According to the calendar today is November 5th, hard to believe considering I spent less than 2 full weeks in Macedonia between Sept. 1 - Nov. 1.
Seemingly ages ago (Sept. 7th) I flew up to Croatia for a short trip along the southern Dalmatian coast. I spent the first night in Croatia in the ancient walled city of Dubrovnik. It was a beautiful city, although it was overrun with tourists and very over-priced. From Dubrovnik I ventured up the coast to the tiny coastal village of Ston. Ston was a strategic salt producer back in the days of spices, and as such was protected by a series of stone walls that run along the hills above the town. Today there's not much left to the town except for the salt and oyster (mmm..) works and the ancient stone wall, and on September 9th the town hosted the Ston Wall marathon. It was a beautiful, and brutal (think of a marathon with 4-5 Ks taking place on a stairmaster) race, definitely one of the coolest experiences I've had yet.
From Ston I went further down the coast, past Dubrovnik, to the town of Cavtat. In retrospect Cavtat was without a doubt the best town to stay and visit, it's filled with water-front shops and restaurants without the crush of tourists that Dubrovnik suffers.
Less than a week after I returned from Croatia, I was back in Skopje to board a flight bound for Washington, D.C. (via Zagreb > Frankfurt > Philly). The medical officers in Peace Corps determined that I needed to have surgery to correct my damaged hand tendons from way back in January. At first things seemed to be moving along like clockwork in DC; I met my hand surgeon for a consultation 2 days after I landed and was in surgery the next morning. Unfortunately there is a lot of physical therapy that goes along with ligament and tendon repair, so I was marooned in DC for the next 5 weeks for rehab. Aside from my 2 PT appointments each week I had no other obligations in DC, so what is a guy to do with 5 weeks of "weekend"? Turns out lots of eating and drinking, with some sight-seeing thrown in to mix things up. Even that got boring though. I ended up doing completely random things like going to a Georgetown football game (yes, they have a team) and joining some members of the Georgetown triathlon team for runs. I also got to travel quite a bit; I made 2 trips to Philly and a trip to Texas to visit Austin and Dallas. Finally, as the week of my release and return arrived, a slight hurricane (Sandy) decided to throw a wrench in things. Luckily my flight was scheduled for Wednesday, the day after Sandy blew through.
Now, back in Strumica, I feel like I'm getting re-acclimated to Macedonia all over again. Lucky or unlucky timing, I am headed to Istanbul this Saturday for a trip that was planned months before I knew I'd be going to D.C. for 6 weeks. Oh well, I gotta travel while I can. After Istanbul I'll be grounded for a while, and hopefully diving into some serious projects here in Macedonia.
Happy Holidays all.
Dubrovnik walls and fortress, at night:
Driving down the Dalmatian coast:
Checking out the Zagreb Cathedral during my layover:
The walls above Ston, Croatia:
View from my room in Cavtat:
Cavtat, Croatia:
Trying to make it to the top of the Ston wall @the Ston Wall marathon:
Hand, post-op:
Seemingly ages ago (Sept. 7th) I flew up to Croatia for a short trip along the southern Dalmatian coast. I spent the first night in Croatia in the ancient walled city of Dubrovnik. It was a beautiful city, although it was overrun with tourists and very over-priced. From Dubrovnik I ventured up the coast to the tiny coastal village of Ston. Ston was a strategic salt producer back in the days of spices, and as such was protected by a series of stone walls that run along the hills above the town. Today there's not much left to the town except for the salt and oyster (mmm..) works and the ancient stone wall, and on September 9th the town hosted the Ston Wall marathon. It was a beautiful, and brutal (think of a marathon with 4-5 Ks taking place on a stairmaster) race, definitely one of the coolest experiences I've had yet.
From Ston I went further down the coast, past Dubrovnik, to the town of Cavtat. In retrospect Cavtat was without a doubt the best town to stay and visit, it's filled with water-front shops and restaurants without the crush of tourists that Dubrovnik suffers.
Less than a week after I returned from Croatia, I was back in Skopje to board a flight bound for Washington, D.C. (via Zagreb > Frankfurt > Philly). The medical officers in Peace Corps determined that I needed to have surgery to correct my damaged hand tendons from way back in January. At first things seemed to be moving along like clockwork in DC; I met my hand surgeon for a consultation 2 days after I landed and was in surgery the next morning. Unfortunately there is a lot of physical therapy that goes along with ligament and tendon repair, so I was marooned in DC for the next 5 weeks for rehab. Aside from my 2 PT appointments each week I had no other obligations in DC, so what is a guy to do with 5 weeks of "weekend"? Turns out lots of eating and drinking, with some sight-seeing thrown in to mix things up. Even that got boring though. I ended up doing completely random things like going to a Georgetown football game (yes, they have a team) and joining some members of the Georgetown triathlon team for runs. I also got to travel quite a bit; I made 2 trips to Philly and a trip to Texas to visit Austin and Dallas. Finally, as the week of my release and return arrived, a slight hurricane (Sandy) decided to throw a wrench in things. Luckily my flight was scheduled for Wednesday, the day after Sandy blew through.
Now, back in Strumica, I feel like I'm getting re-acclimated to Macedonia all over again. Lucky or unlucky timing, I am headed to Istanbul this Saturday for a trip that was planned months before I knew I'd be going to D.C. for 6 weeks. Oh well, I gotta travel while I can. After Istanbul I'll be grounded for a while, and hopefully diving into some serious projects here in Macedonia.
Happy Holidays all.
Dubrovnik walls and fortress, at night:
Driving down the Dalmatian coast:
Checking out the Zagreb Cathedral during my layover:
The walls above Ston, Croatia:
View from my room in Cavtat:
Cavtat, Croatia:
Trying to make it to the top of the Ston wall @the Ston Wall marathon:
Hand, post-op:
