caves – Growing With Leala

In the region of caves I booked a ticket to see the Postojna Cave and the nearby Predjama castle. From what I researched Postojna seemed like the lesser of the big caves in the region so I did not prioritize it, instead booking the Skocjan Cave ahead of time (scheduled tomorrow). After driving an hour away to the Postojna cave I am now thinking I have that reversed. Getting there early to not miss my start time I stop in for coffee and a strudel since I left before breakfast this morning.

I line up for my cave entrance time and they start scanning tickets about 15 minutes before start. All those that have requested audio guides go off into a separate room to pick up the guide. We also all enter the train together. Train? Yes there is a train to take us 3.5 km to the walking portion of the tour. This cave is the second longest cave system in the country made famous by its karst or limestone landscape. Formed by an underground river, the stalagmites and stalactites are quite impressive to look at. As I walk through the cave drops of water fall periodically from above proving the cave is still a work in progress. We walk 1.5 miles through the cave, get a look at a “dragon”-like cave creature and then we take the train back out.

During the tour of Postonja we end up in a cavern like area where there is good acoustics. It is common to have Christmas concerts here. Toward the end is a river running along the cave.

After my visit to the cave I hop in the car and drive about 10 km to Predjama Castle, a castle built into the rocks and around another cave system. It is pretty impressive how it is built, security being its top priority. Apparently it is too damp to be a permanent residence but it provided great protection to attackers for it being high up and its vast cave system that could be used for escape routes. I was able to visit a bit of the upper cave but I am too early in season to visit the caves below because bats use it for hibernation during many months of the year. The audio guide there talked about a couple of the past residents and uses but the most interesting is the Robin Hood like character that lived there for a while. He had quite the reputation for robbing the rich.

Tomorrow I go see another cave so we will see how it stands up to the one today.

I head back to Piran for some food and drink. I am craving some ćevapi and luckily they have a Bosnian restaurant in town. It is very good but some rude guy next to me felt the need to interrupt my meal and tell me I am eating my ćevapi wrong. I tell him I’ve been to Bosnia and know how they eat cevapi and can eat it how I please. He seems very proud of him self for “correcting” me. I basically tell him to mind his own business since he isn’t even Bosnian.

After eating I find a place at a cafe and have myself a happy hour and do some reading. It is a nice and relaxing way to end my day.

Škocjan Cave

In the morning they are setting up for a market. I hope it will still be active when I return to town later.

My tour for the caves starts at 10 am. I am early and I wait for the guide to gather us to walk us the kilometer or so down to the cave entrance. A group of men arrive as what seems like a stag party. There is a bar at the cave entrance. They start doing rounds of shots and cheering “OPA!”. It seems to be a lively group. They separate all of us by what language we understand for the tour. Each group enters a few minutes after the other.

I am visiting Skocjan caves and the first thing that comes into mind touring this cave is that this is some goonies sh*t. What I mean by that is that the high cave paths and views down below make me think of the movie Goonies, a favorite from my childhood. The cave was first discovered BC but was majorly explored in the 1900’s. It is culturally significant and added to the UNESCO list in 1986 (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/390/). We explore via a modern made path but as we walk along thee cave you can see the old path the explorers made, a pretty impressive feat. Unfortunately they have a very strict no photo policy inside (though ignored by the woman in front of me who made me stop constantly so she could take her illicit photos). I have borrowed a photo from the unesco site so you can get an idea of how impressive it is inside.

Photo of inside Škocjan Cave (credit to Borut Lozej from unesco site)

After our inside tour there are a couple different exit options. Don’t take exit 2 unless you just like stairs. Take elevator or long cave exit. Nothing to gain by exit 2 which I took. I felt I’d be too lazy to take the elevator and I didn’t have it in me to take the longer cave exit; although I regret it later. I do catch a little waterfall on my way out.

Afternoon in Piran

I return to Piran for the afternoon. There is a band playing with an accordion and tuba and I’m eating pizza at an outdoor cafe. I’m confused if I am in Slovenia, Italy or Germany right now, there seems to be a mix of cultures here. There is a flea market going on. People are selling various things like antiques, light fixtures, baskets, and jarred foods. Along with the band people are singing in the courtyard.

I take some time to do my laundry since I’ve been sweating through everything here near the sea. While I wait for my laundry I watch the singing groups perform at the square outside. It must be some sort of informal music festival, or do they do this every week.

