Prespa Lakes Greece

25th August.
Looking from our free camping spot on the larger of the Prespa Lakes we have a small peninsular running into the lake on our left that is Greece. A kilometre or so behind that is a mountain range that is in Albania, and on the far side of the lake in front of us is Macedonia. To our right Greece continues for a while before reaching the Macedonian border. It is a magical place, a national park co-operatively run by the three countries. For bird watchers it is a paradise with many water birds on the lakes as well as land birds in the thickets surrounding the water. On the smaller lake reeds cover most of the edge on three sides again making a haven for species who need that type of cover.
When we left Thessalonika I had worked out we had a few days up our sleeve and although we had passed close to the lakes on an earlier trip, had never been here. It would be one of the most serene and quiet places you could find. They catch trout in the lake as well as other types of fish. There are only a couple of small villages here, the closest big town is 60 kms away through heavily forested hills which, going by the warning signs along the road, are a home for bears as well as other animals. We were only going to stay a couple of nights but are so relaxed it has stretched to a third. I even managed to blow up my inflatable canoe and spend a few hours on the lake though didn't think it a good thing to stray into Albanian waters.
This area suffered considerably during the Greek civil war that occurred straight after the 2nd World War and some of the towns near the lake had most of their children taken away to Albania and Romania for indoctrination in the communist ideals. Some were away for ten years or more.
On our way here we visited the cave where the earliest European man was found, 700,000 years old and also Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia where Alexander the Great originated. The mosaics are very impressive. Both in the museum and in situ.
This will be our last stop before crossing into the countries that were once Yugoslavia. I think we go through four if we travel along the Dalmatian Coast. You realize the difference in size of these European countries when it's only 400kms or so from the east of Greece to the western point where we are now.