One of the reasons my son was coming to Macedonia was to have dental work done - if he were to have it done in Florida, it would cost over $5000 - here it will be less than $2000. The $5000 that he would have paid in Florida, could easily pay for airfare, car rental, accommodations, and dental work over here plus some vacation time. So today he had an appointment at 3:30. He had had dental X-rays done in Florida, and Tina brought them here to the dentist and explained when we were arriving. The dentist set up today's and a couple of tentative appointments. We are working our travel plans around the dentist!
So we had this morning free. I had read in a travel book that there was a hospital for people with respiratory illnesses near Lake Prespa to the west of Bitola. Come to find out that Tina's brother Ilce had been there within the last 10 years after developing pneumonia. Tina knew where the place was so we decide to take a drive after breakfast and before JB's dental appointment.
Cross on the hilltop is illuminated at night - Tina thinks it is a church or monastery.
New American company employing many young Macedonians.
A little shrine on the roadside - they are everywhere - there is usually a figure of a church with an opening that holds an icon or a statue - usually of the Blessed Mother/Mary - and flowers and/or candles. And some are out in the boondocks where you would think no one would stop to visit it - but people do.
Lake Prespa where we were heading is the highest lake in Macedonia - over 2799 feet. As we headed toward it, we started passing apple orchard after apple orchard with rows and rows of apple trees. This region used to be a prosperous trading area well known for its apples during Tito's time. But with the death of Tito, the breakup of Yugoslavia, and an economic recession - times are tough for local farmers - the price for their apples dropped because of tariffs and changes in trade agreements. Some homes in the area are hosting tourists and/or are providing traditional home cooked meals in their homes or yards - you only have to make reservations. I had thought of doing that - having lunch at someone's home - but I am already! Violeta is a great cook - what could be better than that!
All the home in the Bitola area have gardens and beautiful flowers but we passed one house that topped all of them - check out the following pictures.
Pictures can't do justice to the vibrancy of these flowers. There is also a bowl of gourds as well as a bowl of apples in front.
Look at all the gnomes and the Disney characters.
Is that Sleeping Beauty and the 7 dwarfs?
The house next door is decked out in mainly white flowers.
We were headed to Otesevo on Lake Prespa - difficult to discern the lake above despite a bright sunny day - Otesevo is know for its oxygen rich qualities and its rehabilitative quality for anyone with respiratory issues. We missed the turn for it and found ourselves at the Lakeview Hotel where we stopped for coffee. The hotel is a lovely 3 star facility with all kinds of activities - a deluxe double room comes with a private bathroom and a balcony with a view of the lake for 3650 MKD (Macedonian Denars) which is about $66-67 - not a bad value.
Outdoor seating overlooking the lake.
Sheltered outdoor terrace - this is where we sat because it was a very warm sunny morning. There is an indoor restaurant behind the terrace.
The archway says "Port to Heaven - Otesevo"
Outdoor terrace
Nice view of the lake and mountains.
Schweppes Bitter Lemon
View from the front door - a view from a bedroom would be the same. A smaller double room would have the same view and cost about $50.
There are canoes and kayaks, badminton and tennis courts, soccer field, games for kids plus more and then there are indoor activities.
We had coffee and Schweppes in the shade of the indoor terrace then we walked around. I said to John and Tina that my breathing did feel better while we were there - it felt great to take a really really deep breath -plus not feel short of breath in the hot weather - I'd like to book in here for a 2 week stay and just relax - maybe it would cure my cystic fibrosis!! Apparently the fresh air is due to the high altitude and to the numerous wild Juniper plants and trees that produce high quality oxygen.
We left the Hotel and headed a little further on to what seemed to be a beach resort - everything was closed for the season - there were lots of closed up beautiful houses right on the lake. As we started heading back we passed this new church being built.
We had missed the turn for Macedonia's Lung and Respiratory Rehabilitation facility but we turned in on the way back - some of the buildings are falling down but there is a newer building which you can just see in the above picture - there were people coming and going from here - Tina's brother was here when he had pneumonia and he comes for check-ups still. There was a run down small shop - we bought ice cream bars and sat outside to eat them to continue to breathe in the fresh air!
Next we passed the abandoned Hotel Evropa which was also on Lake Prespa. The road into the hotel was overgrown so we didn't go in but we could see how huge the place must have been in its heyday. It was built in Communist style architecture and was very popular. It had a major fire and has been abandoned since 2005.
One of the many roadside shrines that we often pass - this one happens to be at the entrance to a church.
This is the church where the little shrine is located. There is a cemetery also on the left.
Plaques at the entrance to the church - unfortunately I can't read them.
I think I said before that it seems like everyone has vegetable gardens but some people have large fields of red peppers and tobacco which really surprised me - I had never thought of the Balkans growing tobacco. As we were driving home today we passed people out in their fields hand picking the red peppers and tobacco leaves and loading them into wagons to bring home by tractor mostly. Talk about back breaking work! Back at Tina's house Violetta continues to harvest her red peppers and hang them to dry - she is afraid they will not be dry enough for her to make adjvar before we go back to Florida.
There is a large dairy farm on the way to Novaci - it has huge buildings to house the cows - none of which I have seen yet - and acres and acres of land. Before we arrived, cow manure had been dumped in piles across the fields - I'm not sure if hay is grown or another crop. Every day we drive by I wait to see if the manure has been spread through the fields - I am still waiting. When we lived in Gortdromagh in Ireland, Johnny Murphy would spread manure during the spring to fertilize the hay fields. I am presuming that is what they do here
Tractor and wagon on the road to Novaci probably going to harvest red peppers or tobacco.
When we arrived home from Lake Prespa, Violeta had a lunch ready for us. Of course she did. Then JB and Tina headed into Bitola to the dentist. It was going to be a 3-4 hour visit. After JB's appointment, he would know when his next appointment would be - then we could head out to Bulgaria and Romania for a quick visit. Meanwhile, I was to pack a smaller suitcase for this trip, look up what to see in Sofia, Bulgaria - decide if I really wanted to see Plovid - supposedly the oldest inhabited city in Bulgaria and the world - and update my blog. I sat outside under the grape vine for an hour or so then went inside to my room to stretch out on the bed.
Before I knew it JB was back. He said the dental office is clean with all the modern equipment - the dentist speaks English - the dental procedure is basically pain free. He has to go back in the morning again but then not for another week. So we decided to go to Krushevo tomorrow afternoon and then head out to Bulgaria on Wednesday the 25th.
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