Day 121 - Gadime Cave and Halloween in Kosovo
Wednesday, October 31, 2018.
Today we went to the Gadime Marble Cave (Shpella e Gadimes). At first, Gregory and I were changing our minds about going because we wanted a relaxed day but at the same time, we wanted to see it because it was highly recommended by nature lovers. I also wanted to go because I wanted to buy the tickets at the bus station for our next destination, Skopje, where we will go tomorrow. We found out that the first taxi driver who took us to our apartment the day we arrived overcharged us. The taxi driver today charged us 4 euros, while the first one charged 10! I know these people need the money, but it bothers me that they try to take advantage of tourists. As my father used to say, it doesn't matter the amount, what matters is the principle.
We got to the bus station and tried to buy the tickets, the lady sent me to the information booth who gave us a different departure time than the time we had read online. Oh well, we don't get upset anymore, we just go with the flow. She told us that if we bought the tickets at the ticket window it would be 10 cents more expensive. I thought I heard cents, but then, you think about it and it sounded ridiculous so we assumed that it was 10 euros more if we bought them there. We decide to buy them on the bus. We had learned in Zadar that they charge less if you buy them while you are riding the bus. We waited and waited and the 10:30am never arrived. By 11:30, we assumed we were going to take the 11:40 bus, and we did. Good thing we are traveling for pleasure and we don't have to be anywhere because the schedules and buses are not that reliable.
We paid 50 cents per person! I couldn't believe it. The taxi driver would have charged 20 euros and here we were taking a public bus for 50 cents. That's why the lady at the information booth was saying that it was 10 cents more, she was right. It did take a while to get there because it made many stops, but oh well. We arrived at the cave by lunchtime. We saw the only restaurant open and we went there for lunch. We had a very good meal of meat and salad for less than 20 euros including drinks! After that, we went to buy the tickets for the cave. The kids were one euro each and adults, two euros. It feels great to be able to do all these fun activities at cheap prices! Our guide did not speak any English so we didn't get any information from him but it didn't matter because all we really needed to do was look around.
It was a worthwhile trip. The cave is a karst limestone cave in the village of Gadime e Ulët in the municipality of Lipljan. Much of it is still unexplored. The cave was found in 1966 by a villager, Ahmet Asllani, who was working on his garden.
After exploring the cave, we took the bus back home. A nice lady on the bus told us where to get off closer to our home instead of going all the way to the bus station. She was very friendly and we chatted for a while. She was very proud of her nephew who worked in a supermarket in the U.S. She said that some people here make 100 euros a month and that rent is even more than that! We said goodbye to her and then we wandered around downtown. We walked to all the shopping stores, we found a one euro store! We were thrilled to find a charging cable for Sunshine and reading glasses for Gregory for so cheap. There were tons of stores lined up and down the streets that had all sorts of knock-off designer clothes at amazing prices. Sunshine said that she would love to come shopping here and then take all her clothes to the US. My sweet girl is bored with wearing the same clothes over and over. I don't mind it that much!
We stopped for coffee at the main street Nene Teresa and watched parents and their dressed up children walking by.
Later we went home, had dinner and baked the famous Halloween cookies. Unfortunately the cookies didn't rise and were not chewy but they were delicious, of course, they had a ton of butter, chocolate, and sugar! The kids were so bummed that we couldn't download their favorite Halloween movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Our internet wasn't working. They didn't want to go out with us to see how they celebrated Halloween in Kosovo. I feel like we should have made them come with us, but they wanted to stay home and watch the Scooby Doo Halloween special on TV. Gregory and I went out around 9:00pm and walked along the main street which was very much alive. There were lots of young people wearing masks and some of them wearing makeup. We also saw some parents with young children wearing costumes. Our tour guide from yesterday had told us that they do more tricking than treating on Halloween, and throw eggs and things at you. I was a little worried, but I guess we missed it because we only saw a few eggs on the ground. They do not give out candy, but lots of people buy food from the small food stands all along the main street. We saw chips, popcorn, roasting chestnuts, cotton candy, ice cream and more!
There were also stands with masks, mostly Guy Fawkes masks, and some gorillas or ugly faces. All the cafes along the main street were packed with people watching everyone walking down the main street. We also found a street full of bars and young kids drinking. I really felt old and by 11:00pm we decided to go back home but the streets were still bustling with teens and young adults just walking up and down the street.
The kids were in bed when we got back but awake. I told the kids that they should have come and worn their costumes. Daniel actually had planned how to wear his black jacket so he looked headless. He also said that he felt very homesick today and that it was his third Halloween without his good friend Kyle. They really missed their friends today.
