We just arrived in Skopje, the capital city of Macedonia. As I sit here exhausted and immobilized on this couch, I wonder how it is that travel days are so tiring. The term “travel day” conjures thoughts of missed connections, stress, lugging heavy bags around, and yet above all that, the thrill of going somewhere new.
Today was a long day of travel. But that’s fine! To be honest, travel days are some of my favorite days.
There’s the mix of excitement and anticipation and that blissfully resigned feeling that whatever happens will happen. You know that all you can do is go along with it and trust that you’ll eventually end up where you want to go. And there’s the incredibly free feeling of being on the road and knowing that everything you’re seeing is new and that tonight you’re going to stay in a city you probably hadn’t even heard of a few weeks ago. It’s so liberating!
- Waiting patiently for our bus in Kotor, Montenegro, knowing that no bus arrives early.
But travel days can be tiring and draining, too – even when you’re used to them and have become a pro at packing your bags in 15 minutes the night before you leave. Even when you have all your travel documents ready and in that perfect safe but easy-to-access pocket of your backpack, it’s hard to feel 100% prepared.
Today we rode on a bus for a bit over 9 hours. Early this morning we got up, ate, showered, and made sure we did all the dishes and generally left the apartment in perfect condition. Then we walked for half an hour to the bus stop, found the right agency thanks to some helpful people (Albanians are by far the most helpful people we’ve met in this part of Europe). By 9am we were on the bus and heading in the general direction of Macedonia.
The best thing about taking busses everywhere you go is that you can sit back and stare out the window the whole time. There’s no stressful dealing with traffic or navigating the maze of windy backcountry roads, and, best of all, you get to focus all your attention on soaking in all of the interesting sights and grand views that pop up along the way.
The worst thing about taking busses everywhere is that every ride is a detour, and every stop is a delay in the boring outskirts of some town. I find myself sighing every time we pull over at a cafe-bar on the side of the road. Everyone shuffles off the bus and the driver announces “break! 20 minutes” in response to my puzzled looks and clumsy question of “how long?” Usually, the other passengers and I stand, milling around just outside the bus while the driver runs into the cafe, downs a coffee and chain-smokes 3 quick cigarettes before strolling back to the bus.
And, the crux of a travel day is, of course, the arrival. I always get nervous sweats as I’m navigating my carefully preloaded Apple maps, hoping that my crappy Czech burner phone will work and that my host gave me the right number.
But in the end, it always works out one way or another, and the final feeling of the day is relief. We have a bed, a roof, and a brand new place to explore.
All My Socks Are Dirty 