I had a leisurely morning by my standards, pottering around and leaving the apartment / gueshouse soon after 1015 for the bus station bound for Skopje. This kinda represents the end of my long adventure through Papua and explorations through the Balkans. The remainder of the journey is to previously covered territory Istanbul and time with family in Kuching. This is the beginning of the end.
At the station, for a change, there was a queue for tickets. I got to the front and managed to get on the 1045 bus which was leaving immediately.
Rushing on, I found myself in the second-to-last row. The driver completed the ticket collection which took a few minutes meaning that the few remaining seats were sold by the time we departed.
The journey took around 3h30 of which less than half was on motorway. The Ferijalen Dom Skope hostel was only 5 minutes walk away so I got there on foot. I had a simple clean room booked for myself.
Having had only a sandwich along the journey, I made my way to the mall a little further than next door. I found a fastfood chain called “Goody’s” which made excellent salads.
After a rest and when it was cooler, I ventured out to explore Skope’s few sights. It looked dark and cloudy. The wind was picking up and the temperature dropping. People were walking briskly as if to get to their nearest shelter. I pressed on briefly before deciding it would be better to stay in and eat in.
I had dinner in the nice restaurant connected to the hostel sharing the table with a couple of other travellers.