Strumica, Macedonia, August 2022

Prilep, Macedonia From Prilep, I needed to continue toward Bulgaria, so I took the bus to the city of Strumica which is close to the border. Among attractions in the area were old monasteries, mineral springs, and good hiking trails. I set aside 2 days for exploring Strumica’s surrounding and was worried that perhaps it […]

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Prilep, Macedonia, August 2022

Pristina, Kosovo After 3 days in Skopje, I took the bus to Prilep. It was a stopover for one night to break a long stretch of the road ahead into two shorter parts. I booked a room at the hotel Salida one day before coming here. It was €20 per night, quite decent but with

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Pristina, Kosovo, August 2022

Lake Ohrid, Macedonia It is only 2 hours by bus from Skopje to Pristina, the capital city of Kosovo. Many travelers use Skopje as a springboard to add another entry to the list of their visited countries because Kosovo is a country. Almost 100 states recognized its independence although Kosovo is not a UN member.

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Lake Ohrid, Macedonia, August 2022

Bulgaria – Skopje My first day trip from Skopje was to Lake Ohrid, the oldest and deepest in Europe. I heard a lot about the lake’s beauty and could not wait to see it. The bus ride took 5 hours to Ohrid, the city on the lake shores. I walked from the bus station to

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Bulgaria – Skopje, Macedonia, August 2022

After two months in one place, I got itchy feet again. I was staying in my apartment in a small town of Byala on the Black Sea. Everything seemed fine. Morning swims in the sea, afternoon siestas, evenings with friends, and a couple of hours of freelancing as a translator each day may look like

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Havana

Back to Havana, Cuba, March 2022

Varadero I returned to Havana and slept 10 hours without waking. My room at casa Señora Martha that Amay kept for me was airconditioned and bug-free. I paid Amay for 3 remaining nights in Cuba and set aside $25 for the taxi to the airport. In the end, I was left with enough cash. However,

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Varadero

Varadero, Cuba, March 2022

Trinidad to Varadero Varadero is a typical beach place with hotels. The beach is on the ocean side of it, very beautiful, one of the best in the world and I had seen many of them ‒ Cuba was the 95th country that I visited. In the morning, I went to the beach for a

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Trinidad to Varadero, Cuba, March 2022

Trinidad Trinidad is not a touristy place. However, it has several nice museums. My favorite was Romantic museum, the former Palace of the Count Brunet who was a wealthy creole. The palace was built in 1808 and for some time it was considered to be the most beautiful in the Caribbean. The hill overlooking Trinidad

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Trinidad, Cuba, March 2021

Trinidad, Cuba, March 2022

Havana to Trinidad Trinidad is a lovely 500-year-old city, small and compact but difficult to navigate. On my first morning there, I set off on foot to explore it and got lost almost immediately. Trinidad’s streets were renamed after the revolution. Sometimes, it is the old name on one plaque, then the new name on

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Havana to Trinidad, Cuba, March 2022

New Havana After 2 days in Havana, I got some insight into how people live in this country. Basic products like sugar, salt, cooking oil and coffee are distributed through designated stores. The quantity of what one person can get is limited. People lined up outside such a store and waited patiently for their turn

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