The Next Adventure - Cape Town, South Africa

This weekend we are leaving to go to Cape Town, South Africa.  The trip is twelve days (including travel days).  We have a few activities nailed down including one we have been thinking about since 2012.  We will be doing the following:

• Shark Cage Diving: This is the one we've thought about since 2012.  We met a family during our China trip that had done it and had really enjoyed it.  I hope they dress us warm since it's winter there. (Yes, I'm more worried about staying warm than I am about the sharks.)
• A Walking Tour of Old Town, Cape Town: This will get us familiarized with the city.
• Robben Island and the Prison: Can't go to South Africa without some Nelson Mandela history.
• Table Mountain Cable Car: A trip up to Table Mountain in a rotating cable car, one of only three in the world.
• Tandem Paragliding: If going up to the top of Table Mountain weren't high enough, how about paragliding over Cape Town ... why the heck not.

We were going to take a helicopter tour of Victoria Falls but, unfortunately, that tour was canceled.

We have four free days which we will fill with smaller tours and activities that we'll work out while we are there.

One nice thing is we will be in the same hotel the entire time so no packing and unpacking while we are there,

I will, of course, document and share photos of our trip when I get back ... if we get back (LOL).

2026 Southwest Meander - Days 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, And 13

The last six days didn't have any shows or planned activities.  It was just a visit to our old haunts in California.  While the first week of this trip was fun and interesting, the second half was like slipping on a favorite pair of socks.

Day 8 and 9 - Chinatown, Olvera Street, Oxnard, and Ventura.

We left Las Vegas and headed into California.  We didn't have any activities planned for the rest of our road trip except for destinations.

Our first stop was Chinatown in Los Angeles, CA.  We hadn't visited here since we left California in 2008.  Sadly, a couple of stores we remembered shopping at were no longer there.

From Chinatown we walked to Olvera Street.  Olvera Street was just like we remembered.  We stopped at a shop and bought Marys and magnets.

From Olvera Street we went to Simi Valley to visit a friend of the Wife.  We met him at his school and we talked as he showed us his school.

We ended up in Oxnard where I'd spent twenty years of my working life.  We drove by our old house and were sad that the new owners had torn out all our trees.

Channel Islands Harbor outside our hotel room.

We visited the Rudder Room, a dive bar the Wife used to visit with her coworkers.  As you walk into the Rudder Room you walk through a long hallway, passing by the bathrooms.  The hall reeks of urine.  Apparently the smell hasn't changed since 2008.  One of my old coworkers was in the bar but he didn't recognize me.  We hadn't seen each other for over twenty years so I decided not to approach him.  We never had been close anyway.  The Wife and I had a beer and diet soda sitting on the beach behind the bar.

We ate at In-and-Out Burger for dinner that night.  If you haven't eaten at In-and-Out Burger, you should try to find one.  Worth the trip.

The next day we were going to visit with a couple more of the Wife's friends but, due to bad timing, we were not able to meet with either of them.  Instead we went out for breakfast at Mrs Olson's, a restaurant we used to frequent for breakfast.  The Wife was a bit disappointed that they no longer offered Bubble and Squeak.

We then drove to downtown Ventura and walked the main street that was converted into a pedestrian way during COVID and has remained so.  We bought a few things in our favorite stores.  We ended the day with dinner at BJ's where I had a pizookie ... of course.

Day 10 - Harmony, CA, Cambria, CA and elephant seals.

We left Oxnard and drove north up the coast.  Our first stop was the tiny town of Harmony, population 18.  We'd visited the town several times over the years and we've watched it change.  Originally it only had a post office and a pottery shop.  Restaurants and a chapel were closed.  A few years later the post office closed, but the small wedding chapel reopened and a small glass blowing place opened.  Now, the glass blowing place has grown larger, a wine bar and coffee shop has opened, and a small house that had always been at the entrance of this tiny town is now an AirBnB.

An elephant seals sunning himself.

Next we drove through Cambria.  Cambria is our happy spot.  We used to visit it when we just needed to get out of town for a day when we lived in California.  It was too early to eat so we headed farther up the coast to see the elephant seals.  There weren't as many as before but I think the population of seals varies depending on the season.  It was nice that there were wild life people there to answer people's questions, something that hadn't been there before.

