Miravtsi ~ Demir Kapija
23km (total 26km except 3km tunnel)

1. A cover photo showing today’s fantastic riverside road

2. Today I am going to walk 26km along the river from the village of Miravtsi shown below in the picture.
Among the three roads that go up to the northwest region, the left-hand road is the highway and the right two riverside roads. Google suggests 26km in the middle one, but I chose the far right-hand road that seems warmer than the other road.

3. After dropping me off at Miravtsi, the taxi carried my luggage to the hotel to stay today; the fare was 1,200 denars (about 24,000 won) for 50 km distance.

I depart the village at 8:30 a.m.

4. Surrounded by rounded low mountains, it is like a country village in Korea.

5. In this town, the roofs of buildings are covered with solar panels.

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7. A full-grown cabbage.

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9. I waved back to the farmers.

10. At the top of the mountain, you can see the Orthodox Cathedral.

11. A driver passing stops in curiosity. Taking a selfie with him.

12. There is a passenger train which is missed in Google information. I need to check the information at a train station somewhere.

13. It is the Bardar River. I am walking along the river all day long. It originates in North Macedonia and flows through Greece into the Aegean Sea.

https://ko.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B0%94%EB%A5%B4%EB%8B%A4%EB%A5%B4%EA%B0%95

14. Udovo Village viewed on the Bridge.

15. A cloud runs on the hillside of the mountain.

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17. I am going into the village road.

18. I met a nice road. There were many things happened until I met this road. The villagers suggested me to go on a car road. I took this path after reviewing the map.

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21. A fantastic riverside forest road.

22. The mist over the river is almost dreamy.

23. I walked for about an hour, and I met a farmer driving a tractor to take care of the fruit fields on the riverside.
He was glad to see me, too. He took me and asked me a lot of questions.

24. He is the only man I met during the walking this road about 7km.

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26. Found an empty house. Even an empty house looks nice.

27. Find a sunny spot and take a break.

28. Walk again after a brief break time.

29. I’m sorry to have to take this road alone. It’s one of the most fantastic pilgrimages I’ve ever had.

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31. Finally it’s near the end of this road.

32. I have to go up the slope to the car road. Fortunately, I find a trail.

33. The car road is also excellent in scenery.

34. The view is better on the road. There is today’s destination where the cloud passes in far distance.

35. When I met the teahouse on the map, I hoped to eat lunch, but the door is closed.

36. I look down at the view and eat lunch alone. The menu is the same as yesterday’s lunch. Bread, jam, and yogurt.

37. A fantastic riverside view.

38. The wind is still strong. Another wind valley. Not a canyon, a wide valley.

39. Two rivers are summing up.

40. Mountains and clouds.

41. I walk like this way all afternoon.

42. The view of the rocky mountain to the north is also formidable.

43. I ride a tourist train (walking myself) of 4km / h and do not know how much time goes.

44. I’m meeting the highway.

45. Now it came into the clouds I saw in the distance.

46. It’s like Han Gye-ryeong in Sul-ak mountain in Korea.

47. This is Climax. I have to walk through the tunnel three to four kilometers ahead of today’s destination. It’s over two kilometers long, narrow enough to have no walking space.

Fortunately, I can get on a slow-moving microbus at the tunnel entrance.

48. Even though it was not a commercial bus, the driver gave a goodwill to the walking traveler.

Everyone on the bus is lady. Knowing me a traveler from a distant place called South Korea, they cheer up.

49. The bus lights are cobalt. This is the first time taking a selfie in this color.

50. Again I walked to the destination hotel. Near the hotel I met young men who had stopped their car and approached a strange traveler. They heard my walking pilgrimage story and thumbed up to me.

It was one of best days.

Categories: 16. Republic of Macedonia, Course and Diary