CROATIA / SLOVENIA - August 2017

After our collegial experience hiking together in Alaska last year, our local group of seven got together to compare bucket lists and select another adventure to do together. We’d had enough mud, so we focused on something at a higher elevation. We narrowed it down to something in the Alps, and a few people researched various options from self-guided Hut-to-Hut treks in Switzerland to fully guided options in various parts of Europe. My mom had been to Slovenia the previous year with her ladies cycling group, so a REI Travel (Recreational Equipment, Incorporated) trip to Slovenia really caught my eye. The group quickly concurred, and reservations were made. Our friend, Robin, came along on this trip, so as a group of 8, we were enough to book the entire trip as a "private" group.

As with our Alaska travel, individuals and couples planned add on adventures before and after. Dan and Tam spent a few days in Italy, then took the train to Ljubljana. Kent and Lynn rented an apartment in Croatia before the trip. I looked at the map, and tried to find a way we could do some bicycling. I found several boat / bike options on the islands off Croatia, but Jeff lately has been having a skin reaction to sun on his arms, so those options looked like a bit too much sunshine for him. On the internet, I found a company called Helia that sounded like a similar arrangement to our Burgundy cycling adventure a few years back, so we booked that. Helia, out of Slovenia, offered several self-supported cycling trips that sounded exactly like what we were looking for. They had a trip along the Adriatic coast, starting in Italy, going through Slovenia and into Croatia - and you could customize the number of days. This fit perfectly with the time we had free until we meet up with the rest of our hiking gang on Saturday. In addition, they arranged a ride from the airport to our first hotel, so we didn’t have to worry about that after a long flight.

Halfway through the trans-Atlantic flight I was so miserable I seriously wondered if this hassle was worth it. We flew from Madison to Minneapolis, then to Amsterdam, and finally to Ljubljana Slovenia. As we checked in on Sunday though, we didn’t get a boarding pass for the last leg of the journey - just a piece of paper that says “this is not a boarding pass, check in at the gate.” When we arrived in Amsterdam (late, of course) no one seemed to know about our flight! I’d bought the tickets all from delta.com, but didn’t pay attention to the airline. It took three counter visits to figure out our flight was on “Adria Airways,” and a different flight number than when we’d booked. We were a little stressed by the block-long line at “passport control,” but we were able to bump into a shorter line since we were within 30 minutes of our flight. Lucky for us, English seemed to be the primary language at the Amsterdam airport.

We’d checked just one bag - a small hard sided suitcase containing our hiking poles and boots, as well as toiletries and some of our electronics. Of course, when we arrived in Slovenia, that bag didn’t make it! Most of it we didn’t need until we started the hike portion of the trip Saturday, yet we were doubtful that it would catch up with us before then as we were scheduled to be in 5 different hotels over the next five nights. The nice young man at the Lost Baggage counter said its “standard procedure” assured it’d be brought to wherever we were - I admired his confidence, yet skeptically handed over our itinerary for him to copy.

We breathed a sigh of relief to get out of customs and see our driver from Helia was there, even though our flight was late and we’d been held up doing the paperwork for our lost bag. He and his wife drove us about 2 hours to Muggia, Italy, which is where we’d start our bike adventure the next day.

It was about 3p European time as we checked into Hotel San Rocco (8 am our time). We were exhausted, but took a walk to the grocery store to buy the few toiletry items that we’re missing due to our lost bag, and while we were there, we picked up a few items for an in-room picnic so we could end our evening early and get some much-needed sleep.

We also strolled around the marina, looking north to the larger Italian city of Trieste. It is warm and breezy - looking forward to the amazing views as we cycle down the Adriatic Sea tomorrow!

After 12 hours of sleep stretched out in a bed, and a European breakfast with an espresso machine and chocolate croissants - all was well. Feeling refreshed, we went down to the Lobby before 8:30a to meet Danelo, the representative that delivered our bikes and information for our travels over the next few days.

We were delighted to meet Danelo and confirm that this trip was exactly as we thought it would be. It got better when another couple showed up - Graham and Linda from Wales. They’re going a few more days, but we made a plan to start out riding together.

Our bikes are fairly sturdy (heavy) multi speed upright bikes, and we each have one pannier for our stuff. Our other bags (the backpacks we carried on the plane) were tagged and delivered to be waiting for us at the next hotel down the road.

Besides maps, they gave us a set of cue sheets - and one map holder per couple. I had the cue sheets up, and Graham had the maps - Jeff picked out the trail markers which I never saw much with my eyes on the cue sheet, but together we were a very effective team and didn’t get lost at all the first day. Of course, it helps to know where you’re going with the sea on your right side most of the time!

We left Hotel San Rocco in Muggia, Italy and headed south. Initially we rode on the road, and traffic was light and courteous. There were lots of people hanging out on the shore already - mainly elderly, sun wrinkled guys wearing speedo type bathing suits.

