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18/3/99
I slept badly last night. Images from a life I left behind years ago haunted me in my sleep, and I tossed and turned until morning. I awoke to a grey and gloomy morning. In the capricious nature of March the weather has turned from May-like sun and balmy breezes to cold, wet rain. The streets are a sea of mud once again.
Last weekend we went to Korce, a city in southeast Albania. To get there, you have to pass the most exquisite lake I have ever seen. You first see it as you come over a pass in the mountains. Spread out below is an enormous expanse of crystal clear water, as smooth as glass and reflecting the pure cobalt of the sky. On the far shore snow capped mountains form a dramatic backdrop to the scene.
Fortunately the lake is on the Albanian border. Macedonia actually owns most of the shoreline, which is a good thing; the Albanians would hopelessly pollute it in no time.
There is a fish that comes from the lake which is the most delicious thing you have ever tasted. It is called a koran, and tastes like a cross between trout and salmon. This fish is only found here in Lake Ochrid and its sister lake of Prespa.
Korce is on a high plateau and the coldest place I have ever been. The wind there can cut through you like a knife. People in Korce dress up to go to bed, its that cold. Water left out freezes overnight. Thank goodness the cold weather is almost over!
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