We returned to Cambria and ate at the Main Street Grill that serves very good tri-tip sandwiches.  We eat here every time we visit Cambria.  I bought a t-shirt.  Then we walked through the town and shopped at garden stores, boutiques, and artist's store fronts.  We bought clothes and magnets.  I bought an african bowl made from woven electrical wire, an interesting mix between traditional weaving and modern materials.  The weather was perfect for our Cambria meander.  We stopped for some ice cream before we headed to our hotel to check in.

The Moonstone beach boardwalk.

We crossed the road in front of our hotel and walked the boardwalk along Moonstone beach.  We walked out on the rocks and found anemones in tidal pools.  It was windy and cold along the boardwalk.  I suspect it is always windy and cold along the water here despite the town main street being warm and inviting.

A tide pool anemone.

Day 11 - The World Famous Clown Motel

We left Cambria and drove across California, through a foggy central valley, through the desert, past Manzanar, before taking a windy, twisty-turny, road through the mountains that had drops that made your stomach float up in zero-G.  It was fun ... and a bit harrowing, frankly. 

The destination for the day was the town of Tonopah, NV.  There were two reasons to stop here.  First it was on the way to one of the Wife's students, which we hoped to visit.  Unfortunately their schedule prevented us from visiting.  Our luck with meeting friends on this trip was abysmal.

The second reason was the World Famous Clown Motel ... America's scariest motel. We stayed in the Exorcist room.  I'd wanted to stay here since I first heard of it years ago.  It was a weird place which, naturally made it an awesome place to stay.

The Exorcist Room.

Day 12 and 13 - The drive home

Our last two days were long ... nine to ten hour drives.  The last day, when we left Rawlins, WY the weather was terrible and the highway was icy .  We crawled along with traffic passing several semi trucks in the ditch .

In Nebraska we saw sandhill cranes during their yearly migration.

We were ready to get home after thirteen days on the road but we saw some cool things along the way.  We are starting to get a bit old to be in the car that long but we did this trip well.  Except for the last two days, out drives were reasonable.  The Wife and I tried to split the drive evenly which worked out great for both of us.  The next planned trip will be an international one in late July – Capetown, South Africa.

Weekly Ephemera #173

• Had an MRI of my prostate.  Not much has changed from the one taken a year ago which is good.  I'm scheduled for a biopsy in June to see how things have changed since the last one I had last year.
• I walked 38.8 miles (62.5 km) since my last Weekly Ephemera post.  This last week I actually managed to walk three times which has been a struggle this year.
• I finished the second season of "Fallout".  It was ok.
• We've started to plan out our 2027 travels.  We are looking at a loose festival theme that would include Holy Week in Spain, Dia de los Muertos in Oaxaca, and San Diego Comic-Con.

2026 Southwest Meander - Day 7

Day 7 - Las Vegas, NV

We left Kanab, UT and drove three hours, through beautiful landscapes and barren flats, to Las Vegas, NV.  We've been to Las Vegas many times before, not for the gambling, but for the shows.  This time would not be different.

When I picked a hotel in Las Vegas, I picked one that I'd thought we'd stayed at before a few years back but, totally by accident, I picked one that we'd never been to before but located in the perfect location for what we were planning to do.

The Judges and VIP section of the arena.

The first show we were going to was in the early afternoon and located, literally, across the street from our hotel.  The Battlebots Destruct-A-Thon was located in the Battlebots arena.  We walked over and, first things first, we went to the gift shop for a t-shirt, a magnet, a piece of 'Scrapnel' (a piece of scrap shrapnel from a battle bot with a certificate of authenticity), and a few gifts.

Several BattleBots were on display.

We entered the arena which included the same battlefield you see in Battlebots on TV (now on YouTube).  They were not filming a new show at the time but they hold daily shows.  I learned a few things.  There are multiple copies of each battlebot  When they aren't filming, random battlebots are selected to battle and a group of substitute drivers cycle through the running of the battles.  The owner/designers of the BattleBots only drive when they are filming.  Now before you start thinking these substitute drivers are professionals or anything, I ended up buying Red Vines and chips from one of them at the concession stand where we joked about having to feed the munchies and he looked like he had a lot of experience with the munchies.

They staged four battles which felt like you were watching the show on TV just more exciting in person.  One of the announcers, Bill Dwyer, was one of the original TV hosts for the BattleBots show on Discovery. Unfortunately, the lighting, the protective plexiglass, and the speed of the battlebot movements made it difficult to photograph the actual battles.

The Sphere from the outside, flowers projected on its surface.

