We left Serbia with some reluctance but we had the strong urge to get to the coast where we hoped the heat would be less oppressive. On entering Macedonia we passed through vehicle and passport checks and had to cough up €50 for motor insurance.The local currency was the Macedonian denar but everywhere accepted and welcomed the €. Huge stretches of motorway were new or under construction with lots of big signs declaring that the projects were provided by the EU. The roads were not at all busy and some new looking fuel stations were derelict and empty. Every hundred miles or so there were toll booths that collected between €2 to €3 from us and we began to feel we were paying quite a lot to traverse the country.
The countryside was initially mountainous and green and we enjoyed the drive, stopping for lunch at one of the many roadside restaurants. Then the landscape became flatter and drier and, after several hours of relaxed motoring, we arrived at the Greek border and we were back in the EU. Immediately the state of the roads deteriorated!
