"Juliet's Big Day" FYR of Macedonia Travelogue by travelinxs

We rode into the first big town in Macedonia, Kumanovo, and I thought we had arrived in a down-trodden part of the Middle East.

The roads were chaotic, with the traffic following no obvious rules and coming at us from every direction. The buildings looked run down and decrepit. Many more small kiosks replaced western-style stores. There was an air of deprivation and even hints of poverty as gypsy women begged on the streets as we picked our way through pot-holed roads.

It was Juliets big day. Her fort… Whoops! Nearly let the cat out of the bag. Her ‘important’ one. In a place like Kumanovo it was going to be hard to find her a present. So as an extravagant treat and so she would always remember this special day I bought her an ice cream.

What do you mean; “Youre such a tightarse Chris”? It wasn’t just any old ice cream, but a whole tub of cherry and chocolate ice cream. The best in Macedonia. I also treated her to a couple of nights in a small hotel so she would have somewhere nice to enjoy it.

Luckily for me, Macedonia was the cheapest country so far. The first where we could shop for food cheaper than a British Tescos. I was still in shock from the prices of everything in Europe. Especially Eastern Europe.

Travelling south we again ran down a deep gorge, following the same river as in Serbia, and it was mostly down-hill, explaining how we managed our best daily distance of 126km without too much sweat and finishing at a reasonable time. A night spent camped by a river, only spoilt by aggressive mosquitoes who, for once, preferred the taste of me to Juliet.

those dreaded tunnels

Macedonia is only a small country and after just a few days we hit the border with Greece.

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