After we left the BattleBots arena we walked the one mile to the Sphere.  Here we would be watching an AI enhanced copy of the original "Wizard of Oz".  The sphere is an incredible venue.  The actual venue takes up maybe two thirds of the sphere with the other third being full of escalators to get people to their seats.  We were pretty high up and, I suspect, anyone with a fear of heights would have issues entering the venue.  The stairs are very steep and I held on to the railings as I walked to my seat.

The "Wizard of Oz" in the Sphere.

The movie started with a small projection like a normal movie theater then at the perfect time the movie expanded to fill the inside of the venue.  AI was used to wrap the film around the inside of the Sphere.  Most of this was seamless but there were a few glitches here and there but, having said that, it was very impressive.  A large gasp rose from the audience when the projection expanded.  There were other things to enhance the movie experience like paper leaves flying around the venue during the tornado scene.  I was surprised how much of the movie I'd totally forgotten about.  Scene after scene seemed new to me even though I'd watched this movie a kajillion times.  Shows you how little I'd paid attention, and how much my memory simply forgot, watching it as a child.

Psychedelic Sphere.

The best part of the Sphere, frankly, was the graphics that are projected on the outside of the venue.  I probably could have sat there all day just watching it change.  It was particularly spectacular at night.

We managed to get out of Las Vegas without gambling even once and I didn't miss it.

Next ... Oxnard, Cambria, and the Clown Motel.

Photographs can be found in my 2026 Southwest Meander Google Photos album.

2026 Southwest Meander - Days 4, 5, And 6

The next part of our road trip took us to a beautiful place picked out by the Wife.  Our original hope was to get permits to go see the Wave, a rock formation in the North Coyote Butte.  Permits are granted by lottery and are limited to a very small number each day.    We didn't get permits the 'normal' way but the company we went through would check to see if there were any cancellations.  Unfortunately there were none.  This is to be expected since we had heard stories of people trying for permits for five or even ten years unsuccessfully.  The company we worked through did offer us other hikes similar to the wave in the area so it wasn't a loss.  The company package we paid for included lodging in Kanab, UT just north of the area where we would be hiking, two guided hikes, and a dinner in a nice restaurant in our hotel.

I did not do my homework leaving all the planning to the Wife.  Because of this I arrived in Kanab without my Tilley hat, which I always wear when I hike, or my GPS.  So I have no distances for the hikes we did.  Still kicking myself a little bit.

Day 4: Getting to Kanab, UT

We left Oracle fairly early and drove the seven to eight hours to Kanab, UT.  Our hotel was nice with a fireplace in our room.  We went out looking for dinner and got a shock at how expensive the food was.  Having said that, restaurant choices were limited in Kanab and the food was delicious.

Day 5: South Coyote Butte

Undulating layers of petrified sand.

While we didn't get a permit to the Wave, we did manage to get a permit, with the help of the company, to South Coyote Butte.  South Coyote Butte has formations similar to the Wave and, according to our guides, has a more diverse landscape.

We had two guides, one an experienced guide, the other a trainee though he also was experienced with desert hiking.  The drive to the trailhead was two and a half hours with a stop along the way to use the facilities and chocolate chip cookies.

A fossil footprint.
The layers under the fossil have weathered away showing the underside of the dinosaur fossil print.

The hike was three to four hours long with a lunch break.  We saw beautiful wavy rock formations and fossils.  The views along the hike were spectacular.  There was something new to see around each corner.

The varied landscape of the South Coyote Butte.

After returning to the hotel we ate our included meal.  We had $150 worth of coupons from the company and we used most of it.  I ended up ordering the bone-in prime rib which turned out to be two and a half pounds (1.13 kg) of meat.  I ate maybe a third in the restaurant.  Another third would be eaten in our room on our last day in Kanab.

Day 6: White Pocket

The white formations from White Pocket.

Our second hike was in a place called White Pocket.  We had a single guide this time and we were joined by a man, his son, and the father's partner.

Not everything at White Pocket is white but they are all amazing.

We had the same two and a half hour drive to the trailhead.  The scenery and formations here were quite different from those of South Coyote Butte.  Over the next three to four hours we explored the variety of white and multicolored formations in the area.  So close to where we were the day before but with such different formations and colors.

Next ... Robots and Witches.

Photographs can be found in my 2026 Southwest Meander Google Photos album.

2026 Southwest Meander - Days 1, 2, And 3

Our latest adventure was a roadtrip through the southwest desert and our old California stomping grounds in Oxnard and Cambria.