After less than 10 km, we passed from Italy into Slovenia, and our road left the sea and went up through vineyards and olive groves, giving us amazing views of the sea. As we approached the town of Koper, we had the ability to ride on paved trails - the Parenzana Trail, named after an old rail line. Outside of Koper, we stopped at a nature preserve, which was closed for “holidays” but we still enjoyed their seating area and toilettes. We continued the trails that allowed us to bypass Koper, which ended up being a pretty busy port town with a large industrial area.

One startling thing about the trails is that scooters / mopeds are allowed on the trail – that took some getting used to! As we got around Koper, our guidebook said there was an optional trail that would take us to the town center, so we took that. We stopped for cokes at a sidewalk cafe, then toured the church and paid €3 each to climb the clock tower (Linda opted out). The town has a wall erected in 1270 - incomprehensible!

Back on the bicycles and we had an amazing ride along the coast to the next town of Izola. The main road diverted over the hill, and the road along the sea had been converted to an amazing cycling and walking path. All along the way, we passed cyclists who had come out for a picnic or a swim on this warm, beautiful day.

As we worked our way through Izola, we stopped at an Aldi and had a parking lot picnic. Then up through a vineyard, and back onto the converted train right away - and through a tunnel. We twisted and turned through a beautiful vineyard area, through one more tunnel and we emerged in the town of Portoroz. From there, we navigated through a tourist area with shops and hotels the 5k between Portoroz and Piran, our home for the night. We made our way to the town square and found the Hotel Tartini, where they helped us stash our bikes in a little room and we were relieved to see our bags - just like they’d promised.

We checked in, glad for air-conditioning. We showered and went back down to the square to meet Linda and Graham for drinks and dinner. We found a place serving fresh fish that promised no fish heads (I’ve learned to be weary of that in Europe!). After dinner we got a gelato and walked up to the castle on the hill to enjoy the sunset.

It was a great day. I was filled with such joy as I was riding and taking in the beautiful scenery. It was uncanny how so many things reminded us of previous adventures in Germany, France and Italy. Slovenia was under communist rule until recent history, but yet, it didn’t seem much different than other places we’ve been. Language and customs are definitely different, but Roman influence or something long ago has tied these places together.

After another great night sleep, and another great continental breakfast and we were ready to ride. We’re both getting into the groove and feeling more with it today. As we were checking out of the Hotel Tartini, we were delighted to hear that our missing bag had arrived overnight! We didn’t have a transfer tag for it, but the receptionist pulled an orange tag holder out of her desk drawer and made one up for us - awesome service!

It was a beautiful morning, but without much breeze we knew it was going to be a hot one. We headed back along the hotel route to Portoroz. While we weren’t exactly out early, it was early enough so that traffic wasn’t bad and there were few wandering tourists to dodge.

We weren’t even six kilometers into the day when I had my first navigational blunder. The directions said to follow “CP D-8” (CP = cycle path) through the camping area. I followed a sign to camping registration, then kept going into the marina. We had a grand tour of the marina - many very large yachts, and hundreds of boats, including some beautiful wooden oldies that I’m sure are floating “money pits” and some in the boneyard being worked on that don’t look like they’ll ever be seaworthy again. The marina looked much like any marina would in the states - the campground, not so much. Maybe it’s because many Europeans get a month for “holiday,” but it was interesting to see the custom fences erected around the individual sites.

While it was interesting detour, the bad thing was that my mileage didn’t match my cue sheet for the rest of the day! Back on the route, we rode a wonderful path along the sea for a bit, which turned onto a bumpy path along a canal, which led us to Secovlje Salina Nature Park. We declined the tour, but used the facilities and took a break there. Then we continued along CP D-8 again. We crossed over the canal a few times and came to the Croatia border, which was controlled, versus the border between Italy and Slovenia which was just a sign. Jeff and I had our passports checked at the Slovenia and Croatian checkpoints. Our Welsh friends with their EU passports were just waved through.

We turned onto the Parenzana CP, which was gravel with a wicked climb. The plus side of the climb was it gave us a great view of the salt flats and Piran. It was technical riding without having mountain bikes tires, but we all did okay. After the gravel section I was flying down the hill on a paved road and missed the turn, so the guys each got a few extra kilometers riding up and back as we tried to figure out where we were. We found our turn, another road that turned to gravel and wound us through farms and vineyards and what seemed to be a few small villages with no commerce.

The rest of the day was on roads, lots of traffic, but it was ok. We didn’t see much of the sea, but as we got closer to Umag, the hotels got much nicer and bigger (resort and spa), a golf course appeared and lots of clay tennis courts. We stopped for lunch at Konoba Taverna Alberi - salads and a charcuterie tray - yummy meats and cheeses. Then we wanted a nap, but forced ourselves back onto the bikes.

More little villages and lots of turns - and lots of second guessing after the couple of errors earlier today. About 2:30p, we pulled into Hotel Sol Umeg, part of a larger resort complex. It was a modern European hotel. We checked in, stashed our bikes and changed into our bathing suits and went for a swim in the sea. Very refreshing after the warm day. Then up for shower and nap before dinner.

