Beautiful Trpejca Beach

We parked next to a church, on a steep slope over-looking a parking lot. Having driven for about an hour, I was ready to stretch my legs. It was only 8 am and already the sun was high and bright- we would certainly fry if we didn't find a spot under a tree.

I had no idea what to expect- sure, I Googled it, but there wasn't really much to go on. Was it blue or green? Was it even going to be the same place that I found online? Who knew. I didn't know anyone who had been there, but that's part of the adventure, right?

What I did know, was there was no way in hell that I'd swim in a lake! I watch documentaries. I know that weird creatures lurk in murky water. I would just don my swimsuit and stay in the shade.

We lugged our picnic and other necessities down the slope, weaved our way through baking cars and were met with this:

As we made our way down slippery steps, the smell of fresh coffee wafted from open doors and mingled with the colourful blooms bursting from every porch. 

We turned left at the bottom of the hill and there it was: A crystal clear lake- the colour of Paraiba Tourmaline...

Pebbles crunched underfoot as we scouted around for some trees- most of the good spots already taken. We found shelter in front of a closed down bar and settled in for the day. Good thing we arrived when we did as the temperature soared to around 44° Celsius. We lathered on the sunscreen.

I walked the narrow strip of beach and realised that from a different angle, the lake did look green. The trees on the hills and mountains saw to that, hence my confusion when doing my online research.

A charming fishing village nestled on the south of Lake Ohrid, Trpejca is a world apart from the more popular vacation destination of Ohrid. There were rental apartments and a restaurant on the beach and families came and went throughout the day, but there was always room to breathe.

The sun was shining, the water was clear, I gingerly made my way into the water- and stayed there all day...