Day 1: Dodge City, Kansas

We left on the Monday after the end of the winter olympics.  I based our stops on the experience we had on our last road trip to Key West in 2023.  During that trip we drove too long each day and often arrived in the dark.  On this trip I kept the days shorter, rarely going over eight hours.  This dictated our first stop to be in Kansas and I picked Dodge City figuring there would be something interesting in the famous cowboy town.  Turns out I was wrong.

Dodge City probably is an interesting, if not touristy town, during high season, but in February it is not.  Most of the downtown area was torn up with construction and the hotel I'd picked was ... adequate but not awesome.

The sign that welcomes you to Dodge City.

We drove around to find something interesting and found a few things.  Just outside town is a cross marking the point reached by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado.  Next we stopped at an overlook expecting a view of the Kansas plains or Dodge City, but instead got a view of a large cattle feedlot.  The Wife and I shook our heads at this.  We stopped to get a picture of the impressive sign as you entered Dodge City and took pictures of the various statues of gunslingers and famous cowboys, real and fictional that dot the city.  We ended the day with what I consider to be a mediocre meal at a local restaurant.

We did avoid going to the Mid-point between Los Angeles and Cleveland that is listed on the internet as a five star attraction.  The one photo showed an empty field with no marker or anything.  I think it might have been a joke.

Day 2: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Another seven hours driving got us to our next stop along the way, Albuquerque.  Our newly refurbished hotel was nice and within easy walking distance to the old town.  But, before we could enjoy the old town, I had to find a Toyota service place.  A plastic shield in the front driver's wheelwell had come loose and was making a racket.  They ended up just cutting out the shredded plastic shield.

After that racket was stopped, the Wife and I walked to the old town and did a little shopping and sightseeing before finding a nice restaurant to eat at.  The few hours we spent in the old town were relaxing.

Day 3: Oracle, Arizona and Biosphere 2

This was a shorter driving day but it was also very interesting and beautiful.  Part of the way took you down into colorful canyons and back up the other side.  While the Wife didn't enjoy the twisty-turny road, I always find this type of driving exhilarating.

Biosphere 2 near Oracle, Arizona.

We arrived at Biosphere 2 which is located fifteen minutes outside of the small town of Oracle, Arizona.  After entering the visitor's center and downloading the app, we followed the self-guided tour through the larger than expected facilities of the 'self-contained' habitat. The structure has spacious living spaces, farm fields, jungles, deserts, swamps, and even an ocean.  Everything is maintained, tho the ocean did die out and is in the process of being restored.  Ultimately, Biosphere 2 was a failed experiment when the oxygen levels within the habitat could not be maintained, but it was a fascinating attempt at creating a self-contained environment similar to what a Moon or Mars base might be like.

We spent the night in the only place to stay in Oracle.  The sprawling 'ranch' had many rooms/cottages that were very comfortable.  The property had trees and gardens though they were not ready for the high season yet.  There were only a few guests there in February.  The Wife enjoyed a go on a tire swing outside our room.  The pool wasn't ready yet but the hot tub was and the Wife and I soaked before the sun started to go down.  We had dinner at an italian place which, most likely, made most of its money from pizza sales.  The chicken parmesan we ate was very good.

Next ... Kanab, Utah.

Photographs can be found in my 2026 Southwest Meander Google Photos album.

Weekly Ephemera #171

Just a quick note this week.  We are back from our Southwest meander. It turned out to be an interesting trip with Biosphere 2, interesting rock formations, battling robots, expanded movie classics, and old haunts.  I will try to start posting later this week. 

Our Next Trip: A Southwestern Meander

Next week we will leave on the first trip of the year.  It is a road trip throughout the southwestern US that will take us through some beautiful places, weird places, and old stomping grounds.

Our first stop will be the Biosphere 2 in Arizona.  The Biosphere is open for tours.  I was hoping to stop at Petrified Forest National Park along the way, but it doesn't look like we will have the time due to the Biosphere 2 closing times.

Our next stop Will be in Kanab, UT.  We will be here for three nights.  We are hoping to hike to see the Wave.  Access to the Wave is strictly limited and you get permits via lottery.  We have heard stories of people trying for over five years without getting a permit.  The company we are working with will send people to the Bureau of Land Management office to see if there are cancellations.  If there are none, the company offers hikes to similar wind carved features in the area.

After a couple days of hiking, we will drive to Las Vegas.  Here we will attend two shows.  The first is the BattleBots Destruct-A-Thon.  The second show is "The Wizard of Oz" at the Sphere.  This is more of a way to see what the Sphere has to offer than watching the movie which we have seen umpteen-zillion times already.

