It is a new year

It just does not have that same holiday feeling here, and that is okay. It is quiet. It is a time for reflection and growth as well as a time for pining.

I had a wonderful birthday, I am amazed at the love, kindness and thoughtfulness of my friends and family. It was a quiet day of joy that gave me many smiles.

I rang in the New Year at home with a fellow PCV and numerous Skype calls to the states to chat with family and all my friends in the castle. It is still so weird to be living in such different time zones. On a saturday morning at this time of year I am getting ready to watch the night take the day and they are still lounging in bed and watching the suns rays light up and warm the room.

On New Years Day we went on a long hike (we decided it was about 12km round trip) to the village of Bansko which is situated at the base of the mountain Belasica. Some sources say Bansko is the hot springs capital of Macedonia. We were looking for the ruins of a Roman bathhouse that is currently under excavation. We found it! I guess it dates back to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.

There we met a young man who is studying tourism. He gladly gave us a brief tour, pointing out where just a small amount of this famous spring is seeping form the ground.  There is no water currently running through the ruins but above it on a hill there is a small trickle of warm spring water.

A stones throw from the ruins is a hotel, Tzar Samuil, which houses a natural spa called Banja Bansko. He also gave as a brief tour of the spa pool. The water is so hot that it is mixed with cold water after it flows into the pool. It is used by the hotel guests but is also a treatment center. It was interesting with a very new/old Eastern European feel, imagine that.

After our tour we stopped at his family villa for a wonderful coffee and rest before heading back. We almost declined because we had such a long walk back and worried about returning before dark. I am glad we stopped, toured his home, drank italian coffee, and made a new friend.  има време

The Strumica Valley is where the majority of vegetables were grown when this area was Yugoslavia. It is now considered one of the wealthiest areas of Macedonia because its rich soil and climate still produce a great deal of produce that feeds this country as well as others.

This is just the beginning of my hiking excursions (I hope) there are waterfalls, wetlands and more ancient ruins close by. I am hoping to get a bike this spring so I can get further faster and not have to rely on a combi or taxi.