Day 20 - Thursday 23 May - Skopje to Thessaloniki

Thursday 23 May, Skopje to Thessaloniki

We packed up and left our bags at the luggage store at the bus station, where we met our private guide for the day. (Groups tours only done in the afternoon for this trip.)

We headed off through the city and south east out of town for 17km to Matka Gorge.  Here the river has been dammed for hydro power, and 2 pretty lakes have been made.  They are used for boating, kayaking, and there is a canoe slalom course downstream.  You can rock climb or hire a cabin in the woods.  In Summer it is pretty busy with bus loads of tourists as well as locals.

 We walked along the path, then climbed in a boat that took us up the gorge for 25mins.  It was a pleasant ride, with very clear water, and not many others around.  At the end we disembarked, and climbed up a trail to the mouth of a limestone cave, which is lit by generator.  Inside there were a few formations, but it was pretty poor in comparison to other places we have seen.  We came back on the boat, had a look in the little church there, and headed off.

Next stop was the monastery of  St Pantelejmon, patron saint of physicians, up a high winding road.  This is a working monastery housing 5-6 Gk Orthodox monks.  It was built in C12 with the usual frescoes, then in C16 it was damaged by earthquake.  The frescoes were over-painted, and when Giotto came some 200 years later, the new ones had been cleaned off, and they found the originals underneath.  It is said that he was greatly influenced by the style of these, especially the Pieta, and that this was the beginning of Renaissance Art.

 

Then we went to the middle level of Mt Vodno, and rode in the cable car to the Millennium Cross.  It was built by the government to commemorate 2000 years of Christianity, and so has alienated various sections of the community who don't agree with its symbolism or construction.  It has a lift inside, but this has been turned off.  There was a storm coming, so we didn't stay long, and were dropped back in the city.

 

 

 We walked across to the old side of town, I did my shopping, and we got back to the bus station with plenty of time, and very few dinars left. 

The bus was a modern minibus, and the Friendship Highway a very modern road, so we zoomed along to the Greek border, then it wasn't long until we reached Thessaloniki.
 

But it was late (21:30) and dark, so we got a taxi to our bnb.