After las Vegas we drive to Chinatown in Los Angeles and visit with friends in our old Ventura County stomping grounds.

We then drive up the coast, spending a night in one of our favorite places, Cambria, CA.  Here we will have tri-tip sandwiches and enjoy the shops and the beeches.

Our last planned stop is the World Famous Clown Motel in Tonopah, NV.  We reserved the Exorcist room.

We were hoping to go to the speed trials at the Bonneville Salt Flats but there are none at this time of year.

The return home from the Clown Motel is currently unplanned.  We may add a stop or two along the way back but we will be playing it by ear.

Weekly Ephemera #169

Last weekend was a bit busy so I missed  a weekly update so this one will include some of last week.

• Last weekend the Wife's aunt and cousins visited from Florida.  They treated us to a Creighton men's Basketball game.  Unfortunately, my sports curse which had disappeared seems to have returned and Creighton lost.

Creighton vs Saint John

• This weekend the Wife hosted Bread Camp for her niece's husband and five year old son.  She taught them how to make different types of dough with their bread machine and made homemade pizza for dinner.
• We have finalized the bones of our next three trips.  The first will be a road trip after the Winter Olympics around Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California.  The second is just under two weeks in Cape Town, South Africa at the end of July.  The last is a month-long trip to Paris, northern France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium.  We have quirky things planned for all three of these trips, which I will document in posts prior to our travel dates.
• Over the last two weeks I walked four times for a total of 30.7 miles (49.4 km).  I missed a couple of walking days due to the visits.

2025 Balkans and Malta Travels - Magnet Edition

We Purchased magnets on our Balkan and Malta travels last fall, as we usually do, and added fifty-two new magnets to our collection.  Our collection now stands at Eight-Hundred-Thirty-Eight magnets.  Here are a few of my favorites from our last travels.

Zeus.

Meteora, Greece.

Communist era pillbox in Tirana, Albania.

Northern Macedonian shoes and dress.

Popeye, filmed in Malta.

You can see our entire collection in our 2006-2025 Travel Magnets Google Photos album.  You can also access them from the Travel Magnets tab above.

2025 Malta Travels

Leaving the Balkans

We left Northern Macedonia returning to Albania.  We stopped at a park where we had a boat ride, drank coffee and drinks, while we fed the ducks.  We stopped at a park for lunch at a nice restaurant.

Our last night we had our goodbye dinner near our hotel.  We all would be leaving very early to home or, in our case, the island of Malta.

We arrived at Valletta the capital of Malta and were able to get in our room right away despite being early.  The Wife took advantage of the pool while I rested in the room.  I joined the wife and we ate lunch at the pool restaurant.

As we ate, we watched yacht crews preparing their boats for the 600 km Rolex Middle Sea Race.  The race would start the next day.  117 crews started and 110 finished.

Later in the afternoon we walked to old town Valletta previewing our walking tour planned for the next day.

Neptune fountain outside old Valletta, Malta.

Valletta, Barrakka Gardens, St. John's Co-Cathedral, and lower Valletta.

Our guide picked us up at the hotel and we went on a walking tour of old Valletta.  He explained the history of Malta and the city.  He pointed out government buildings and historical landmarks.  We stopped to have lunch in an outdoor restaurant.

St. John's Co-Cathedral.

After lunch we visited St. John's co-cathedral.  The cathedral is beautiful and full of Maltese history.  Our guide gave us a detailed tour pointing out sculptures honoring the builders and contributors to the cathedral.  The tour ended with a Caravaggio painting, 'The Beheading of St John the Baptist'.  Our guide pointed out things we would have missed and he made it interesting.  He covered the life of Caravaggio who led an interesting life.

Caravaggio's "The Beheading of St John the Baptist".

From there we went to the Barrakka Gardens overlooking the port and two old cities on the other side of the harbor which we would visit the next day.  This was also the place to view the start of the boat race.  Fortunately it was earlier in the day and the crowd at the garden had dissipated by the time we were there.  The view from the gardens was interesting as you could get a feel for the old architecture of the city.

Senglea, Malta seen from the Barrakka Gardens.

The day ended with a walk through lower Valletta, the less commercial and more pedestrian part of the old town.  We say normal life here with less tourism.

Vittoriosa City, Senglea Gardjola Gardens, Marsaxlokk, and Hypogeum

Narrow streets in Senglea.

Today our guide took us on the other side of the harbor to explore the other old cities.  We visited different parts of these cities learning about the history of the cities.

