Bovec 6

Last walking day was spent, at first, on the far side of the Soca river but I had to improvise as part of the trail was closed because of a landslide. I found another World War 1 fortification at Celo, which had nice views down to Bovec (also part of the path of peace). Came across some British walkers who had a worse sense of direction than me. They took the trail to the fortification instead of going straight ahead to the top of the mountain as they intended. They also left some gates open, as the trail goes through farms. Naughty.

I had dinner at the hotel restaurant last night and didn't that cause confusion as usually the people eating there get their meals included as part of their accommodation. The excellent person at reception (that seems to work 12 hour days) sorted it out by adding the cost to the bill. It was a buffet and I could eat as much as I liked but there were staff watching. I did, however, have a double serve of potatoes as well as a "gypsy style schnitzel", whatever that means. Looked like meat In a sauce to me. But clearly no potato shortage here. 

We had the last of the music festival last night with a very good 50-60s band which abruptly finished at 11pm on the dot.

Also the reason hotel reception is in the basement is because the hotel complex is on a hill. If you enter via a side street, magically, reception is on the ground floor.

At breakfast, people feel the need to fill their water bottles from the drink dispensing machine, while everyone else waits. Don't they have water in their rooms? One this morning even filled up her bowl full of hot water from the tea/coffee machine - I've no idea what she was going to do with that.

Back to Piran tomorrow. Some photos....

Bovec 5

Today I went up to the mountains again via the Kanin cable car. Today not a lot of distance was covered, only about 300m up as I climbed the nearby mountain of Prestreljenik (2498m). Not only are the views superb, the mountain sits on the Slovenian - Italian border. It even has a white post denoting the border. Although the walk was not technically difficult and not exposed, there was a bit of scrambling involved on occasions. The guidebook referred to these as rock steps; they were only "steps" if you were over 6 feet tall. Met another Croatian group up there - with a Slovenian guide, who was kind enough to take a photo and I reciprocated. Also saw a few walkers wearing bike helmets - you do wear climbing helmets when going on steep rocky slopes because if the risk of rockfall but the walk I did doesn't really qualify, there was a bit of loose stuff but helmets, even bike helmets -which aren't designed for rocks anyway - seems a bit over the top.

In other news. More music on last night - Slovenian rock/pop. Finished just past 11pm but then a group of Slovenian drunks took over for a little while (I liked their repertoire better). In fact all night there were people running around. 

I have a gift of attracting crowds.. Yesterday, I was the only one waiting to buy ice cream, then suddenly I was surrounded by a group of people. After the climb I decided to take a side path to take some shots - suddenly there were six people behind me., thinking they were missing out on something. Later at the restaurant at the cable car station I was all alone, within 5 minutes I was surrounded by groups on all sides (incidentally their strudel was excellent).

And finally, the C team were on house keeping today. No replacement towels and the bathroom bin next to my bed. Luckily, found a trolley in the hallway and helped myself. Perhaps I should impose a housekeeping charge. 

The photos....

Bovec 4

And the saga continues. Today I did part of the Soca Trail (which is also a section of the Alpe-Adria trail) - which predictably follows the Soca river up to the village of Trenta. It goes through forest, along the riverbed, on small roads and across very wonky suspension bridges. It is a beautiful, and flat trail, and It would be good to complete the whole trail one day. There was a lot more walkers on this trail today (mainly Germans) and very adventurous cyclists. One nearly ended up in a creek when he negotiated, very skilfully, some steps but could not quite make the turn over the bridge. Also saw someone doing some trail clearing, literally in the middle of nowhere. 

Meanwhile back in town. I had to go back to the same place for dinner yesterday - the one with the potato shortage - as one place was booked out and the other place closed. I thought I would outsmart them this time by getting French fries. Got more potatoes but I got less meat (chicken this time). I think they must weigh the plates to ensure they don't exceed an allocated weight. In the same place a child bought their bike in. Clearly his parents have failed in their parental duties by not acquainting him with the concept of the bike lock.

I am glad to report that the breakfast room/restaurant is a dog free zone. They have a sign indicating as much. The same doesn't apply to the cafe across the hallway as I saw someone take their dog in the other day. 

The previously rowdy guests appear to be quieter or gone. Nevertheless, someone was running around in just a towel yesterday and had the audacity to stare at me. They forgot to service my room today - probably because the  B team are in charge. The woman who is usually in charge of cleaning the rooms had a day off today (as I heard her tell reception yesterday). She usually sings when she cleans - they're usually not that happy.

And finally, the concerts were on again last night but finished at a very respectable 10.30. Last night's music was rock, mainly English. Music is scheduled until Saturday.

Photos from today...