This week felt like a bit of a transportation adventure. One evening, I rode with my neighbor to the town next door to celebrate his coworkers’ 10th work anniversary at a local restaurant. Later in the week, I explored the nearby city of Kavadarci on foot with my co-volunteer Katie, who visited from a neighboring village. I also hopped on a bus and traveled about an hour and a half north to the capital city for a meeting. Over the weekend, the adventure continued when I ran a 13K mountain race through the rocky hills and ancient fortress ruins above the city of Prilep. In between all of that, I biked out to the archaeological site of Stobi and even caught a taxi home after a self-defense class in another nearby village. By the end of the week, I had traveled by car, bus, bike, taxi and my own two feet — which is pretty typical when you’re living and working in a small town in North Macedonia. In the Peace Corps, transportation is usually just a matter of asking yourself: “Okay… what’s the best way to get there today?” and then seeing what works.
The most beautiful place I visited this week was definitely the city of Prilep. I don’t often get the chance to go there, so it was really special to return and run a mountain race through the hills above the city. The trail winds through enormous boulder fields that look like giant stones dropped across the mountainside. Along the way, you pass an old monastery built right into the rock and the ruins of what legend says was the palace of King Marko, a famous hero in local stories.