We visited the Hypogeum, an archaeological dig under the city.  The Hypogeum guide took our tour group through the digs pointing out religious and burial areas.  The tour was well done and very interesting.

We stopped at a park for a view of the harbor from another angle and we enjoyed the views and a lookout post.

We ended the day in Marsaxlokk, a traditional fishing town.  We visited the market and had lunch along the town harbor.

Island of Gozo, Calypso Cave Terrace, Salt Pans, Dwejra Inland Sea, Citadel Old Capital City, and Victoria

Today we left the main island of Malta for a day trip and took a fast ferry to the Island of Gozo.

We stopped at archeological ruins and explored the history of the islands.   We visited the Calypso cave terrace to admire a panoramic view of the bay and valley.  The cave itself was not open to visitors due to it being hazardous and damaged from previous visitors.

The salt pans along the Mediterranean sea.

From there we visited the salt pans where salt has been collected for many years.  The views from the viewpoint were amazing.

We visited the Dwejra inland sea and enjoyed more views of nature, cliffs, and arches.

Dwejra inland sea cliffs and arches.

The day ended with a tour of the Citadel and the city of Victoria where we learned history, and, naturally, went shopping.  The Wife and I are big travel shoppers though we usually have something specific to the location in mind.

Mdina Old Capital City, Rabat, Hagar Qim Temple, Dingli Cliffs, and Blue Grotto

Mdina old capital city.

The last day of our tour combined history and nature like most of the tour.  We first explored Mdina, the old capital city.  We walked through the narrow, winding streets learning about the history and culture of the city.

We toured parts of Rabat including a lunch of Pastizzi a specialty from the area. We did more shopping and visited a church.

We visited ruins of the Hagar Qim temple.  The impressive ruins  are partially covered to preserve it.  At this point I was a little ruined-out but it was still interesting.

Lastly we visited the Dingli cliffs and the Blue Grotto.  We were going to take a boat ride here but the wind made the seas choppy so we only say things from afar.

Free Day

Our last day in Malta was a free day.  We spent hours by the pool, me reading, the wife swimming, and we ate lunch poolside.  In the afternoon we walked back to old town Valletta and had some ice cream and finished our last minute shopping.

Our hotel pool.

The next day we returned home after three weeks on the road.  It went smoothly despite the government shutdown.  In the end, Malta was a nice way to end our adventure.

Photos can be found in my 2025-10 Malta Google Photos album.

2025 Balkan Travels - Northern Macedonia

Crossing the Border, Heraclea Lyncestis, and the drive to Skopje

After lunch in Florina, we crossed the border from Greece into Northern Macedonia (Macedonia became Northern Macedonia in 2019 after a dispute with Greece).  On our second long driving day of the trip, we drove through Turkish tobacco fields and towns on our way north.

A small portion of the mosaics of Heraclea Lyncestis.

Our stop of the day was the ruins of Heraclea Lyncestis, a fourth century BCE city that thrived until the Ottoman era.  A local archeologist gave us a tour of the ruins including beautiful mosaics showing religious and historical  stories.

We left the ruins and drove until it was almost dark.  We stopped at a vineyard to have dinner.  Our guide, an Albanian, kept warning us that the quality of food in Northern Macedonia was not as good as Albanian food.  My palette must not be that great since the food we ate in Macedonia was very good.

We ended the day in a very nice hotel in Skopje, capital of Northern Macedonia.

Skopje

Alexander the Great

Today we had a walking tour of Skopje.  We met our local guide at a fortress overlooking the old city.  The local guide explained the history of this capital city.  We walked to a nearby mosque and looked at the elaborate decorations.  Our guide walked us through old streets to the bazaar.

The bustling Bazaar full of both old and new shops included an old Muslim school and a hammam.  We had time to shop and the Wife bought some leather shoes unique to Northern Macedonia.

Mother Teresa

As we left the bazaar we passed statues of founding kings and Alexander the Great.

The end of the Skopje tour ended at a museum dedicated to Mother Teresa who was born in Skopje.  I'd never seen pictures of her as a young girl before.

We ate lunch in the modern downtown before we had some free time to shop.  Our bus picked us up and we drove a few hours to Ohrid.

Ohrid

Ohrid, a city on Lake Ohrid, is a nice lakeside city with a fortress overlooking the city.  The city is where the Cyrillic alphabet was developed by Saints Cyril and Methodius.

We met with a local guide and we had a walking tour of the old city.  He described the old housing style and the politics of the city during the different imperial eras.

