Ohrid, Macedonia to Korce, Albania.

Our 13th country on tour and what a contrast to some of the others we have travelled through. We left Antonio's Guesthouse around 7.30am and commenced to ride along the shore of Lake Ohrid for the next 30kms.  The view over the lake at times was simply stunning.  A beautiful cool morning, little traffic and a road that resembled a deserted back road on the hills of Bowral back home. The ride to the Albanian border was roughly 30kms from Ohrid.

The road meandered through villages with the elderly men sitting outside the local shop sipping coffee and tea. We had to climb one mountain to 980 metres before descending to the town of Pogradec.  This town was so different to the villages we had passed, it was a real Mediterranean feel on the shores of Lake Ohrid.  It had many coffee shops and a beach with slides and boats to play with. I can imagine that this place would be packed with tourists during the summer. 

As we rode through the town and away from the lake the place took another face of a dirty town with run down shops, buses parked anywhere and everywhere, people hustling for bus tickets, and the odd man walking around with a coffee ready for delivery.  We continued on and commenced the last hard climb of the day.  This one went straight up, steep and with switchbacks.  After the climb we descended a bit and then took lunch at the side of a service station.

We had a lot of traffic to accompany us to the Korce but at least we had a great road and a nice shoulder to ride on.

 The photo above is of the Museum on Water about 25kms away from Ohrid.  We didn't go down and have a look as it appeared closed for the day.

 The photo above was taken of one of the many roadside stalls we encountered once entering Albania.  They sell everything from capsicum, bananas, tomato, onions and plums.  Might have to buy some tomorrow for our ride.

The photo above really caught my eye today.  It shows a young boy with the horse and cart and his grandfather. It goes to show that one does not need much in life to give a beautiful smile.

We made it to Korce at 1.45pm, covering roughly 80kms with 2 big climbs. Our accommodation in Korce is the Regency Hotel.  Costs 30 Euro for a twin and is quite good. We went for a short walk this afternoon and got some food for tomorrow's ride. Our goal is the town of Leskovic which is close to the Greece border.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.