July 4, 1964 Traveling to Yugoslavia: Bitola & Prilep

Journal entries:  Always in italics.

On the road to Yugoslavia.  Women working in tobacco fields.  Herds of cattle, poplar trees, sheep, wild mustard.  Power plant, cold mine.  Brick kiln.  Drying tobacco on rails at homes.  Roads under construction, oxen plowing corn.  Huge grain fields--some big machines, a few hand-cutting.

Red poppies, lavender, holly hocks, sun flowers.  Passed gypsies--4 wagons, hay in wagons--tiny girl with silver medal in hair over temple.  Girl wearing long full red skirt, white blouse, gray scarf on head.  Wagons painted with blue, red, yellow on sides and any flat surface.  Pretty horses.  Men dark skinned with black shiny hair.  Dark blue cumberbund.  Old person riding in wagon with orange scarf tied around head & mouth, holding small red dog.  Other dogs trotting under wagon.  Bright blue, red, green, yellow bee hives.  

Monuments to Greeks who died resisting Nazis.  Fields of dill.  Train, part freight, part passenger. Alfalfa fields.  International road signs with pictures.  Woman washing clothes in river, had blue plastic pan.  Washing clothes at public well.  Shepherds always with goats, sheep, cows.  Men wearing heavy black coats, carry on shoulders, carry crook, children wear sweaters of bright red. Saw tasseled corn near border.

Stop at Greek border.  Found 4 leaf clover.  

2-½ hrs. at border, most of it at Greek border.  Slavs very nice but careful.  Dirt and country road. Field of sun flowers, shepherd eating lunch, big chunk of bread on bag beside him.  Big hay stacks. Women lifting hay to men on top. Men shaping stacks.  Sheep, bean fields, corn, pepper plants. Children playing soccer at a school, guards playing volleyball at border.  

Vineyards, woman wearing pink & red in fields.  Men cutting hay with scythes.  Plastic tent for children; drinking out of red clay jug.  Child sleeping under black umbrella.

Flags flying in Bitola, national holiday.  Children's playground, tennis courts, square red brick houses, tile roofs, apartments with balconies in city.

Parade with band.  Flags everywhere.  Celebrating liberation from Nazis in 1941.  Highway of brick.
Shepherds for white pigs.  Men wearing black baggy pants, white shirts, apron & black bolero.   Herds of horses, white & black ones.  

Prilep -- lovely city, rough road, rocky hills, donkeys loaded with sticks carrying down hills.  Oak trees along road, ferns, daisies.  Mt. spring, big green lizard, big wood terrapin.  Out of bus 3 times for curves.  Yarrow smelled sugary, all colors.  

57 miles in 4-½ hours. thru mountains.  

Tomorrow,  continuing to Skopje & Belgrade