Day 4 – Trpejca to Janche – Safe Return Doubtful

65 miles (105 km) – Total so far: 220 miles (354 km)

Restaurants on the beach at Trpejca.
It was busy, but not packed, a good buzz about it.
It’s not really my sort of place, but the staff were very welcoming at Villa Fillip (13 euros) and invited to drink a couple of homemade grappas with the owner before heading out.
Would recommend a stay here certainly.

Leaving Villa Fillip before anyone wakes… at the ridiculously early hour of 7:30

The road along the lake to Ohrid has plenty of hotels, beach shops and restaurants. Give it an hour and it will be busy, and not good on a bike.

20 km to breakfast. I find that hard usually, but not so bad today.
Ohrid is a big city – best feature of breakfast at this place was the cheeses. Surprisingly wonderful.
I was joined by a Dutch student who came over when he saw the bike, he was also cycle touring. We chatted for a while over decent coffee, he was headed to Sarajevo and finishing in a week having been on the road for 5 weeks already.
The only other cycle tourers I’ve met have been Dutch. Another student at the Albanian border yesterday, and an older couple today on the road to Debar who were headed to China, in the next year. Always good to meet fellow tourers.

The centre of Ohrid.

In Struga.
Saturday morining and lots of cyclists out on club runs.

Tremendous little village stop as the day is starting to get hot (it went to 29C) – photo taken by the local police, who insisted upon it…

After leaving Ohrid Lake the riding was through the gorges made by the Black Drin River, dammed in a few places. It’s not a quiet road, with little shoulder, but the scenery is spectacular.

It’s easy to get annoyed about the litter. So much of it in almost every pull over stop. Such a contrast with the scenery,
The Dutch couple I met had heard a story about it. They say that littering in the days of communist rule was punished severely, and nobody did it. These days litterers are still rebelling against it.
There’s no recycling I have seen. As I say, easy to get annoyed, but as tourism grows hopefully environmental education does also.