Northern Greece, Albania & Macedonia: Ancient Lands of Alexander the Great Day 15

Day 15 - Tuesday, October 24, 2017 - Explore Elshani; Visit Local School; Meet Villagers; Traditional Meal; Home Hosted Lunch; Leisure Afternoon

Burrrrrr! It was chilly this morning with overcast skies and 42 degrees. At 9:00 we left for our “Day in the Life” OAT activity in the small village of Elshani.

We traveled to the traditional Macedonian village about 30 minute from our hotel. We could see that the distant mountains were covered with snow. Winter was here!

Bobi explained about the educational system that was compulsory through high school. We visited an elementary school that only had 23 children in grades 1st through 5th. The five 1st graders were in their own class and then there were combination classrooms for grades 2nd and 3rd and for 4th and 5th graders.

This school, sponsored in part by Grand Circle Foundation, gets many OAT visitors so we did not stay too long disrupting the students and their teachers. A few of us had brought school supplies that we gave to the teachers to distribute.

After saying goodbye we walked to the upper village, much more rural than the homes that fronted the lake. We were greeted by our host family and then divided into three teams for cooking.

There was a salad crew, a group for making the main dish, and Gennie was on the pita team. The salad group prepared the tomatoes, cucumbers, and sweet green peppers; the stable salad we have had in Macedonia.

The pita team learned how to roll out very paper-thin dough, (think baklava). The crust was drizzled with a light olive oil and then sprinkled with feta cheese. The dough and cheese were rolled and then put in circular pan to bake in a wood stove.

The stew was made of carrots, potatoes, peas, onions, and tomatoes with chunks of lean pork. This was placed in a terra cotta deep dish in a very hot wood oven for 45 minutes.

While our meal was in the oven, we went on an hour-long hike and donkey ride up into the hills above the village. Four of the community members brought their donkeys for us to ride. We took turns, but not everyone chose to ride.

We retraced our path and went back to the farmhouse where we all had lunch together. Many times on these activities we have been divided into groups, but it was fun for all of us to be together.

After many photos and a tour of the farm, we drove back to Ohrid for the afternoon. As this would have been the third afternoon on our own, Anna arranged for us to have a short boat ride to St. John the Theologian Church.

The church was built in the 13th Century and was erected on a cliff overlooking Kaneo Beach on Lake Ohrid. When we reached the top, Anna had another surprise for us with two bottles of the local wine and two Coka Colas for those of us who do not drink wine.

We walked back through the old village of Ohrid stopping at an excavation and a newly discovered early Christian church with exceptionally well-preserved mosaics. We continued our walk, went to the little grocery store, and then walked back to our hotel.

Tomorrow is our last travel day as we leave for the capital, Skopje and our final two days on this adventure.

A review about Alexander and his time in Macedonia:

Alexander the Great, who was king of the former Kingdom of Macedonia, was the first world-size conqueror who extended his empire across Greece and Persia to India and Egypt. During his time, the Kingdom of Macedonia was the most powerful state in the world; but after his death, the empire fell apart and it became the first Roman province in 146 B.C.

https://www.globotreks.com/destinations/macedonia/14-facts-you-might-not-know-about-macedonia/

Accommodations: CITY PALACE HOTEL - - - Meal: B & L