connect our standard European supply lead to the old plug system was ruined but our normal lead and the van electricity seemed to be ok. Very fortuitously we were able to buy another converter lead a couple of campsites later in North Macedonia from the site owner who had had a couple made. Apparently there are no camping shops in the entirety of North Macedonia.

also across Lake Ohrid from our campsite

On flames morning we were leaving Albania (diesel at 1.88 Euros a litre) for North Macedonia (1.44 a litre) and were deliberately not overloaded with fuel. It then turned out to be further than we thought to the border and we were getting a little concerned about our range as we headed up the hills and the snow began falling steadily. At last though we were in the queue for the border crossing which in the circumstances seemed to be ever so slow but after about an hour we were through and heading down to the nearest available diesel. We weren’t crisped up and we had fuel, so things were looking up but we had no campsite and it was still snowing.

Lake Ohrid is the big touristy thing in this country, indeed the only thing if you listen to some of the locals but the only campsite near the town could be described, if we were being charitable, as a dump. So naturally, we paused outside and had a cup of tea and a ponder. We did however then find a really good site by doubling back 15 miles or so towards the border with Albania. We had a pitch right on the shore of Lake Ohrid, a very gentle throw of a pebble from the water.

After the miserable weather of the previous day, we awoke to a clear sunny and cool morning (Ohrid is at 2150 feet). Our view was across the lake to the south and we could see snow glistening in the sun on all the hilltops around us, a beautiful view. In addition to the views, if the word pellucid had never been invented it could easily be so just for the waters of Lake Ohrid which really are crystal clear. Our map says that water visibility is 22 metres (a little under 70 feet), which I imagine is very good as I’ve never seen that information featured on a map before. Ohrid is apparently the oldest continuously existing lake in Europe at over 5 million years old. Naturally this has allowed species to evolve in isolation and the lake holds over 200 endemic species. It is a gloriously pleasant spot to be.

The lake and town are both part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Not wishing to be outdone by the lake, the town itself is one of the oldest continuously occupied towns in Europe and dates from Neolithic times. The old town lies on high ground which slopes down to the lake shore with a castle at the top of course, town walls, a Roman Amphitheatre lower down and a rats nest of old streets which are mostly pedestrianised because they’re either too narrow, too steep or both to drive along. It’s a cracking place and well up to the standard of Dubrovnik and Kotor even though all three places are very different.

Heather in a typical Ohrid old town street

metal fish-scale protection on the old town gates

Ohrid's Roman amphitheatre

Ohrid old town, not the place to be in a wheelchair

North Macedonia is mostly at altitude with an average height of about 2,300 feet and we had wondered if we would be too early for flowers. We were by a few weeks but too early by a number of years for camping. Sites are virtually non-existent here. We only stayed on two campsites in North Macedonia, both very good, in a visit of eight days with a return to one site, a hotel car park where we paid for a private shower and toilet room and one free parking in the car park of a vineyard and hotel where we had dinner.

on the way to Bitola. Lake Ohrid with Trpejca and in the distance Podgradec in Albania

looking north across Lake Ohrid towards Ohrid Town

a small section of the road from the lake up towards the pass to the next valley

Our other good camp site was outside a town called Bitola with a Roman town and amphitheatre remains, an old town with an Ottoman Bazaar which at one time had over 900 shops and a covered market. Marsal (yes, Marsal not Marshal) Tito Street had all the cafes and restaurants and is allegedly the longest pedestrianised street in the Balkans. It was a Wednesday and because it was election day everything was closed apart from the cafes which were all full of people.

Marsal Tito Street, Bitola

the completely closed old Ottoman bazaar

the Roman amphitheatre at Heraklea Linkestis, Bitola

I mentioned language difficulties in my Albania blogs. Well, North Macedonians speak a variety of languages, Albanian, various Turkish dialects, Roma, Serb dialects and of course Macedonian which is written in the Cyrillic alphabet and used on road signs. So, all Greek to us then. Fortunately for us, English is pretty widely spoken too although Google translate is an absolute godsend.