Crystal clear Lake Ohrid.

We visited a pearl factory where processing pearls was demonstrated.  From there we visited an old Orthodox church.

Inside the Church of St Sophia.

After the church we rested at an amphitheater that is still used to this day for festivals.  We continued our walk through the hilly city as we visited the fortress looking over the town and lake.

Church of St John.

We toured the fortress and enjoyed the views of the city and the lake.  From there we walked towards the Lake shore.  We visited a small church perched on the edge of the lake.  It was not originally on the tour but our tour guide made it happen when the Wife showed interest in going in.

We then walked down to the shore and got on a boat which took us along the crystal clear waters of lake Ohrid pointing out points of interest including the prime Minister's summer retreat (formerly a communist leader's summer home).  The boat ride ended back in Ohrid not far from the restaurant where we would have lunch.

The church at the Monastery of St Naum.

In the afternoon we saw reconstructed "floating" homes used by people trying to escape persecution on the way to a monastery overlooking the lake.  At the Monastery we saw the rushing water that feed lake Ohrid from another, higher lake on the other side of the mountains.  The flow of water was impressive.

 

This was our last day in Northern Macedonia and the tour was nearly over.  Tomorrow we would travel back to Tirana.

Photos can be found in my 2025-10 Northern Macedonia Google Photos album.

2025 Balkan Travels - Greece Part Two

Ioannina and the Holy Monastery of Great Meteora

We crossed the border from Albania into Greece, one of our rare land border crossing, the others being Kenya into Tanzania and Brazil into Argentina at Iguazu falls.  Our first stop of the day was the city of Ioannina located on the shores of lake Pamvotis.

The Aslan Pasha Mosque built in 1612 CE.

In Ioannina we joined a local guide who took us on a walking tour of the old town founded by Justinian.  The tour ended at a high point where we visited the oldest Byzantine fortress in Greece.  We took in the church and mosque in the fortress and enjoyed the panoramic views of the lake and city.  After the tour we had lunch in a nice restaurant not far from the lake.

Lake Pamvotis from the fortress.

This would be a long day of driving.  Most of the afternoon was seeing the Greek countryside.

We arrived at the city of Kalambaka where we visited, with another local guide, the Holy Monastery of Great Meteora perched on a column of rock.  This and other monasteries, built here in the 1400's, are magnificent works of architecture and were the highlight of the trip.  There were originally twenty-four of these monasteries but only six remain.  The Holy Monastery of Great Meteora is the oldest, and largest of these marvels.

The Holy Monastery of Great Meteora, situated on its column of rock.

In the evening we ate dinner at a nice restaurant.

Holy Trinity Monastery and Florina

In the morning we rejoined with our local guide and visited the Holy Trinity Monastery.  The monastery is accessed by a long set of stairs and a bridge.  From the monastery you have magnificent views of several other monasteries including a couple that are no longer inhabited.  We'd arrived early and we practically had the Holy Trinity Monastery to ourselves thanks to the local guide.

The Holy Monastery of Varlaam, this photo taken from the Holy Trinity Monastery.

After the monastery we headed to the town of Florina for lunch at a family's farm-to-table restaurant.  

To Another Border

After lunch we headed to the Greek - Northern Macedonia border.  The rest of this long travel day will continue in the next post.

Pictures can be found in my 2025-10 Greece Google Photos album.

2025 Balkan Travels - Albania

Travel Day:

We flew into Tirana, Albania and were picked up by our guide.  For the next ten days or so we would be on a tour with nine other guests, a tour guide, and a driver.  Like in Athens we got to the hotel early so we went looking for an ATM to get cash, had some drinks, and found an open air market to explore to kill time.  At one cafe we talked to a couple who had lived in the US for a while before returning to the Wife's native Albania.  They were very very complimentary of Albania and the people.

We checked into our room early and settled into our room.  The mayor of New York, Adams, was staying at the hotel ... or at least we assumed he was.  This was possibly one of the nicest and newer hotels in Tirana.

One of the views out of hotel windows (This is zoomed in, it was not this crowded).

In the evening our guide picked us up along with the other guests and we walked a couple blocks to a nice restaurant for our welcome dinner.  The dinner was a preview of what was to come.  Course after course of delicious food.  Half way through everyone was stuffed and the courses kept coming.  By the end of the evening I was sure they were trying to kill us by sheer volume of food.

The other guests – three couples, two sisters, and a single woman – were all pleasant and fun to talk to.  There would be only minor friction here and there throughout the ten-day tour.