Today we went to the Gadime Marble Cave (Shpella e Gadimes). At first, Gregory and I were changing our minds about going because we wanted a relaxed day but at the same time, we wanted to see it because it was highly recommended by nature lovers. I also wanted to go because I wanted to buy the tickets at the bus station for our next destination, Skopje, where we will go tomorrow. We found out that the first taxi driver who took us to our apartment the day we arrived overcharged us. The taxi driver today charged us 4 euros, while the first one charged 10! I know these people need the money, but it bothers me that they try to take advantage of tourists. As my father used to say, it doesn't matter the amount, what matters is the principle.
We got to the bus station and tried to buy the tickets, the lady sent me to the information booth who gave us a different departure time than the time we had read online. Oh well, we don't get upset anymore, we just go with the flow. She told us that if we bought the tickets at the ticket window it would be 10 cents more expensive. I thought I heard cents, but then, you think about it and it sounded ridiculous so we assumed that it was 10 euros more if we bought them there. We decide to buy them on the bus. We had learned in Zadar that they charge less if you buy them while you are riding the bus. We waited and waited and the 10:30am never arrived. By 11:30, we assumed we were going to take the 11:40 bus, and we did. Good thing we are traveling for pleasure and we don't have to be anywhere because the schedules and buses are not that reliable.
We paid 50 cents per person! I couldn't believe it. The taxi driver would have charged 20 euros and here we were taking a public bus for 50 cents. That's why the lady at the information booth was saying that it was 10 cents more, she was right. It did take a while to get there because it made many stops, but oh well. We arrived at the cave by lunchtime. We saw the only restaurant open and we went there for lunch. We had a very good meal of meat and salad for less than 20 euros including drinks! After that, we went to buy the tickets for the cave. The kids were one euro each and adults, two euros. It feels great to be able to do all these fun activities at cheap prices! Our guide did not speak any English so we didn't get any information from him but it didn't matter because all we really needed to do was look around.
It was a worthwhile trip. The cave is a karst limestone cave in the village of Gadime e Ulët in the municipality of Lipljan. Much of it is still unexplored. The cave was found in 1966 by a villager, Ahmet Asllani, who was working on his garden.
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| The bus just drop us on this bridge and we couldn't see where the cave was. It wasn't far at all |
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| We had lunch in the only restaurant in the tiny town. |
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| Main entrance to the cave |
After exploring the cave, we took the bus back home. A nice lady on the bus told us where to get off closer to our home instead of going all the way to the bus station. She was very friendly and we chatted for a while. She was very proud of her nephew who worked in a supermarket in the U.S. She said that some people here make 100 euros a month and that rent is even more than that! We said goodbye to her and then we wandered around downtown. We walked to all the shopping stores, we found a one euro store! We were thrilled to find a charging cable for Sunshine and reading glasses for Gregory for so cheap. There were tons of stores lined up and down the streets that had all sorts of knock-off designer clothes at amazing prices. Sunshine said that she would love to come shopping here and then take all her clothes to the US. My sweet girl is bored with wearing the same clothes over and over. I don't mind it that much!
We stopped for coffee at the main street Nene Teresa and watched parents and their dressed up children walking by.
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Sunshine wasn't happy because she still had lots of homework to do and it was getting late.
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| Daniel's Halloween costume |
Later we went home, had dinner and baked the famous Halloween cookies. Unfortunately the cookies didn't rise and were not chewy but they were delicious, of course, they had a ton of butter, chocolate, and sugar! The kids were so bummed that we couldn't download their favorite Halloween movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Our internet wasn't working. They didn't want to go out with us to see how they celebrated Halloween in Kosovo. I feel like we should have made them come with us, but they wanted to stay home and watch the Scooby Doo Halloween special on TV. Gregory and I went out around 9:00pm and walked along the main street which was very much alive. There were lots of young people wearing masks and some of them wearing makeup. We also saw some parents with young children wearing costumes. Our tour guide from yesterday had told us that they do more tricking than treating on Halloween, and throw eggs and things at you. I was a little worried, but I guess we missed it because we only saw a few eggs on the ground. They do not give out candy, but lots of people buy food from the small food stands all along the main street. We saw chips, popcorn, roasting chestnuts, cotton candy, ice cream and more!
There were also stands with masks, mostly Guy Fawkes masks, and some gorillas or ugly faces. All the cafes along the main street were packed with people watching everyone walking down the main street. We also found a street full of bars and young kids drinking. I really felt old and by 11:00pm we decided to go back home but the streets were still bustling with teens and young adults just walking up and down the street.
The kids were in bed when we got back but awake. I told the kids that they should have come and worn their costumes. Daniel actually had planned how to wear his black jacket so he looked headless. He also said that he felt very homesick today and that it was his third Halloween without his good friend Kyle. They really missed their friends today.
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| American tornado chips, mmm I have never seen them in the US? |
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