Duration: | 8 Day(s) - 7 Night(s) |
Tour Category: | Rural Tours |
DAY 1: WELCOME TO SKOPJE
As you arrive at Skopje airport your guide will take you for a brief walking tour of the capital Skopje to visit its main landmarks: Mother Teresa memorial house, Alexander the Great fountain, and into the narrow streets of the Old town lined with art-craft shops, Byzantine time temples and Ottoman mosques and baths turned into art galleries. Afternoon drive to the homestead in the countryside where you will meet your hosts over a tasty welcome dinner in their gardens. O/N in the homestead.
DAY 2: MEET THE COUNTRYSIDE
After a hearty village, breakfast takes a walk and a donkey cart around the village and visit the local people to get introduced to their slow countryside lifestyle. You will see how they still thread the tobacco leaves manually and how they extract honey the old-fashioned way. On your way back to the house you can collect some fresh eggs right from the roost next door and goat cheese from a small goat farm nearby for your afternoon cooking classes: make Balkan “Gibanitza” in an original way - with hand-made dough layers. O/N in the homestead.
DAY 3: ART DAY
A day for a creative workshop where your lovely host Katerina will guide you through carpenter work. You will be creating a decorative wooden plate that is used by the local women in everyday cooking and kneading work. You will be cutting wooden parts, sanding, gluing, painting, and decorating all day… and take your breaks by the pool. This little piece of furniture will be the souvenir from Macedonia that you will proudly take home. O/N in the homestead.
DAY 4: DETOX: THE WORLD OF HERBS AND SPICES
Today you will learn how to find and collect herbs from nature, how to store them, and use them in medicine (tea, tinctures, oils). You will learn all about lemon balm, thyme, St John’s wort, and many more, and you will make yourself the herbal therapies for the following days of detox and aromatherapy! Later you can start using your new skills in dinner preparation, and make a healthy seed spread to pair your fresh salad and Turlitava casserole. O/N in the homestead.
DAY 5: DETOX 2 – AROMATHERAPY
Learn how to make the 100% natural cosmetics that you will take home with you! You will be using only natural ingredients in the preparation of your face cream, face & body scrub, deodorant, toothpaste, and hair revival. You will learn how to experiment with aromatic herbs in the creation of your own scent in the future. BBQ evening by the fire. O/N in the homestead.
DAY 6: DETOX 3 - IN THE MOUNTAINS
A spiritual detox day. After a morning meditation under the 600 years old maple tree, take a relaxing hike in the mountains to the springs of river Babuna, one of the cleanest rivers in the Balkans that comes out from the rocks as a beautiful waterfall. We’ll have our picnic lunch here and a “Water clean-up” meditation. On the way back visit the village where Bogomil’s movement started and hear the mystical story of their “Secret book”. O/N in the homestead.
DAY 7: LEAVE YOUR MARK
As much as you enjoy your countryside experience in Macedonia, we believe that leaving your positive impact on this place and its people will be inspirational and fulfilling both for you and the local inhabitants. Whether it is about protecting their natural sources, or about making this village a better place for living and receiving guests in the future, they will certainly appreciate your positive energy. We have developed a few volunteering activities for this last day that will depend on your physical condition and the period of stay. Farewell dinner by the pool. O/N in the homestead.
DAY 8: DEPARTURE
After breakfast transfer to Skopje airport for the flight home
Included in Price:
Accommodation: 6 x homestead
Meals: 6 x breakfast, 5 x lunch, 6 x dinner
Local tourist guide in Skopje (Day 1)
Full escort and animation by the host family and local guides
Transport by air-conditioned vehicle
Traditional welcome in the homestead
Guided walk in the village with meeting local manufacturers
Art workshop (Day 2 and 3)
Presentation and course use of natural herbs in medicine and cooking (Day 3)
Course: make yourself 100% natural cosmetics (Day 4)
Hiking to river Babuna springs (Day 5)
Meditation and water clean-up meditation (Day 5)
Organization and logistics for voluntary activities (Day 6)
Cooking classes as described (Days 2, 3, 4)
Full organization and logistics by Macedonia Travel
Not Included in Price:
Drinks during meals
All personal expenses are not included under "Included in the price"