Shkodra, Rozafa Castle, and Lezhë:

We got on our comfy bus and we headed to northern Albania.  The first stop was a factory where they make Venetian masks.  The company has been supplying the masks to Venice and other carnival locations since the late nineties.  The owner took us on a tour of the factory where the masks are made by hand in an assembly line fashion.  The masks were amazing, intricate, and beautiful.  We then went through the gallery which is an explosion of color.  I bought a small mask for my small collection of masks.

Venetian Masks made in Albania.

Next we went to the Rozafa Castle overlooking historic Shkodër.  The castle was interesting and the views of the two rivers and the city were incredible.

Our next stop was lunch at an organic farm-to-table restaurant in the countryside near Lezhë.  Again, they continued to try to kill us with abundance.  The multiple courses of food were fresh, plentiful, and delicious.  We commented about the quantity of food and I think our guide toned it down for the rest of the tour – we were grateful.

Part of Rozafa Castle in Shkodra and the Albanian flag.

We went out for dinner that night for yet another incredible meal.  Our tour company usually only supplies some special meals but this tour provided three meals a day and, frankly, this reduced the stress of having to find food on your own.

Krujë and Tirana:

We got on our trusty bus and we drove south to the city of Krujë.  Here we visited  Dervish monastery.  The guide translated as guests asked the caretaker questions about the monastery and religion.  The caretaker and our guide were surprised by the number and quality of our questions.  Yay us.

We visited a restored two hundred year old Ottoman era home where our very funny, and punny, local guide gave us an interesting tour bringing the home alive with culture and history.

A painting in the Ottoman house.

We had lunch not far from the monastery at another incredible restaurant.  The head chef, a stern woman, chewed out the staff often while we ate our excellent meal.  I'm sure this was just part of the kitchen's normal banter.

After our meal we had time to do some shopping in the town's bazaar.  We ended up with some stuff including an Albanian futball jersey for me. The Wife and I got a little lost in the bazaar but we managed to find the bus and the rest of the group.

A pillbox bunker.

We returned to Tirana and had a short walking tour of the city seeing the pillbox bunkers that were built by the paranoid former communist government.  We passed the local NATO offices and visited various historical parks and buildings of the communist era and the modern Tirana.

We took the bus to a restaurant for dinner and we walked back to the hotel after a very satisfying dinner.

Durrës, Ardenica Monastery, and Apollonia:

Ardenica Monastery.

After using Tirana as our base for the last few days, we checked out and took our bus to Durrës, a bustling port city where we visited an excavated Roman amphitheater.

From there we headed inland and visited the Ardenica Monastery with its thirteenth century frescoes and the beautiful views from its hilltop location.

After the monastery we had a very short drive to another farm/vineyard/restaurant for lunch.  From the veranda of the restaurant, where we ate,  you could see the Adriatic.

The next stop was the ruins of Apollonia.  The head archeologist of the site gave us the tour.  He was knowledgeable and funny as we toured the ruins.  The tour ended at another monastery and museum which we explored on our own.

The government building in Apollonia.

The day ended in our boutique hotel in the city of Gjirokastra.

Gjirokastra:

Gjirokastra Fortress.

We joined a local guide in Gjirokastra who took us on a walking tour of a poet's home and a restored private home.  We toured the house followed by the house's resident cats, they liked to jump on our lap every time you sat down.  The private home was amazing and we met the current owners of the house, who talked about the experience of people before, during, and after the communist era in Albania.  It was very interesting.

We took taxis up to the fortress that overlooked Gjirokastra.  From there our local guide took us through the military museum and prison.  Outside our guide sang us a folk song.  She had an amazing voice.

That night we had dinner at a restaurant perched on the ridge overlooking Gjirokastra.  As we ate we were serenaded by men in native costume singing Iso Polifonia.  The food was good and the singing was interesting and unique.  We decided the band name should be the Pom Pom Funcles (they had little pom poms on their shoes and they all looked like someones fun uncle – the link goes to a video the Wife took).

At this point we pointed out that our last three meals had been chicken.  The meals on this tour all had set menus.  Our guide apologized at the oversight.  This was the only issue I had with the guide except maybe for his dependency on ChatGPT for some historical information.

To The Border:

We left Gjirokastra on the first of two long driving days.  We reached the border with Greece.  The remainder of the day will be documented in the next post as we re-enter Greece and visit the monasteries of Meteora.

Pictures can be found in my 2025-10 Albania Google Photos album.