We crossed border into North Macedonia pretty early in the morning, a little unusual for us but we cant wait to leave Albania due to a sleepless night the night before.
Anyhow, we reached the border, was sent to a secondary inspection for VanGar and as Susie was with an officer inspecting the interior I was asked by another officer for the first time in our year long journey through 20 countries, the nature of our relationship. Like…WHAT!? We’re good friends and travel partners. Of course. I continued to strike up conversation about Singapore’s tough stance on drugs …blah blah blah to ease the situation. The strictest border inspection so far. That was pretty unnerving to say the least.
We then drove to our first campsite near Struga for the night. Such a relief that it was a pretty little place with direct access to the lake. A family run campsite is mostly cosier, warm and well kept, just as we like. We stayed there for 4 whole days. Also because we had a stowaway issue to handle.
We spent the time resting, cleaning and also hunting for a suspected rat that had infiltrated our home. A stowaway. Needless to say, we had a stressful time looking for the little bugger. Thats the thing living a home on wheels. Every now and then you’ll get visits from bugs, critters and insects that you cant afford to house.
We turned VanGar inside out, zeroing down on possible entry and exit holes and possible passageway for critters. VanGar was practically bleached front to back as according to the web, rats hate the smell of bleach. Rat poison was laid. We apparently cornered him behind a cupboard and the gas heater. At night, we could hear him scratching and clawing. We’ll bang on the heater and he went quiet for a while. OMG.
Still the little bugger was no where to be seen. As a last resort, we brought VanGar to see a mechanic. He sticked his head behind the heater, the cupboard then the fridge and… nothing. Its like the bugger had disappeared not even leaving a whiff of yucky smell that we were expecting had the poison worked.
The cupboards are now “sealed“ for good. Filled with rat poison in case the bugger return which we think is unlikely.
It’s like being visited by aliens. You know it’s there, they made their presence felt but not seen then off they went. Like, what!?
How can we stop unwarranted visits from happening? The question is still unanswered.