We met Linda and Graham and walked through the resort complex and around the cove into the town of Umag for an Italian dinner. It’s very busy here, but a fun international mixture of languages and people.

The history of this area is amazing. There is evidence that Romans settled here during the 7th century. From then to about 1800, this area was ruled by Venice. Then it came under rule of France, but was passed to Austria from 1815-1918. After WWI, it became part of Italy, until after WWII when it became part of Yugoslavia. At that time, there was a major exodus of Italians from this area (they’d made up most of the population). All of the villages we travelled through have two names on their signs - Slavic and Italian. It’s pretty relaxing to visit a place where there are so many languages spoken that anything goes!

Along those same lines, it’s been fun to travel with our new Welsh friends, Graham and Linda. We’ve had some fun communication break downs too with different expressions and metrics! Graham said it’ll be in the 30’s today (we had to ask if that was hot - it was), we talk distance in miles, weight in pounds - different sports. It’s fun!

Breakfast at Hotel Sol Umeg was an amazing spread - the most elaborate breakfast buffet I’ve ever seen anywhere. Everything was labeled in 4 languages. We selected carefully as we had hills to climb and it was forecast to be HOT.

We were on the bikes just before 9am. We rode down to the city center, where we’d walked last night for dinner. Like previous mornings, the sea was calm and quiet and few people were moving about. There is wonderful tranquility in the mornings along the Adriatic Sea.

We traveled through many little towns today - some by the sea, some out in the vineyards. Nearly all had a central square with a church and a bell tower. There were several little coffee and pastry shacks along the sea, and today we passed by or through three LARGE campgrounds - one that even offered “glamping” which appeared to be little cottages where groups of six shared a private little swimming pool. The flowers and shrubs in that campground were very beautiful.

We had several stretches of gravel today, and in one particular stretch I got into some deep gravel going too fast. My bike was lurching towards a low wall and there was no way I could control it. Thankfully I had the presence of mind to just jump off. The bike crashed into the wall riderless, and mostly unscathed - whew!

We stopped at a little coffee shack / bar just outside Novigrad and had a strawberry smoothie. Graham helped us out as they’d only accept the Croatian currency (Kuna) and we have lots of Euros but didn’t change any to Kuna. It continued a long and complicated calculation discussion we started last night - converting Kuna to pound to Euro to dollars, and all possible combinations. Linda and I were happy to leave those discussions to the guys!

Besides the beautiful scenery, another highlight included crossing a huge bridge - the first part on a skinny sidewalk, and the rest riding with the traffic. It was a relief to get to the other side, but what we found there was a massive steep hill, Linda and I walked most of it, struggling to push our heavy bikes along!

We had a few opportunities for lunch stops, but didn’t have much appetite with the heat. With about 10k to go, we plopped in the grass in the shade of some olive trees and we were going to eat melted granola bars chased down with warm water. Then we noticed a sign for a tourist attraction 500 meters down a side road (caves and tractors) that said it had toilettes and a snack bar, so we headed there for cokes and panini and a nice break. We cruised the last 10k through little quaint villages, vineyards, farm land and finally into Poreč (through six roundabouts to get to the city center). We’re staying at Hotel Poreč - not too fancy, but it’s clean and a great location. We had a celebratory beer in their bar, then off to our rooms for showers and naps. We met up again for dinner and a walk around the old town. It was crazy busy with families and tourists. I would have loved to shop a bit (there seemed to be many shops with Italian bags and shoes) but we had a nice dinner and walked a bit more with our nightly gelato. It’d be interesting to stay here another night - you can even catch a ferry to Venice for the day!

Tomorrow we bus back to Ljubljana, and Linda & Graham continue on their cycling adventure.

Jeff and I were up early to catch the bus. The hotel was kind enough to pack us a breakfast, but I still needed my coffee. We walked around the corner to the bus depot, and there was a bakery there with a coffee machine. I asked the lady if she’d take Euros for a coffee and she said no, I begged and must have looked pitiful enough, as she agreed to sell me a double espresso for €2 … I would have paid more!

The bus was a little late and we had a lot of stops, probably making what could have been a two-hour drive into a four-hour drive. In the first 30 minutes, we lurched through so many roundabouts that I thought I’d be sick - and I’ve never had motion sickness before. We retraced the route we’d cycled for the most part, and that was fun to see from a different vantage point.

We arrived in Ljubljana and by the time we walked from the bus depot to our hotel it was about noon. Jeff sent a text out to the gang and we soon joined Gary, Lynn & Kent who had just finished lunch. We walked around the very busy market a bit, and then up to the castle. The castle was interesting as they’d renovated pieces of it so it’s an art museum and has several restaurants and gathering spaces. While we were there it started to rain. We all had rain gear back in the hotel, but only Jeff produced a rain jacket from his backpack. We hurried back down to the market and bought several umbrellas.

We continued our walk around town - the rain thinned the crowds and made it easier to window shop and enjoy the architecture. It’s a beautiful town and the people are very friendly. Back to our rooms for rest and packing. Jeff and I have a goal to have what we need for the next 7 days in our backpacks and to be able to leave our suitcase in the van.

