Saturday, May 24

Lunch: A fish indigenous to Lake Ohrid called Koran. It is like a cross between salmon and trout - YUM!

We drove south east to Lake Ohrid on the Macedonian border, stopping at a scenic overlook where we bought nuts and dried fruit.

With our friend Karin also traveling with us! (Mom and Karin met in 2011 on a trip to Madagascar.)

Lake Ohrid is the oldest and deepest lake in the Balkans and is filled with endemic life forms. Since most of its water comes from filtered springs, the water is often clear to a depth of 66 feet! It was formed by a tectonic depression nearly 5 million years ago. It has a shoreline of nearly 55 miles, and is 950 feet deep.

We ate lunch right on the lake within sight of the Macedonian border in the village of Tushemisht. And we enjoyed the whitefish “koran,” one of the oldest fish in the world which exists ONLY in this lake. It looks (and tastes) like a cross between salmon and trout.

Giant beans, carrots, eggplant, red peppers

I don't know what this was, but it was wonderful!

Before...

...And after!

After lunch we wandered around the little village.

From the Ottoman Empire (18th C)

We drove further south to the town of Korce near the border with Greece. Korce is culturally diverse, and is a significant place for both Orthodox Christians and Muslims. We’ll be here two days, and this afternoon we visited the Museum of Medieval Art where thousands of icons saved from destruction during communist times are displayed.