What happened: there was too much rain to help in the first village. We biked to a house, one bike had technical difficulties, we borrowed another bike, and then we set out on our way. It was such a pretty day for a little ride! We met up with the car people and walked up the mountain path - stopping 3 times to gorge ourselves on amazing cherries.
This was my 8th (-ish) time to this village - and it's still one of my favorite places on earth. My first time is still in my memory as my favorite day in the time I've been here. This time, while still beautiful and wholesome (yes, that's the second word that comes to mind), I was also reminded that life up there really isn't easy. It's hard work - and the men in the fields harvesting with sickles in hand would definitely be the first to say so.
We then made flia (traditional Kosovar food made over a fire - it's the 4th time I've had it in this particular village), planted leeks, met the family's cow, made a cabbage salad, goofed off, dodged raindrops, ate in a very traditional house, picked wildflowers with some of the little cousins, and started down the mountain at around 7pm. Although we were just going to walk down, we wound up taking turns acting as chauffeurs with some of our friends riding on the back of the bikes. It was a blast - and very muddy :) We made it back to Gjilan right before it started getting dark...and we were tired. But, wow, what a great day.
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