Ohrid to Velgosti and part way up the mountain day twelve 5/10/15

Ohrid to Velgosti and partway up the mountain

5th October Monday

day Twelve Via Egnatia 

About 8 km

A short stroll today... Bracing ourselves for  what we read in the guide book is a huge day walking over the  mountain - and my tummy's not too terrific, so I'm pacing myself...

Patrick gets a Macedonian data sim in the morning, and we heave on our packs and head out of Ohrid at about 10 am

The first part of our walk is along the streets of Ohrid. Some characterful old decaying houses on the way.

Soon we're back in the countryside again!

We walk by the Sv Pekta monastery, the forest and spring look lovely, it looks as though it's also a starting point for trails up into the mountains, and a walks going to a number of small churches in the hills. There's an option of accommodation here, but we decide to continue onwards.

It's lovely to be back in the countryside again, the sound of sheep and goat bells makes a reappearance, the gardens and orchards are booming. I'm a country girl at heart!

We come across these men selling their harvest of mushrooms on a corner, the forest mushrooms are huge!

Can't find a bar or coffee in Velgosti, we stop off at a shop near the school to buy supplies for the next two lunches and dinner - can of tuna, bread, sweet biscuits for Patrick, apples... When I ask the shop attendant if there's a bar for coffee nearby she, say 'no' and then offers to make us each a Turkish coffee! Lovely. And, my stomach seems to cope with it , maybe my rumbling gurgling grumbling guts are on the mend!

Another cute old car in Velgosti

We walk up past the school and little church and start walking up, up, up... Along a nice clear track, quite steep, but not too bad.

Vistas looking back down towards lake Ohrid keep me pausing and turning around!

We arrive at the small chapel and summer house part way up the mountain at 2 pm 

Then, with a clatter and rattle, the old guy who we saw selling mushrooms, drove up in in a cloud of dust in a classic car!

I  Used the phrase book to ask about camping, he says 'da' yes, sure.... He's a classic country character! 76 years old healthy as... Mushroom gathering up in the mountains again. He heads off for more mushroom gathering, and we put up our little light tent for the first time this trip! 

There's also a lovely little clean spring for water, a pretty good spot for the night!

Our mushroom hunter friend returns with some more bounty, checks out our tent, fills up the car radiator with spring water, puts it in low gear and trundles off up the rough dirt road.

We have a dinner of bread, cheese, ham, tuna, nuts... Delicious! We play cards for a while while there's still light, I lose - again... had a bit of a wash and then hopped into the tent as the sun went down, and the temperature dropped quite a bit!

Snug as a bug in our tent, sleeping bags, and our Exped sleeping mats are super light, warm and comfortable! 

There's quite a heavy dew dripping onto the tent during the night. 

Accommodation:

Camping