I finally eat at the recommended restaurant in that very same courtyard. There is very strange way of getting a table compared to the rest of town. I wait in the unmarked line like I am told and watch at least two couples “steal” tables anyway, even after learning the rules. Once you have a table you can go order from the window. There is a waiter but that is for drinks only. You must pay attention for your number to be called. I eat one of the best plates of fried calamari I think I’ve ever had. If I had more time I’d come back and order the grilled ones.

I take it easy the rest of the evening. Tomorrow I am heading back to Ljubljana to return the rental car and explore some more

Today I am exploring the Herzegovina region through an organized tour. I could visit these places on my own but not without a car. I have met others during my time here that have rented a car but I do not want to deal with the additional hassle of renting a car this early in my travels. Plus with a tour guide you get commentary and insight to what life is like as a local.

Before I go into the tour, lets take a look at this amazing breakfast spread from my hotel. I don’t typically stay in places that include breakfast because I travel on the cheap but I got lucky this time.

Herzegovina is a region of Bosnia and Herzegovina and not a state as many people think. There are two regions of the county, Bosnia and Herzgovina, thus giving name to the country. Within BiH (abbreviated) there are states and border lines that do divide the country a bit but I am not going to talk about that because I’ll probably explain it wrong because even after being here a week it is a little confusing to me.

On our first stop we are taken up a hill and shown a beautiful view of the city of Mostar, the city I am currently staying in.

Soon we are at Blagaj Tekke, a village that has a charming Dervish monastery by a cliff with a flow of water coming out from a cave. We are short on time for the stop so I skip touring the monastery. This is when having my own transportation would be useful.

The water level is high this time of year. Part of the cafe is under water today.

It is here that I run into two girls I met on a tour yesterday. They are from the UK and very nice. I sit with them briefly and enjoy coffee with the view. Did I also mention that there are two girls from Singapore on my tour today that I actually met on a tour in Sarajevo. It seems like it is a small world in the Balkans travel circuit. Both pairs are heading to Croatia as am I, I won’t be surprised if I see them again.

We visit where the rivers meet. This time of year the water levels are very high. Our guide shows us pictures how narrow the river gets.

We stop at the village Počitelj, another place with much destruction during the war. Fortunately money went to the city to repair some of the damage. Unfortunately many don’t want to return to the village because of the terrible memories, one of which being the concentration camps just over the hill.

I climb to the fortress at the top to see the views below.

Our last stop is Kravice waterfall. We are told we are lucky since it is at its best right now. They are privately owned so there is no restriction on development. It seems like soon the place will be overly commericalized. For now during off season it is nice. A companion on the tour talks me into taking a boat ride. I get up close and feel the mist from the waterfall.

Two of the brave girls I am with have brought their swims suits. They say it is real cold im the water. It is really early I’m the season to aim but it gets very crowded when it is warm.

We make one final stop at a place that has a war memorial. Our guide talks about a local hero. We also see an example of a white box that was used to transfer food and supplies across the river at night so people on the other side would not starve to death.

I get back in town and visit the local wine shop that was closed yesterday. I participate in their wine and cheese tasting experience. One of the co-owners is lovely and she tells me some great stories. I love how open and friendly locals are.

After I head to the tourist restaurant Sadravan. The staff dress in traditional attire and has all the makings of a tourist trap but the food is actually pretty good. I order trout and later a dessert.

I finish off the night at the pub nearby where I get a very large amount of wine for about 2 euros. I can barely finish it and stumble back to my hotel which is very close.

I have a couple hours of free time in the morning before a car is to pick me up. The hired car is a last minute decision. My original travel plans to get to kotor Montenegro had to be reworked because the bus I thought I could take was not running or it was too early in the season to take that route. The only alternative is booking a bus ticket to Dubrovnik and then another in Kotor. Basically adding 4 plus additional hours to my travel. I booked those tickets but was not excited about the journey, especially having my passport stamped in a Schengen country 3 days early (research schengen visas to understand why that would be annoying for a multi-month tour of Europe). When the lady at the front desk at the hotel suggested the private driver option (costing 150 euros) I took it. It isn’t cheap but it is worth every penny to arrive in comfort, directly to the country i am heading to at 3.2 hours versus up to 9 hours.