Bovec

We got off the bus in Bovec in the early evening and set off in search of an information office where we hoped that they would help us in finding a place to stay. We quickly found the information office but there we received some bad news: that the town was almost completely full and they only knew of one place still available. So we set off in search of the one place still with rooms available and upon finding it reluctantly agreed to pay their fairly expensive price (although the room was quite nice). Setting down our bags we then set off to explore the town a little, buy some groceries for dinner (our room was more like an apartment) and book a rafting trip for the next day. After accomplishing all of those things the evening was spent making dinner and relaxing in our apartment before bed.

The next morning we got up and had a few hours to kill before we were going rafting that afternoon. So the morning was spent wandering around the town and sitting in the local library using the internet. At 1pm we arrived at the rafting agency office and were quickly outfitted with wetsuits, paddles, helmets and booties before setting off to the put in point. Reaching the starting point of the rafting trip we were split into 2 rafts where we received our safety instructions (we were with a group of Polish tourists who spoke no English so we got to hear the safety talk in Slovenian and English). After the safety talk we finally pushed off into the water to start our trip down the river. The first half of the river was fairly quiet with only a few sections of rapids and was considered more of a warm up for the bottom section which was supposed to be the real fun part. Arriving at the halfway point of the trip we pulled over for a short break and an opportunity to jump in and swim in the icy cold water of the river. It was here that we watched as one of the Polish ladies from our group jumped into the water only to discover that she couldn't swim! Screaming and panicking from the river she splashed around for a few seconds before our guide managed to get to her and pull her out of the water. After this incident the guide tried extremely hard to talk her out of continuing the trip but her stubbornness kept her in the raft and so after that short argument we set off again only this time with our guide looking quite stressed out. The bottom half of the river was a lot of fun although our guide was doing everything in his power to steer the boat towards the easiest sections of the river so we missed out on some potential fun (although this was good considering what could have happened if the raft flipped). Eventually we arrived at the end of the river unharmed and after quickly loading the boats back onto the van we set off back to Bovec. Returning to Bovec we made our way back to our hotel where we relaxed for a short period then returned to the main square to watch a performance of some traditional Slovenian dancing. After the dancing performance we again returned to our hotel to cook a late dinner and eventually went to bed.

The next day we got up early and decided to take the bus back up to the Vrsic pass to do a bit of hiking. Reaching the pass we wandered around near the road a bit looking at different trail maps before deciding on a route to take. So we set off in search of a sight called a Natural Window and along the way we enjoyed a beautiful hike as the trail started up so high that we were afforded some great views. Additionally near the start of the hike we saw a natural formation called "the girl's face on the rock" where it appeared as if a girl's face had formed on the cliff face. The rest of the hike up to the Natural Window was also spectacular and when we reached the Natural Window we got to gaze through a huge natural tunnel in the mountain. Sitting here we watched several groups of climbers climb up through the window and continue to the summit of the mountain while we enjoyed our lunch. After lunch we had to turn around and descend in order to catch the bus back to Bovec which we thankfully just caught. Returning to Bovec we again just returned to our hotel where we enjoyed a home cooked meal that evening.

The next morning we got up and checked out of our hotel as we were heading back to Ljubljana that afternoon. Since we still had the morning in Bovec we went for a nice walk down to the Soca river (the river we went rafting on). Reaching the beautiful blue Soca river we wandered along a path on its side while watching a few kayakers paddle past for a couple of hours. After that we made our way back to Bovec where we picked up our bags and went to the bus station to catch a bus bound for Ljubljana.

Arriving in Ljubljana we quickly returned to the same hostel we stayed in previously and then went to organize transport into Hungary for the following day. After getting our train tickets to Hungary we enjoyed an early dinner and wandered around downtown Ljubljana one last time before returning to the hostel and bed.

The next morning we got up and made our way to the train station where we quickly boarded a train bound for Budapest (although we weren't going that far). After a few transfers we found ourselves in the small town of Ukk in Hungary where after searching in vain for an ATM we boarded another train bound for Keszthely, our next destination.









A picture of the cliff face with "the girl's face on the rock" hopefully you can see it.



















Lianne applying some sunscreen during a break in our hike towards the Natural Window.




















A view looking down through the Natural Window.




















A view of the beautiful blue colour of the Soca River. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of the rafting trip so the only pictures of the Soca that I have were taken on our last morning there.