Monday 23rd September 2024

In and Around Bovec

After some unusual traditional fare last night,  sleep was disrupted as the body coped with the change in diet. 

Another cracking day with clear skies and rain not predicted till late in the evening.

A quick European breakfast and we were out with the very sparse crowd. It seems everyone went back to work or slept in. That was with the exception of 4 German women who were clad from head to toe in exactly the same outfits – not sure if its was a girls week away or tradition.

One industry that thrives in an ultra clean Slovenia is rubbish removal/ street cleaning. In the space of 50 metres there was 3 trucks, 3 garbage collectors, 3 blokes with blowers and following up was the street sweeper. You don’t see a skerrick of rubbish anywhere.

As usual the day started with an uphill walk towards the towering backdrop of the karst mountains behind town. On the other side of the valley a single road zigzagged its way to the top.

We walked through the top of town which was essentially apartments, hotels and B and B’s all there to accommodate the seasonal/weekend thrill seekers.

After a 2km climb we had our first filtered view of the cable car which steepled up to the very top of the mountain. It would have been a spectacular if not nervous ride to the top when you saw the state of the 2 person cars.

Nobody had to take the risk as it had been shut down for ‘operational reasons’ some time ago and Slovenian ski enthusiasts need to make the 50 minute drive to fields on the other side in Italy.

The photo below showed it in its halcyon days

Plenty of logging still going on here with heaps of freshly hewn logs littered along the side of the road.

Made our way through a couple of mountain side villages, with one house having an unusual method of securing his metal roof – try 30 strategically placed large rocks.

Enjoyed our first piece of downhill when the track led us down to the falls which are fed from springs on the Italian side of the range. The water was an amazing colour, but at 5 degrees uninvitimg for a dip. The water flowed down to a nearby reservoir to help with power generation.

Hiked back up the hill towards the actual permanent water source where it came out of the hills. They have diverted a lot of it into the reservoir. It too was amazingly clear.

On the way back we passed the Adventure Gorge which you can traverse using zip lines, bridges, steel cables and ropes. Shame we were at the bottom end- not.

Made our way along some highland pastures where the source of my sheep cheese soup munched away incessantly on some rich pastures. Their bells clanging with every mouthful.

Got closer to the bottom and had been intrigued most of the way by the signs saying Golf. Then there it was a 9 hole course in a spectacular setting where you could play normal golf, foot golf and tenigolf using a tennis racquet. There were separate tee boxes and greens for each.

Nobody playing but it certainly looked tough with bush, water and the craziest bunkers. We actually intended playing, but a 6 km round trip from town by foot ( town too small for cabs) put an end to that.

Some more bush bashing and wandering through some honey farms and we ended up at the closed cable car station and it’s 200 car parking lot.

The only car there was occupied by a couple of Poms who sought some guidance on how to find the falls etc- ‘follow the yellow signs’ was about as prescriptive as we could do.

We were soon in town enjoying a hikers lunch – panini and beer before heading home.

Afterwards wandered forlornly around town a bit after missing the golfing trip and ended up having a quiet drink before checking plans for tomorrow where 50 mm of rain might make for uncomfortable walking.

Dinner was again traditional fare at a hotel where we were the only patrons. Did a stroll around town and found a few more lively places that would have been a better option. Shrugged the shoulders and headed home for an early night and probably another dose of insomnia.