Today was certainly a day for adventures. This morning Hannah, Zach, Edwin, and I met up with some of our Macedonian friends (an English student and his girlfriend and best friend). They hiked with us to the top of Mt. Vodno. It is one of the tallest mountains in Macedonia: 6 miles up and 6 miles down. It was a beautiful hike--hot and very sweaty but beautiful nonetheless. We started from my apartment, walked to the base of the mountain, and then started our ascent. Mt. Vodno is divided into 2 halves. The first half is much easier and shorter than the second half. When you get to the middle point, there are picnic benches, water fountains, and a cable car that can take you up the second half of the mountain if you so choose. But, I did not choose that option. Despite how hot it was today (we started much too late and it was blistering hot), the paths were mostly covered by the trees. It was actually quite pleasant. The trees and nature life made it fairly cool to walk through...despite the nearly vertical climb at some points.
I did well until the last third of the mountain. Hannah is a super climber and a speed walker, so she flew on before us. Zach followed her aimlessly, Edwin ended up taking the cable cars, Goran (the English student) and his girlfriend were way behind, and Vlasko (Goran's bff) stayed back with me as I struggled to the top. By that point my legs were exhausted and I really, really just wanted to be at the top already. It reminded me of that time I was climbing the Grand Canyon with my family. My sister and brother were way ahead of the rest of us while my dad (and mom too) stayed behind and encouraged me to finish. Oh family flashbacks...
It took us about 2 hours to climb all the way up. We spent about an hour at the top waiting for Goran and his girlfriend as well as resting. Then it took us over 2 hours to descend the mountain. It took so much longer because I have 4 blisters on each foot (two of which popped while I was walking down Mt. Vodno). I was in so much pain and that made everyone go slower. Plus, our Macedonian friends accidentally took us the longer way down. That was kind of frustrating especially since my hike had turned into a hobble.
By that point, we had been gone for 7 hours. It was extremely hot, and I kept envisioning me flagging down a car and pleading with them to drive me home. Praise the Lord the hike finally came to an end. I'm so glad that I went, and I am really proud of myself when I look up to the cross on Mt. Vodno. Now, I can say I've hiked all the way up and all the way down. But let me tell you, my feet sting so bad.
When we got back to the apartment, we had to quickly change into our swimsuits, flag down a taxi, and drive to Julia's house. Julia is the U.S. ambassador's daughter. She was having a birthday pool party this afternoon, and we were all invited. I spent no time hobbling to the pool, taking off my clothes, and jumping in the beautifully cool water. We met so many of Julia's friends at this party. Sorry dad, but this party was swimming with attractive Macedonian men. We played football in the pool and ate some wonderful American cook out food (and fun fetti cake). We learned that the ambassador's family is allowed to bring 3,000 lbs. of American food with them. So, we had a wonderful American meal this evening.
It felt so good to chill at the pool and just enjoy lounging around. Having friends in high places has it's perks. Today was definitely an eventful day, and I can tell that I'm going to sleep really, really, really well tonight.
Pictures from the hike are soon to come:)
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