When traveling, sometimes you follow the plan and it’s fun. Sometimes it’s like, well, ok I see the point, but meh. There’s of course room for surprises and detours. But, occasionally, things happen that make you say yep, that’s who I am as a traveler.
Walking to the church of Holy Mother of God Zahuska (St. Zaum), situated on the shore of Lake Ohrid, in North Macedonia, afforded me one of such experiences. An unplanned three hour detour inside a full day trip exploring the Ohrid coastline on a rented scooter. Here’s how it happened.
It was around 2pm and I had just finished visiting crowded yet beautiful Saint Naum monastery. That morning I had enjoyed a glorious swim in a solitary beach no far from the busy Gradishte beach (allegedly, the best in the area). My plan was to catch the sunset on that same beach, but I needed another plan to fill the afternoon.
The thought of a nice walk to a lookout or secluded cove appealed to me, and so I made a few searches on wikiloc.com which, as you probably know, is my go-to for researching walks and runs when I travel. Out of all the options (most of them in the nearby mountains), I was struck by one. So apparently it WAS possible to walk to St Zaum which, as I had understood, was only accessible by boat, SUP or kayak. Comments said that the route was not always clear and somewhat overgrown, but all in all it appeared relatively straight-forward and, according to the writer of the track, affording opportunities for nice swims.
So I parked my bike at the trailhead, and started hiking under the sun. Soon enough, I was in a nice forest slowly descending to the shore. When I got to the first small beach, I encountered a couple of kayaks parked on the beach, and a family from, I’d say, the Netherlands. Despite the heat, they had a fire going and seemed to be living their own iteration of the Robinson Crusoe experience. Talk about what leading a neat, orderly life of work and responsible decisions does to us. Oh well.
After some more walking I hit another small, pebbly beach. Well I guess this is where I’m skinny dipping on the way back, I thought cheerfully. I kept walking, feeling hot, through a scree slope and some more forest. I started seeing different human debris, then a cottage surrounded by construction gear. The only way around it was getting to the shore, and walking on the narrowest beach. And then I saw it – the beautiful medieval church, the modern monastery and, lo and belold, a couple of tour boats in the water. One of them blasted 90’s dance music, fueling a party sunburnt Northern Europeans dancing away half-naked and sipping some alcoholic concoction from large plastic glasses. Please don’t throw them in the water, I thought. Ohrid lake is so clean and beautiful.
I walked to the church. It was hot so I looked for treeshade and took a long drink of lukewarm water. There was a small ticket office cum souvenir shop, but the attendant was chatting away somewhere else, so I ignored it and visited the church, which felt more like a chapel. It was dark, barely lit, just enough to be able to see the fresco paintings. A young couple was leaving, crossing themselves. It was cool and peaceful, a far cry from the party in the heat that was taking place on the water.
I started walking back along the coast, eager to find a quiet spot to jump into the water. Some 15 minutes later, I hit my pebbly beach of choice and, sure enough, undressed and went in the cool water of Ohrid lake. The occasional taxi boat passed by, and I wondered how much would locals mind that I was swimming naked. A pair of hikers walked by, too, initially surprised when finding my clothes and other belongings scattered on the path. Then they saw me and we greeted with big smiles. Almost there!, I encouraged them.
And then I thought, yep, this is me. Coming to a place like Ohrid, off most travelers’ radar. Renting a scooter to zip around freely in search of beauty and solitude. Jumping on the opportunities afforded by a last-minute plan. Mixing nature and culture, and being thankful for both. Walking rather than taking a boat.
I’m sure there are better ways of enjoying Lake Ohrid, but I recognized myself in all this, and felt deeply grateful for it.
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Want to know more?
Galicica National Park website
Church of the Holy Mother of God Zahumska
GPX track and description of the walk
https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-senderismo/trpejca-to-st-zaum-at-lake-ohrid-39673767
B-Side Travels 
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