Our time here in Macedonia is sadly coming to an end. In just a few days our 90-day visa is officially over, requiring us to move on. Not only will be leaving Macedonia but we’ll also be leaving the Balkans. This will, most likely, be a hard transition for us. After all, we’ve lived here for the last six months and have gotten used to the wonderful lifestyle.
Leaving the Balkans
Leaving is difficult because the Balkans is the place that most feels like home and where we have primarily laid our roots. When we add up all of our time spent here, we will have lived in Croatia for about two years and in Macedonia for six months. However, as we reflect on these last few months, we must celebrate happy days well spent! These two countries have given us one of the best summers we’ve had in a long time.
Another reason why we are sad to leave? Macedonia is where our people are—where our “tribe” is. We cannot tell you what a joy it is to have a passion for a destination and to finally have others be enthusiastic about our daily adventures. Our dear Macedonian friends, if you’re reading this right now, we truly love you and we promise we will return as soon as possible. Maybe for Ohrid Calling 2020?
Our Next Destination
After leaving Skopje, we will be traveling to…Scotland! We are truly and utterly in disbelief that this will be our fourth time in Scotland. We have been blessed to have also spent a lot of time in this special part of the world, too. During this tour, we will be spending close to a month roaming around—by car (yes, we are renting a car for USD 15 a day) and on foot.
After a night in London, we will be returning to see some old friends at the Gartmore Estate where we will be fine-tuning our photography skills by participating in one of their Photography Holidays. If you’re looking for a place to escape the hustle-and-bustle of life and focus on your passions, then the Gartmore Estate is the perfect place to be.
You may remember, in March 2017 we participated in their Walking Holiday and had a great time. The food is exceptional, the estate is cozy, and can we be honest? It sounds perfect! All at budget-savvy prices too!!
Unfortunately, in preparing for this month-long trip, we have been spending an extreme amount of time working online lately and crave time off our devices. On October 8, we will celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary at the Gartmore Estate so what a great excuse to disconnect to reconnect.
Afterward, we are headed off to explore the Argyll region and its Secret Coast. This part of our itinerary is still in the works but we believe there will be doing some hiking, whisky-tasting, and island hopping involved. In mid-October, this is where we’ll both be celebrating our 40th birthdays too!!
Looking Back on 2019 Thus Far
When living nomadically, it’s easy to get sidetracked or stay in a place where life starts feeling comfortable and easy. Every December, we spend time creating a year-end review and develop a travel plan for the following year. It helps keep us on track so we can be sure we are making the best life choices.
So far in 2019, we have accomplished touring some of Route 66 by traveling from Chicago to St. Louis, visited the Florida Keys, spent the spring in Malta and the summer along the Adriatic Sea in Croatia, and finally made it to Ohrid Calling—which was a bucket list item for us, as you can see in the video below.
When reflecting on our 2019 travel goals, we nearly accomplished everything we set out to do. So far, we’re short two: 1) Walking the Camino Polaco and 2) Seeing the Galapagos Islands. However, we’ll still have two months left in the year (after Scotland) to try to reach our goals.
If you have any questions about our travel plans, please reach out in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you.
