Barfing means it’s over…

This was a shorter build project than the one in India, and Saturday was our last day. We finished strong, moving mountains of dirt to lay septic pipes, and glueing up meters of mesh to stand against the next quake. There was a real sense of accomplishment, inspired by the job foreman who seemed genuinely impressed. It was a contrast to the professionals in Delhi who seemed unsatisfied by even our strongest efforts at the most manual tasks. I’m not sure how to attribute this, but it gives me hope for future trips being as fulfilling.

There was a concert in Veles that night, promoted all over town with flashy posters highlighting a Brittney look-alike, framed in Cyrillic headlines. I thought it would be a nice adventure to usher us out of town, but the team leadership thought it would be too late and too risky. Instead we planned to hit the city center and get a little drinking in. But after the walk back to our hotel to change, I pooped out and left the younger kids to their own adventures. It’s been a struggle finding my place when there’s such a big age gap between me and everyone else on the project. I don’t want to be ‘that guy’ hanging around the teens, but I also don’t want to hole up in the hotel alone. Often my exhaustion after the days work makes the decision for me, but this night especially I slept restlessly until they returned well after midnight. And when one of the boys errantly walked into my room to crash, I knew some good drinking had been done and was glad they made it back safe.

The next morning we were up pretty early for our ride back to Skopje. It would be a day of sightseeing to close out the trip. But the murky silence around the breakfast table spoke of the price being paid for last nights indulgences. With bags packed, and eyes droopy, we loaded onto the bus and set out for our last day.

A few nights earlier I’d set a precedent for asking the bus to pull over after a dinner with a particularly large amount of Rakia and water. In all honesty I hadn’t wanted to use the bathroom at the build family’s apartment. Maybe that makes me a bad guest, but I didn’t want to open any doors on things I might not want to see. So I made a small joke apologizing to the girls on the bus who couldn’t really participate in our pit stop, and then invited the boys to join me. I was saved some embarrassment when three or four of the guys appreciatively followed me off the bus. So when one of the young adventurers lurched up the aisle and whispered to the team leader and driver, and we slowed to a stop, it was pretty clear what was going on… until… in fits and starts he barfed all over a team member sitting to his right. All over. It was really awful. I looked only through gaps between my fingers, but still saw more than I needed to. It was a perfect storm of too much drink, too much breakfast, and too bumpy a bus ride.

We stopped for a bit at our Skopje hotel (where I’d stayed earlier in my trip) so everyone could clean up and get some air. All in all, it was handled as well as could be expected, with sincere apologies, ample cleaning supplies, and tips for the driver.

Our day’s excursion took us to Lake Matka, an artificial finger of a lake, created by damming a river. There was a little church, and a pretty righteous bat cave. We spent a few minutes exploring its crisp and cold interiors after traversing the lake on a small boat very much like the ones on Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise. It was only after our light lunch that we realized the real fun was to be had playing upstream in the river just before the dam. The current was fast, but support structures had been built to make sure anyone swept away had something to grab before being washed too far down river. While we waited for the bus to negotiate some tight turns out of its parking space, a few of us slid down the embankment, crossed a shallow stream, and stood in the cold cold shores. It felt like it was about fifty degrees; an absolute heaven compared to the ninety degree air.

We made it back to Skopje without further eruptions, and gathered near the hotel for our farewell dinner. Memories were shared, wine was drunk, and fun was had by all. We were a few men shy as our team leader and local coordinator had to bail out on this last day as they’d been invited to meet with the Macedonian president. And one of the teens had left early. So it was a smaller group than we were used to. I was surprised by how much that changed the dynamic. But it’s not often that things all end at once. This more gradual departure seems more common.

So today I found myself back on my own, on a bus headed West to Lake Ohrid on Macedonia’s border with Albania. I was well directed and had no trouble finding my way, but I was still filled with excited anticipation. Most of the solo travel I’ve done has been under careful watch of guides and travel agents. The rest of this trip will be something new.