We met up for dinner about 7p - Tam and Dan had just arrived from Venice, and Robin just flew in today - so they opted out. We walked a bit and settled on a Mexican restaurant. We had a great table on the sidewalk where we could watch people walk by - young women with great style, lots of people on bicycles. The rain started up again so we lingered until it subsided, because of course my new umbrella was back at the hotel. When we got back to the hotel, Dan and Tam were there and looking to go out for salads - so we went back out with them, and then it really started raining! We stood under awnings a bit, then left them on restaurant row when the rain let up a bit, stopping for our nightly gelato along the way.

Up to meet the gang for breakfast - this hotel had those yummy chocolate croissants, and I was in heaven. We weren’t due to meet our guide until 1 pm, so we hiked back up to the castle and paid the fee to go inside this time. We climbed the tower - amazing view, especially on such a beautiful morning after yesterday’s rain. We also watched a movie explaining the history and eavesdropped on a tour of the prison area - very interesting. Jeff and I had already checked out and stashed our bags with the valet, so we continued to explore the town while the others went back. We had a smoothie and a sandwich at a cafe on the river - amazing people watching. Then we stopped by the McCafé for a frappe on our way back to the hotel. We met our guide, Ales (from Ljubljana) and driver Tomas (from Czech Republic), we climbed into our van and headed out to the airport to pick up Robin’s luggage (same story as ours so it really must be “standard procedure”). Then we had about an hour drive to Lake Bled, with Ales telling us about Slovenia history and politics. Since my mom had so enjoyed the Lake Bled area in her trip to Slovenia last year, I was excited to see it. Ales had the attitude that the place is over run with tourists, and gave me the feeling it was an obligatory stop, but not one he enjoyed. We walked around the lake together, stopping frequently for him to point out things and tell us factoids. We toured the castle, but didn’t have time for the boat ride to the island or the luge rides. He did give us 50 minutes to “shop.” There were a lot of people there, but it didn’t seem over run - maybe that’s because we have Wisconsin Dells for comparison as a “tourism gone bad” example. It was a beautiful place, but something about his attitude lessened the experience for me. Besides the beauty of the lake and the castle, most fascinating was the 2km lanes that were marked by rope for boat racing (rowing) – it would be a blast to be there on race days! Lake Bled is their training site for their Olympic rowing teams, and it seems they’re proud of their success in the rowing events. From Lake Bled, we drove up into the Julien Alps - the meadows were very lush and green - quite a contrast to the dryness we saw along the coast. The homes were block construction with white stucco and hanging geraniums in the window boxes - quite similar to what you’d see in the Alps in Germany, Austria, Switzerland or France! There were many cyclists on the road and Ales had to tell Tomas to back off a bit as he was tailgating a car that was being very cautious around the cyclists – an interesting dynamic developing already between our guide and our driver. It took us about 30 minutes to reach the Bohinj region where we checked into the Hotel Jezero on the shore of lake Bohinjsko Jezero, the largest lake in Slovenia. The room was very nice and we were so happy that we’d be there for two nights after changing hotels every night for the past 5 nights. A quick change of clothes and we went down to the hotel dinner buffet: salads, vegetables, meats, potatoes, desert bar, and three drink choices on tap - beer white wine and red wine. We had dinner and Ales told us about our plan for the next day and then we were off to bed; I found myself feeling more exhausted than I should have been, and I wanted to rest up for tomorrow’s hike!

For nearly a year, we’ve dreamt of this hike in the Alps. Our first day was all I’d imagined and more. Everyone in our group is so pleasant to be around. I think it’s rare to find this kind of balance in a group: ready for conversation if you want to chat, yet its ok to be quiet and alone and immerse in the serenity. On top of that, it was a gorgeous day – absolutely perfect temperature, with sunshine, blue skies, and clarity for amazing mountain views as far as we could see.

We started by taking a gondola part-way up the mountain. Initially I felt like that was cheating, but it was the best way to be trekking in the high mountains with great views and no one else around. We trekked over rocks, and through alpine meadows (complete with cows), to a high point where we sat and had our lunch and took in the amazing view. It was a tough hike, with maximum altitude of around 6000 feet, but nothing we couldn’t handle. Ales just kind of let us set the pace, and we did our normal thing - which is: someone stops, someone decides they need to pee, someone messes with their wardrobe (fleece on, fleece off), someone decides they need a snack, someone else decides to pee since we’re stopped, … and so it goes. Ales was completely at home on the trails. At one point he took off his shoes and hiked barefoot – we’re not sure why, but we were glad with how comfortable he was in the mountains. Back down to the chalet at the top of the gondola, we had a quick beer, and toasted the day. The night was topped off with a great dinner in a small restaurant just a few kilometers from the hotel, where Ales knew the proprietor well. As he was briefing us about the next few days, he told us “Guys, tomorrow you need to focus. Not so many stops” or something to that effect. I think it’s a different experience for him when the group all knows each other so well, versus him having to figure out group dynamics and ensure we’re all getting along and getting what we wanted out of the adventure.

