Bukovje

We had a great nights sleep. The rain finally stopped around 10pm and the cloud cleared and for the first time on this trip we actually saw the stars out.
We woke up at 7:30am and because of the lack of cloud cover it was a chilly 7°c outside. I had planned a bike ride that was on one of the notice boards called the castle route but I didn’t feel like getting the bike off or stretching my legs in the freezing temperatures so after coffee we both got dressed and then Ellie went to see the donkeys and the goats and at 9am we were ready to leave.
Our first stop of the day was the next town called Planina. We were hoping more shops would be open but today is actually another bank holiday in Slovinia, All Saints’ Day, and everything was closed except for petrol stations and bakeries so we ended up going into a bakery and getting more burek that was filled with meat and and apple strudel. Then we headed back to Wanda.
Back at Wanda we ate our fresh food and had a cup of tea. It was now 10:30am and we had one more stop in Slovinia and it was just a six mile drive away.
Getting into the car park for Predjama Castle was a nightmare. There were actually 3 car parks. One directly outside the castle that was for coaches and 2 down a very steep hill. The one half way down was for cars and the one at the very bottom was for cars and motorhomes. The entrance to the car park was right on the very bottom of the hill and the entrance was situated to the right at a 100 degree angle with barriers right at the entrance. Even with Wanda on full lock I couldn’t make the turn and the lady at the barriers watched as I had to put the handbrake on find the biting point in reverse and adjust the angle we went in at. To top it off there was a post on the right hand side and I was about 2 inches away from ripping the side off of Wanda. Whoever thought this was a good idea for motorhomes obviously doesn’t drive a big car.
Finally we got in and the parking fees were an astronomical $3 an hour. Luckily I was only here for an outside picture in a certain place.
We left Wanda and hiked up the gravel track out of the car park feeding a cat on route with some of the salami sausages I got from Germany. He enjoyed them.
Finally we were at the entrance and I saw the spot where I wanted to get the photograph and it was closed off. I was gutted. I’d had this castle in my dream list for ages, it’s the biggest cave castle in the world and I really wanted a shot with no tourists, and I didn’t think I was going to get it.
We walked up to the viewpoint of the castle where everyonelse was taking there pictures. It was obviously full of Chinese and they can’t just take one photo and leave they have to take hundreds with the castle. A selfie of them and the castle, then there friends and the castle then a group shot. It was a nightmare and I was queueing for the same shot everyone had which wasn’t a bad shot, it just wasn’t original.
The place I wanted to shoot was actually below us and entry was gained via a coffee shop. Unfortunately because it’s out of season even if I went into the coffee shop the pathway I wanted was closed. Also there was a sign outside the coffee shop that said this is not a photographing spot except for paying customers. I was happy to buy a coffee and then try and bribe my way onto the closed footpath but Ellie wasn’t up for that and said why don’t we just walk down the bottom of the hill and see what it’s like.
On the way down we passed the coffee shop and a few houses and then I saw another guy walking across the grass at the bottom and I was feeling hopeful. As we got halfway down the hill there was a house and next to it was a grass track leading down to the bottom of the castle. I didn’t just want to get to the bottom of the castle I wanted to get halfway back up the grass hill to a set of steps which would be nearly impossible without being seen.
I told Ellie to wait at the road and I ducked down behind the wall that followed the grass track down. On the way down I saw the other photographer and said did you get a good picture? And he said yes, so I went for the shot I wanted.
I stood in the middle of the field and started shooting, nobody shouted at me so I moved forward and took some more. Still nobody said anything and then I made a run up the hill to the steps.
I made it to the spot I wanted and just started shooting. Still nobody said anything and I calmed a little and then composed the exact shot I wanted looking through the viewfinder. I took as many shots as I could then put the lens cap back on and ran back down the hill. I got to the wall ducked down and then ran up the hill half expecting someone to stop me at the top and say delete those photos.
I ran back to Ellie grinning like a Cheshire Cat saying I got it, I got it. Then we took a fast walk back to Wanda.
I couldn’t believe the photos I got but we paid the price when it came to the parking because even though we had only been 35 minutes it cost us nearly €6 to get out of the car park.
Back in Wanda I set the sat nav and we left Predjama Castle and Slovinia stopping at the last gas station on the border to top the diesel off while it was still cheap. Within 30 minutes we had crossed from Slovinia back into Italy and now we were at the very top of the Italian boot and we had the Adriatic Sea on our left hand side as we drove down off of the mountains and down to sea level.
I had found another free park up for the night in a marina car park in the town of Sistiana and tonight we would have a sea view.
When we arrived at 1:45pm there were plenty of parking spots but the place was very busy with walkers. We parked in a long bay in the centre of the roadside car park behind another Motorhome and after a cup of tea we decided to go for a walk along the marina.
At 2:30pm we left Wanda and turned right walking along the stony beach front following lots of other walkers. Unfortunately after just a couple of kilometers we came to a cliff that had an old fortress inside that jutted out into the sea blocking the path so we turned around and walked back past Wanda the other way.
Initially we couldn’t work out where all the people were walking to or from but as we turned a corner in the promenade we went under a huge archway and entered into what can only be classed as the Italian Riviera. There were hundreds of yachts moored up in a marina and in front of us was a large semi circular complex of condominiums that looked like toy town clinging to the side of the mountainside. The floor was paved with expensive looking slabs and impeccably clean and there were designer shops skirting along the whole of the bottom of the condominium complex leading to a covered plaza that had music playing on outdoor speakers. This place just reeked of money. The floor was so clean we could have eaten off of it and even the air smelled like it had been cleaned. We were out of our depth here.
We continued on looking at the crazy prices in shop windows. Coats that were on sale for €900. And shoes for €500.
Then we found the beach club. Unfortunately it was closed but even if it was open they wouldn’t have let the likes of us in. Me in my hoody with a greasy chain mark down the front and my combats and Ellie in her baggy trousers that look like pyjama bottoms.
Luckily for us because it was closed we could just walk straight around the back and sit by the infinity pool looking out to sea with the other unfortunates that were doing the same because they couldn’t afford to be there when it was open either.
We desperately wanted to get in the infinity pool. Not because we wanted a swim but because we wanted a bath and we were going to go back and get our swimming stuff but thought better of it. They definatly would have noticed a scum ring around the top of that pool after we’d been in it.
We got back to Wanda at 5:30pm and neither of us were very hungry so instead of doing dinner we just finished off Ellie’s pastry’s she had brought in the bakery.
Gradually the car park emptied and by 8pm we were on our own. It was pretty quiet except for the odd car driving past leaving the Italian riviera and I expect that to stop when the restaurants close.
Finally feeling abit more at ease now we were on our own we closed the blinds, put the chain across the doors and settled in for the night.Lue lisää