Exploring the Soca Valley

We started the day once again with a hearty breakfast of fresh made eggs, fruit, vegetables, bread, home made jams, dessert and a nice tea selection.

Coming back from the information centre, I noticed a truck dumping wood chips into an under sidewalk bin in front of the hotel. The worker told me they are used for heating. I learnt the hotel is entirely heated by wood. We have seen many log piles in the fields. Seems most homes in the area are heated by wood or solar panels. Electricity is expensive here.

Memorials to the world wars are common here. In fact there are over 300 such sites, and they are linked together by a Walk Of Peace. This was an important area in the wars, especially WW1. We toured a WW1 outdoor museum memorial site at Kolovrat. To get there it was once again up a mountain road with switchbacks. The museum showcased bunkers, caverns, trenchers, machine gun and artillery positions and had views of the nearby towns and villages in the valley.

After that we drove to the Boka waterfall. It was a steep climb despite the trail guide saying it was an easy trail. Boka is the mightiest waterfall in Slovenia. The water falls 106 metres into the valley below. It was challenging but a beautiful view of the waterfall.

Next stop another bridge, also named the Napoleon bridge. This is an updated version of an original bridge erected in 1750 and was named when Napoleon's troops marched across it. The original bridge was destroyed during WW1. The bridge links the two banks of the Soca river. The Soca river is well known as a popular destination for water sports, and for visiting its mysterious gorges and beautiful emerald waters.

Supper didn’t work out as planned. We had planned to have it at our hotel, but we got back a little later than expected, still within their supper hours, but the cook had left early. So we settled for pizza at a nearby restaurant. When we ordered we indicated we would share it, but was surprised when it actually came cut in half on two plates. It was very good.Read more