The village was having a celebration - so between courses, we headed out to watch some traditional dancing with the village band playing. What fun to be immersed in a festival that few tourists would have stumbled upon. There were kids with trays handing out little glasses of blueberry schnapps. As the entertainment was wrapping up, the guy with the microphone announced a special surprise, Ales translated for us that a girl from the village was back to perform for her hometown, and her act was pole dancing - I am NOT kidding! The contrast between that and the traditional dancing blew our minds. It was that kind of situation where we were glad we were all there to see it and verify the story, as it really does sound unbelievable.

The next morning, we were all up and at breakfast by 7a, at the van by 8a for a short ride to the start of today’s hike. When Ales told us about the hike yesterday with the tram and chairlift ride, we said “that’s cheating” even though by the end of the day we were glad we had the boost. Today there was no cheating as Tomas dropped us off at the other end of the lake and we started the climb there.

We were hiking by 8:30a, and we hiked solidly up for three hours - not too steep 3-5% grade with many switchbacks. We held to very few breaks and only when Ales stopped first. We were much more efficient that way, and after three hours of a beautiful climb through the woods, we reached the hut where we had lunch.

The hut was an amazing experience. It was another glorious day and as we rounded the corner, it sounded like a party going on! The side deck had several tables full of people, one had 5 local women and one man, probably in their 70s, laughing and having a grand old time. They greeted us and shook our hands - so fun to be welcomed like that! Tam stayed to chat and the old guy produced a little flask and insisted she do a shot of gin with him - too funny.

Inside the hut, we found many more tables, but we ordered and went back outside as that’s where the fun was! While it was warm in the sun, we’d sweat on our way up and had to add layers to keep off the cold. We had cappuccinos, soup, Wiener schnitzel and pomme frites – a perfect alpine lunch. We spent 90 minutes there - probably too long.

This hut had a little cable car running to it, which wasn’t suitable to transport people, but it supplied the hut with supplies and hauled out their garbage! It had been upgraded over the years, but was originally built to supply a WWI bunker a little further up the hill.

We had more climbing until we got to the pass, but it was easy going as the road had been built to service a pre-WW, I ammunition depot. We saw the ruins along the way - really interesting.

After the pass, we started downhill which is tougher for me than climbing. We saw former military fortifications, bunkers and barracks – so surprising to find them in such a remote spot. We walked downhill a few hours, arriving at our evening hut just after 5p. We selected our rooms - two sets a bunk beds in each room. We’re sharing with Dan and Tam - with Jeff and Dan taking the upper bunks. We also received the tokens for our 3-minute showers, and paper sheets for our beds – glad that I brought along my silk sleeping bag liner, too.

We stashed our gear and headed to the bar for the local 0.5-liter beers. We were ravenous and asked about snacks, and they sliced up some local cheese for us - that was awesome. There was an amazing courtyard, and we enjoyed the downtime there as we took turns at the 3-minute showers. There were a few other hikers at the hut, but we the only group partaking in “happy hour.” Dinner was served in a cozy dining room - vegetable soup and beef goulash - perfect meal for an alpine hut again! By 8p we were all exhausted. Ales said tomorrow will be more of a challenge, so we headed off to the bunks shortly after dinner. No matter what the hotel is like tomorrow, we’ll all be enjoying the privacy and space - that’s for sure, but this was a really cool experience for one night.

We were awake with no problem for a planned early start, since no one had slept all that well anyway (except Dan and his Aleve PM). Strong coffee, scrambled eggs and bread (not toast) and we were hiking by 7:10am. We set off through a small stand of pines that felt like the forest where Hansel and Gretel would have lived, then through a pasture and down towards a rectangular lake (Lake Krn or Krnsko Jezero). There was a light ground fog that swirled around in a magical fashion. It was a serene and beautiful start to the day.

There were three locals that left the hut at the same time as us with full packs; it was shocking how much faster than us they were! They were dressed in bright colors and it helped to pick out the trail along the mountain. Without trees, this hike was unusual because for 4 hours up you could see where you were going, and from the top and nearly ALL the way down, you could see the parking lot where we’d finish!

We stayed pretty focused and didn’t take a lot of breaks on the way up, but we had to turn around periodically and view the lake as we climbed. At the top we were nearly at 7000 ft, and in the swirling clouds it was even more mysterious and beautiful.

We reached the pass around 11a, more WWI artifacts and bunkers - tomorrow we’ll go to the museum in Kobarid and learn more about the military history of the area. From the pass, we could see the parking lot where we’d end our hike, but we took a right and traversed along a ridge to reach the hut where we’d eat our lunch. We walked very carefully, leaning into the mountain as it was a steep drop to the left with nothing that would have broken the fall for a long long way! At the hut we had a quick cup of coffee and dropped our packs so we could scramble up to the top of the Mt Krn. The clouds were really swirling - it’d be completely socked in, and then it would quickly clear. We had great views all around - Italy, Kobarid (where we’re staying tonight), the Soca River. We scrambled back down, and everyone but me explored a cave – I’m not a fan of tight little spaces, especially high up on a mountain!

