In the grand scheme of things, megalithic observatories aren't really all that common. It's not like you are going to find one in every other town you come across, over there behind the Walmart. But Macedonia has been blessed with not one, but two (and not a Walmart in sight). The most well-known is at Kokino, but we first paid a visit to Cocev Kamen.
There are a lot of amazing spots in Macedonia which few tourists know anything about. And there are some spots which few Macedonians know about. Near Kratovo is an ancient village carved out of rock. Completely unmarked and almost totally overlooked, Golemo Gradište was one of the most exciting discoveries we made during our 91 days in the country.
Nestled in the pit of a volcanic crater an hour northeast of Skopje, Kratovo is famous for its Ottoman-era towers and high stone bridges. We spent a day exploring its back streets, enjoying the lively atmosphere and walking along the steep ravine which divides the town in two.
We showed up in Gevgelija raring to hit the casinos. Gambling is one of our favorite vices and Gevgelija, a small city on the border with Greece, has a reputation as Macedonia's gaming hot spot. But even though a casino was just across the street from our hotel, we ended up taking a rain check. What went wrong?
After the first month in a new location, we always take stock of our opinions with a self-interview. And after the second month, we like to learn more about the locals. So, we set out into the streets of Skopje to interview a few random Macedonians. Given the general friendliness of the people here, we didn't anticipate any difficulties. But as soon as we pulled out the pen and paper, many would clam up. There's apparently not a lot of trust toward foreign media... but we were able to coax a few folks into talking.
A few years ago, things were looking grim for Dojran (pronounced "doy-ran"), a lake in the southeastern corner of Macedonia. It was losing water rapidly to over-ambitious agriculture, and facing total disappearance. But a strict conservation program has brought this small lake back from the brink.
It was a long day of archaeology. In the morning, we hunted down Isar, an ancient settlement dating from the 7th century BC. Later, we drove over to the site of Vardarski Rid, on a hill overlooking Gevgelija. And our afternoon was spent at a museum which collects and displays the best archaeological finds from both sites.
Visiting the wetlands of Monospitovo had eaten up the entire morning, but our day in southeastern Macedonia was far from over. After refueling with a gigantic plate of meat in Novo Selo's Restaurant Lebed, we made our way south, to visit two of the country's most popular waterfalls.
We showed up early in Monospitovo, planning to spend the day at the only swamp in Macedonia. Although unclear about its exact location, we were confident about finding it. Monospitovo is, after all, a one-street village. Not much space for a swamp to hide. But it turns out that we were dealing with a very sneaky swamp.
Just off the "Alexander of Macedon" highway, not 30 minutes from Skopje, Veles is a city which we frequently drove past, noting it only as a marker along the way. "Already at Veles? Making good progress!" But one day curiosity got the better of us, and we decided to stop off and see what the town had to offer.
