Lounging on lounges

Months of planning had led to this mornings adventure. When deciding which places to visit a study of the country's road maps had revealed a significant zig zag on the coast road. Temptation enough for this blogger. As we had no real reason to traverse this particular stretch, it was always at the back of mind to see if it could be squeezed into to itinerary some how. The piece of junk we call a car was a major setback, as it's ability to climb hills comfortably, is limited. The gearbox screams loudly going up and the same noise going7 down due to its strange gear selections. The roads out this way are tricky and full of drivers who seem to take delight in yelling abuse at outoftowners who don't mind waiting 15 seconds for a stream of cars to safely pass before moving on. Roadworks, kamikaze Mercedes, cops pulling people over for no apparent reason, extreme heat. It was all transpiring against the notion of adventure. Still the zigzag called, knowing we'd never come this way again - it reached out, never relenting in its pressure to be traversed. A plan hatched itself over the course of the last two days. The answer to all these negatives was to do it early in the morning....Before the traffic and the heat and no pressure to power up the hill, just let the gearbox do what it could with no angst from aggressive locals.

Leaving non-blogger snoozing, blogger and the junkmobile headed out before sunrise to execute a brilliant piece of logistical planning. It was worth it. The only people on the road were those gents waiting for the local bus and a couple of slow vehicles smartly delt with in order to keep the camera vision clear.

The zigzag was hair raising and ear popping. Limited photos for the blog as it was hands on the wheel and no stopping because of the clear road in front. Got all the way to the top, changed camera batteries and went all the way back down again. The mountains and views spectacular.  Clear roads except for a herd of goats lounging on the bitumen and a wandering donkey who actually had good road sense (the goats don't) Back in bed by 7:30. Job done.  The piece of junk has one more day to survive.
The previous days exploratory episode had made us realise our beach with free parking and free lounges and umbrellas is as good as any other so we spent the whole day there doing nothing much. The fact that the family next to us has spent thier entire week on these benches and in the water that must say something about the spot. Somehow they are spending all day in the sun and not getting burnt, whereas we turn red in few minutes without protection.
The wind has gone.

The sun is beating down on everything.
Did I say it's hot?
The water is now much warmer on top and now seemingly chilly down a bit (feet depth). There are no tides here. That is really quite wierd. Must be due to the sea being enclosed. Could look it up but it's to hot. The constant move of the lounges to stay in the shade has been slowed down a bit by hanging the towels off the edge of the umbrella. That's pretty much the only effort one can undertake in this heat.

People drift in and out of the water and the lounges. There is always a the strange languages being spoken, hard to tell the difference between one or the other but it is fun trying. Rarely an English word appears and then it drifts away across the water. There are not many people here (still) so we've taken over 3 lounges. Local kids (one called Mario because his name constantly gets called) play in the water whilst an older brother keeps an eye on them. He is not grumpy about it, could be due to the bevey of beauties from Germany, lounging around one row back from the water. He served breakfast earlier on so its obvious its a big extended family owning, running and living in this idealic locale. As the sun looses it's sting, it's still hot but becoming more bareable. It's now only 37.
Thinking about wandering up the strip to get some cash to pay for all of this from the stand alone ATM. Another modern necessity required to support the whole scenario.
The Greek Islands beckon on the horizon. Tomorrow we go to that one.

After a wash down back at the room, we had pre`s at a funky (very recently built - with not to spec joists or possibly posts or possibly both, however is does have grass which makes it stand out, yet the loos are not yet finished) Beach bar, as a cooling breeze finally washed in off the sea.

Once again the soccer is dominating the aural landscape. This time its the Poms vs. Danes. Very glad not to be in Frankfurt at the moment as we all know the poms visiting fans are the most obnoxious on the planet.
Dinner was a case of one serving ordered too many and subsequently for the first time in a long time the plates were not emptied. Really good fresh food at great prices. The mussels were awesome.

P.S. It's this blogs first birthday. A years worth of posts, including this one.(365). To celebrate its Kiwi chocolate (for some obscure reason bought with us) paired with a North Macedonian red. How very poignant.