Back at the hut, we ate the sandwiches they’d made for us at the overnight hut. This hut was more remote and rustic - no running water of course (pour water from the bucket to flush the toilet) so no three-minute showers here! There was a young couple staying there for three months as the caretakers - they’ve been doing this for several years and were very friendly and the guy appeared to be fluent in many languages.

After lunch, I napped a bit while others visited, and just after 1p we headed down the mountain - little switchbacks with steep slope. Mainly rocks and gravel so lots of slipping – I found myself tensing up when I heard the sound of sliding gravel behind me, so I worked to maintain space in front and behind. It was mainly overcast which was wonderful - with the southern exposure it would have been brutal to have complete sunshine.

We met a lot of hikers heading up with daypacks, and a guy and his mountain bike. Ales chatted with him a bit and they were pointing up the mountain. I couldn’t imagine riding up OR down on any of these trails. I asked him if he’d ridden up to this point and he had the audacity to look at ME like I was the stupid one as he said “no!”

We slogged along, taking a few short breaks. It wasn’t terribly hot, but it was warm without much of a breeze. As we got lower, we could hear the ringing of the cow bells from the fields, and the occasional church bell from the villages below. There were dozens of paragliders soaring above us, and I’d occasionally pause in my plodding to watch them. Several swooped low enough to yell down to us, and we’d all yell “aaaayyyyyyeeee” back up at them. It looked like fun, but nothing I’d ever try.

With the exposed mountain face and all the activity, it was tough to find a space to pee - an occasional large bolder was the best you could do, so you had to choose to not worry about the hikers above or below you, or the paragliders in the sky.

We strolled past the cows and some sheep, letting ourselves in and out of the pastures with the gates in the fences. Eventually we came to the road that we’d been staring at for hours and the trail walked along that for a few hundred meters of pure flat bliss - but then the trail turned into another cow pasture and over those dreaded rocks and gravel again. At that point, one of my stumbles resulted in me dragging my knee on the gravel, so we took a break in the shade of a tree and Ales brought out some magic spray that stopped the little bit of bleeding after I’d rinsed the dirt out. So far, it’s been our worst injury - hope that luck continues!

At one point in this pasture, there was a little friendly cow (I think they’re used to people traipsing through their pastures). Ales patted it on the back, and as Tam went by, she let it lick her hand - it must have loved that taste of salt as it then followed us for a bit! Kind of cute with a little one, but there were also some massive cows with huge horns nearby - made me feel like we shouldn’t be messing with any of them!

After 3.5 hours, we reached the hut at the bottom of several trails. We had a celebratory beer and a couple bags of chips and a lot of laughs. There were two cute German girls who had hiked up from the village below without much of a plan. As we were ready to leave, we convinced Ales (who didn’t need much convincing, but I wondered if it was against REI rules - probably was) to bring them along and give them a ride back to their car.

Then we continued to the little village of Kobarid - Hotel Hvala, our home for the next two nights. Our room is interesting! Sort of like a suite in that we have two rooms, which allows us to expand our stuff - this is our 8th accommodation on this trip, so we’ve become quite disorganized!!! We also think it might be what constitutes a handicapped room here in Slovenia - the shower is just in the corner of a massive bathroom - with no barrier or curtain, which was quite a mess as we both took long showers after our two tough days of hiking and the <3-minute shower at the mountain hut!

We cleaned up and went down to the hotel restaurant where they had prepared a seafood feast for us. In addition, Tomas had a bottle of chilled “Becherovka” a liqueur from Czechoslovakia, and even the waiters enjoyed shots of that. We were served fresh mussels on pasta for the starter, and a platter of several types of fish (sea bass and trout), octopus, prawns, salmon, squid - Jeff impressed all with his ability to debone the fish. It was all amazingly good, even that which was just a bit outside of my comfort zone. We washed it all down with carafes of local chilled white wine. Awesome end to a spectacular day!

The next day, we took a break from hiking - good to use some different muscles and rest our feet and knees! All but Gary opted for a rafting trip on the Soca River. We had a quick breakfast and Ales walked us around the corner and left us in the capable hands of an outdoor sports outfitter. There we were fitted with helmets, farmer John wetsuits, booties and splash jackets. I thought it felt a little overboard at first, but once we got to the river, I realized it was all necessary!

There were three others that joined our group so we split into two rafts, which made for better splash fights anyway. We drove to the launch site and geared up. I thought I’d pass out from heat exhaustion during our pre trip safety briefing, but as soon as we got going our guide encouraged us to jump into the river – and Oh My God! I was glad for each and every layer as that water was COLD!

