Bitola to Niki to Florina – July 16th
Distance: 32.6 km – Elevation +240 m -200 m
Weather: Rain. Temperature: High 16 degrees
Today I said farewell to Macedonia and crossed the border into Greece. Today’s route was modified to have somewhere to sleep at the end of the day. So it was a 32 kilometre walk to Florina via the border post at Niki. It was raining heavily as I left the hotel at 5.30 am requiring full wet gear for the first time since leaving Rome. I set off at a good pace and covered the 16 kilometres to the border in 3 hours arriving at 8.30 am It is not a major crossing but there was a long queue of cars, being on foot has its advantages, I walked straight to the checkpoint past all the cars and was standing on Greek soil in no time at all.
I had taken the main A3 route from Bitola to the border but a more country route from the border to Florina. The rain was constant and torrential at times. I sat under cover in the yard of an orthodox church for a snack and a wee respite from the rain. Loose dogs appear from nowhere, sometimes on their own and sometimes in packs, mostly they are just noisy but occasionally they bound after you as did two rather large black dogs today. I have a new form of defence, my umbrella. I turned to face the dogs and lowered my open umbrella in their direction; not only did it stop them dead in their tracks but in an instant, they turned and ran the other way, tail between legs!
The rural route from Niki took me past fields of rain bedraggled sunflowers and on through the small village of Poliplatano where a family of storks had created a nest atop a telegraph post. The bar at the border was closed and I was looking forward to finding the bar I knew existed in the small village of Kato Kleines which is about halfway between the border and Florina. The bar is run by a lovely lady who speaks perfect English. She prepared a very tasty lunch for me, grilled chicken fillets, chips, and a Greek salad. The rain continued all the way to Florina and it was a relief to arrive at the Hotel Hellinis. It was a cold and miserable night outside so I ate in the hotel snack bar and retired early to bed.
