We arrived in Ohrid yesterday. We'll be here for 3 days. Dan is working--conducting an advanced training class for Macedonian defense lawyers in conjunction with the US Embassy's training for prosecutors. I'm just enjoying the scenery. We stayed again at the Grebnos Stone House Apartments. I love waking to the view of the lake every morning.
The above photo is what Ohrid's port looks like now. The next photo shows what Ohrid's port looked like two months ago during our Orthodox Easter weekend visit.
On this visit, the weather is perfect and Ohrid is truly at its best. With the weather as fine as it is, Ohrid is a place one could fall in love with and forget that there was life before Ohrid.
While Dan worked, I strolled around taking photos. Tonight, after Dan finished his day of work, we took a boat ride to see St. Jovan of Kaneo from the water with the lovely golden late afternoon light.
St. Jovan of Kaneo was built in the late 13th century. It is much visited and photographed because of its stunning location above the former fishing village of Kaneo and just outside of the old city walls of Ohrid.
Our boatman, Bobbie, was a charming character. He looks for passengers all day long while chatting with his fellow boatmen. Every time I walked past him, he tried to charm me into his boat. He was so persistent that I picked him tonight. Once in the boat and a few meters into the lake, Bobbie stopped his engine and offered us rakija which we accepted. Then we traveled a few meters farther and he stopped the engine again. This time it was to make Turkish coffee on his little propane burner. We finally made it to the point under St. Jovan of Kaneo just and the light had become beautifully golden.
Bobbie told us he was famous in Ohrid because a CNN reporter, Nic Robertson, did a story on Ohrid in May 2010. Bobbie was his boatman. I watched the video and indeed, Bobbie, was Nic Robertson's boatman. The video shows Bobbie making Turkish coffee over his little propane burner just like for us. The rakija didn't show up on camera, but I'm sure Bobbie shared his rakija with Nic.
The boat ride was so pleasant, that I arranged to meet Bobbie at 8:00 a.m. to see the old city and St. Jovan of Kaneo in the morning light.
Dan and I left Bobbie behind and went off to the Belvedere Restaurant for a lovely dinner--probably the best we've had in Ohrid. The restaurant's outside seating is under massive plane trees that have been trimmed to offer a thick canopy over the table area. I had grilled river trout. The trout had been flaked and combined with onions and parsley and a lemony sauce. It was like a warm seafood salad. Dan had the specialty of the house: Belvedere Brochette.
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