Our guide, Colin, originally from Ireland, was wonderful. It was fun chatting with him as we paddled. We went through some fun rapids, not terribly challenging but without a skilled guide one could have gotten into trouble! We pulled up on a large rock, which seemed odd. Then Colin flipped our raft and turned it into a slide. I’d brought my phone along in its trusty Ziplock bag, so I took videos of each of us as we dove headfirst along the raft into the water. The video Jeff recorded of me was hysterical as I yelped again with the shock of the cold water on my head!

There was another larger rock we were given the option to jump from - Tam was the only member of our group brave enough to do that! It was a beautiful river and a fun excursion. We were all really glad we’d opted for the trip. Back to the outfitter and they were handing out shots of their homemade Jägermeister. We had a quick shot, then back to the hotel to clean up for lunch.

Back in the van, we drove up to the little village of Dreznica, in the shadow of Mt Krn for lunch and yet another feast! We had noodle soup, salads, and then trays of local delicacies: bear, rabbit, and goat meat, vegetables and polenta. It was a fun and relaxing experience.

From lunch, we headed back to Kobarid where Tomas dropped us off at the museum. This wouldn’t have been a stop I’d normally make on my own, but it was amazing and really brought together Slovenia history for us in general, and the impact of WWI on this area specifically. A guide led us through the exhibits, which were very well done.

Our guide was very engaging and he made the stories of how the changes impacted this area come alive with stories from his own family. For example, between the world wars when this area was “given” to Italy, his grandfather was forced to “Italianize” his name to “Giovanni.” We’ve seen the Italian influence all along Western Slovenia and Croatia, but it’s impossible to know how that would actually feel, especially after a devastating war. We love Italy and Italians, but sometimes here we’ve felt very different vibes, and that’s understandable given the history.

The museum had an amazing reenactment of the battles fought here in WWI, driven by our guide on his iPad. By activating lights, he could show the first, second and third lines of the Italians, and the Austro-Hungarians (fortified and led by the Germans). The whole experience was made even more remarkable as it took place along the passes and ridges we’d climbed over the past few days. The photos of the barracks, soldiers and artillery made the relics we’d seen come to life. The thought of soldiers hauling all that equipment over the mountains, then waiting through the winter for the conflict to start was mind blowing. Over a three-day battle in October 1917, the Germans won the battle using the blitz-Krieg technique for the first time. Both sides also used poisonous gases and the casualties were >600,000 people. The Italians retreated, but several years after the war, they were given this area as party of the treaty agreement. For those of us that were familiar with Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms,” this was the setting for that book.

Another fascinating piece in the museum was a timeline that stretched back to Roman times that showed that the Kobarid area had changed who ruled it over 40 times, including a brief stint with the USA after WWII. Somehow, they got messed up and lumped into Yugoslavia with the treaty agreements that ended that war. In 1991, Slovenia achieved its independence from Yugoslavia, and was recognized by the United Nations in 1992 and joined the European Union in 2004.

We spent hours at the museum, before heading back to the hotel to decompress. Others went to explore more of the town. None of us thought we’d need to eat again, but we found ourselves gathering at the pizzeria across the street from the hotel, many pizzas, salads, gelatos and a couple of bottles of wine later and we were stuffed again! Tomas joined us, and later Ales too. Tomas did an amazing job trying to communicate with us - sometimes it took him drawing pictures and writing numbers, but he got his point across! The funniest thing about Tomas is he knows the English word, “maybe.” Therefore his usual answer when someone asks him a question is “maaaay – be.” Our group of friends still crack up when one of us answers a question in this manner many years later.

By 10p, Jeff and I were exhausted and had packing to do, so we said “adijo” and good night. As we were drawing the drapes on our multiple balconies, our gang was across the street waving to us.

After another awesome breakfast, we were loading the van by 8am for our last hike in the Julian Alps. Tomas drove us 30 minutes up the mountain for our drop off, with the plan that he’d pick us up in Italy at 1 pm.

The climb was steep, but the surface was mainly packed dirt trail - up logging roads initially, then through pastures. For the first hour, we were in the forest and the shade was delightful. As soon as we crossed the pass on Mt Krn, Ales told us that we’d crossed over to the Mediterranean climate, and it’s been warmer and more humid.

I felt great hiking today on fresh legs. Jeff, Gary, Tam and I chatted about our Grand Canyon hike coming up in October, with this one coming to an end. We took a few breaks, and crossed into Italy and enjoyed our sandwiches at a chapel on the top of the mountain. The views back towards where we’d hiked the past few days were spectacular, even though it was hazy.

It was Robin (and Jan’s) 38th wedding anniversary so we recorded a song to send to her while we were visiting the chapel at the top. A local woman enjoyed our song, but was a little dumbfounded that a Robin was spending his anniversary with us and that his wife was at home!

From the top, we walked a brisk 30 minutes down through a meadow to an Italian mountain hut. The path through the meadow was deeply rutted as its heavily traveled, but much easier terrain than what we were used to and our feet just seemed to fly.

We went into the hut, which was more of a mountain guesthouse than a hut! We had cold drinks and enjoyed the indoor plumbing. Tomas was able to drive there so he met us there, however he had some kind of mandatory rest break so we enjoyed a cappuccino and vegged out some more.

