We made a good early start today in brilliant sunshine! Cold….but we have not had many clear skies as yet, so felt good!
And – despite the lack of any map connectivity – we made a surprisingly smooth exit from the city.
(Information note: Any SIM bought in EU or UK works in the whole EU zone. Last year even…one needed a different SIM for Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, North Macedonia…but the non-EU Balkan states have now bandied together…such that any SIM from a non-EU Balkan state should work in any other! Albania to Kosovo was ok. But that was it for us…more work to do!!! So…given it is just two days, we have been running without any connectivity. Hahaha….we used to do it all the time…but it is surprisingly disarming in this day and age!)
The landscape changed quickly…..
…..as we once again climbed into the hills, with great views back to the snowy mountains beyond Skopje.
No great heights today…..but constant ups and downs (& more of the former, as we made a Net gain of 600m) and it once again took its toll on the batteries. One down with barely half distance gone…but only 40% of the climbing…and I sensed it was going to be a difficult day! We have had almost constant headwinds the whole way (indeed since Italy)…a steady Easterly breeze, which does as much to drain energy as the hills (without the upside of the down….!). And yes…it turned into another monster!!! A much tougher day to day, despite the comparable stats.
We had been following a delightful side road, running parallel to the main road…but we did hot have the benefit of the bridges and cuttings…so our road meandered over every hill and down to the bottom of every valley…and it was takings its toll…on batteries AND bodies!! .
So…we finally bit the bullet and took the “easy” option for 22km or so. Not a busy road at all….but put Macedonian drivers on an empty road…and see how fast they go!! So….”easy” maybe, but not very comfortable!!
Plenty of battery management….but we still fell about eight kms short, with barely one km range left, and had to pull into a fairly miserable service station for a recharge….
…before riding through the town of Kriva Palanka…
…..and up – VERY STEEPLY – to our lodgings! At a monastery!! It was a real sting in the tail for knackered bodies…30% gradient….(not many cyclists they confirmed!)..but well worth it!! What a delightful spot!! A monastery…but also a hotel.
It had turned into another monster day (a monastery day!).
Our last four cycling days would have taken us from Katmandu to the top of Everest!! Mad?? I know…I keep going on about it…..and I apologise for that….and the Tour de France folk do it every year…..and they do not have batteries! But neither are they overweight smoking pensioners!!! Hahahaha
What a place…….
….wonderful frescoes…(painted monasteries?)…..the crowning glory of our North Macedonia journey!?
The beers were fantastic……(certainly too many!)…..I got there first…and that is the hotel behind me!
We had been wondering why so many folk were having fruit and cream with their wines!! (…seriously..!)…until our own salad arrived!!
The menu choice was chicken, or beans, or sausage, or beef….plus potatoes and salad! Perfect really!!
We both felt knackered…relieved to have made it…and the worrisome ‘monastery’ tag…(no beer….too much gravity)..was well extinguished!
Talking of which….gravity I mean….we completely missed the Coronation!!
Ho hum……..
My own crowning glory of the day occurred in my shower. Shower rose sitting on the tap, so I placed it into its holder, on its slide (you know!)…and immediately it all collapsed in a big heap…slide and all. So I carefully reconstructed it….all looking good…..and then I turned the water on….and complete chaos ensued as everything fell apart again! Water everywhere! Not to be beaten…I carefully reassembled everything with the water on! And it worked!! Glorious shower!
And then I turned the water off….! I had forgotten! Complete chaos once again as the whole thing collapsed once again…hahaha! And it was such a shock!! Silly things….!
But what a lovely evening…overlooking the ‘real’ monastery…..and knowing a great downhill was waiting for us first thing!! We felt just like the resident cat!
