When we tried to enter Macedonia we found our Green Card insurance wasn't valid and we needed to buy some, this could be arranged by phone with a broker in a town 15Km away, on the phone it was going to cost us €50 plus €5 for the taxi out and back. When everything was done the man wanted €65, I reminded him of the phone conversation, but it was a different man, so we settled on €60, still bloody expensive! We were headed to Lake Orhid in the South East corner, we had been told it was beautiful and the best place in Macedonia, we had also located a camp ground on the lake for €5 a night for the two of us, bargain. We found Macedonia to be a lot like other countries in this area, out of the cities and in the mountains we just loved the views and the forests, but in the towns and cities we didn't like all the hustle and bustle, the dirt, the rubbish and the hard to follow roads. The camp we stayed at on Lake Orhid was very nice and we met some nice people from Germany and England, we also found our hosts very accommodating, even giving us lunch one day while it was raining. We also walked into a nearby town called Struga, it was a fascinating place and the people were very helpful and friendly. We bought some food in a market, a lettuce, two tomatoes, a couple of peppers, a cucumber and half a kilo of cherries for around $2.20! The food was for a BBQ being put on by a German couple back at the park. The next day we looked around the lake in the other direction and saw a monastery that dated back to the 14th century. From Lake Orhid we headed to the capital Skopja via more mountains and forest, if you ignored the rubbish it was beautiful, though I must say it was not as bad as most countries we had been to in this part of the world. With the GPS avoiding tollways our route to the capital was through a lot of small villages that join into one along the road and for many kilometres we were restricted to 40Ks or less and it was like being back in Mongolia, only with bitumen on the road, all be it filled with potholes! Just about everyone we saw on the streets would look around at us and most would give a wave, Julie was HRH, constantly waving! In the end we had to pay for two tolls and it cost us the grand total of about 50 cents. We stayed out of Skopja in a very over priced camp ground and caught the bus in, what we found was a city being rebuilt. The parts that were done were great, the main square having one of the best fountains we have seen and while all the construction work didn't look good, it has to be done and it was good to see the effort. We also had a look at the dedication to Mother Teresa who was born in Skopja. From Macedonia we headed to Bulgaria, but over on this side of Macedonia we found the farming land, there were still rolling hills, but no forests and no mountains. We weren't in Macedonia for long, but we did find the people very friendly and helpful and nothing like we had expected.