Then it was back in the van for the 3-hour drive to Piran. The first portion was back down the mountain - steep, windy roads through little villages. It was hot and we were uncomfortable and sticky. Ales apologized for the lack of AC in the van … it was the first time we’d needed it or noticed! Most of us managed to nap anyway, although it was a shame to miss out on the scenery. We soon entered back into Slovenia; however, the Italian border and presence was never far from where we were.

We passed by lots of quaint little villages, some bigger industrial areas and a few agricultural areas. There seems to be little flat ground in Slovenia. As we approached the coast, the area became more familiar to me and we passed by areas we’d cycled last week.

We approached Piran from a back way (we’d approached via the sea on our bicycles) and soon we found ourselves back at Hotel Tartini. We got a bigger room this time with a daybed, which great for organizing our bags for one last time.

We enjoyed some down time and met the group back out on the square at 7p. We walked along the coast where we had a great table in an amazing restaurant waiting for us. From my seat, I had a spectacular view of the sunset and people watching galore. We had wine, seafood and meat/cheese appetizers, salads, entrees, desserts, after dinner schnapps - a fabulous evening on a completely gorgeous night. After dinner we walked along the sea for a bit, and stopped to listen to music and danced a little West Coast Swing when we came upon a group of musicians performing just off the square.

We had just one more full day of the REI adventure. We enjoyed a leisurely late breakfast - this place had a specialty coffee machine. With the press of a button, you can get a short coffee (espresso), a long coffee (Americano), a cappuccino with chocolate, coffee with milk, or milk with coffee. Gary says EZOP can get us one of these machines for our office – that’d be heaven.

We gathered at 9a for our urban hike. We walked through the little town of Piran, with the narrow alleyways that wind up towards the cathedral. We looked over the town wall at the people swimming and just hanging out by the sea. As we noticed on our bike ride through here, most of the morning beach goers are of the older, larger more wrinkled variety. Many of these this morning were naked, which made me grateful for my bad vision because some things you just can’t unsee!

The path along the wall worked its way down to the coast, and eventually we were walking on the rocky beach. It was warm without a breeze and soon we were sweaty. At one break I waded into the water, and about 20 minutes later we took a longer break at a public swimming area with a WC and bar, and Tam and I swam, which cooled us off and felt great.

We walked around the point to a park that was also set up as a salt production demonstration area and checked that out, then turned into the village and joined the bike path that we’d ridden along last week. We walked along that and through one of the tunnels and into Porantz. There we were given some time on our own to swim or shop. Most of our group sat on benches in the shade, but the ladies were beckoned over by a vendor selling scarves, tablecloths and some Italian clothes - she was a blast and it was impossible to NOT buy anything from her.

At 1pm Ales returned and we boarded a boat for a “fish picnic.” It was just our group and two young guys - one cook, and one captain. We headed south and checked out the buoys that we’d been seeing which is where they catch (or grow) the mussels. There also was an area with floating nets which is where they “farm” sea bass. At that point we were near the salt ponds that we’d cycled by, so we were right off the coast of Croatia. We turned and headed north. It was hazy in the distance, but since Slovenia has less than 40 kilometers of coastline, we could see Croatia, Slovenia and Italy!

As we were looking into the water, we saw millions of small jelly fish (3-5") - I’d seen some on our beach walk too. It made us a little nervous about swimming from the boat, but it was hot and those of us that experienced them before knew the sting wasn’t a lasting effect. So, we jumped from the boat and had a delightful swim. Jeff tried to do a front flip and only made it half way around (ouch)! To make matters worse, he went in with his hearing aide in. He didn’t lose it, but it appears to be shot (salt water + high tech electronics = no good outcomes). He removed it and tried the flip a few more times but just couldn’t get the needed clearance! We bumped up against a few jelly fish, but no one felt any stings.

Before our swim, the crew offered drinks (grappa, soda, water and white wine) and cheese and prosciutto. After our swim, they served an amazing lunch - octopus, squid, yummy fish whose name they couldn’t translate, grilled veggies and cucumber tomato salad, with cake for dessert!

The boat dropped us off in the Piran harbor about 4 pm. On a Saturday, the center of the little village was crazy - flea market, wedding parties, and people on holiday. Ready for a temporary escape from the madness, we retreated to our room for showers, rest and a final time packing - this time to get ready to fly home.

We gathered again a 7:30p, Ales had arranged a champagne toast and a fruit snack on the rooftop terrace. It was a nice surprise. We lingered there for an hour talking about highlights of our trip. He also presented us each with a bag of local artesian salt.

After that, the Awesome Eight went back down to a cafe on the village center. Many had been craving a burger and all were tired of fresh fish (imagine that!). We had a great evening and tossed around possibilities of what we might do next year. It’s such an easy and amazing group. After dinner, most of us went down to see tonight’s band - different, but also very good and danceable. Dan & Tam, and Jeff & I finished off the night by waltzing around the village square a few times - it’d be a great place to have a formal dance!