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Slovenia ROCKS! - 9.20.06

After finishing laundry, i met another traveler in my room. After a brief conversation it turns out that Javier lives about 7 blocks from in Cole Valley. He mentioned that him and a couple of others were going to get a drink, some food and possibly go out to some club. We went downstairs and i met Mase from Australia, Andy from England and Monique from New Zealand. We sat around chatting about this and that which typically involves traveling and all aspects of it..a few beers later we decided to eat at the hostel. After dinner the hostel bartender hooked us up with 2 strong pitchers of Jim Bean and coke. During our discussions it came up that Javier, Monique and Andy were going to Bled the next day (supposedly beautiful town on the foothills of the Julian Alps about an hour's bus ride away). Mase and i were up for doing a day trip so a plan was afoot. Around 12:30am the boys (monique was sleepy) decided to hit the biggest and hottest nightclub in town...The Global. Figuring that it would still be hopping on a tuesday night, we walked toward it...closed...shit...so we tried somewhere else...too far away...we were then getting hungry...all of a sudden it was 2am but we found a 24 hour burek store (GOD DAM I LOVE THOSE MEAT PIES) and were happy once again.

Right behind the hostel is a bohemian hang out type place and kind of in a weird way reminds me of monmarte in the movie Moulin Rouge. Its full of unlicensed bars and graffitied houses with music coming from them but no apparent entrance. There are alot of white guys with dreads. Andy and I, not being that tired decided to get a beer there (keep in my mind we've drank several beers and 2 pitchers of Beam and coke). At the bar we spy some odd looking liquor in shots. The bartender pours us 2, 1 green and 1 red. They were both kind of vile (the red was better than the green) and i for one felt the effect immediately. Not sure what it was we had but i'm going to refer to it as the moonshine/absinthe combo death cocktail (MACDC). After feeling odd for quite awhile i went to bed.

The next morning feeling springy which surprised me considering the MACDC, i met the others for breakfast. It was decided that Mase, Javier and i would take the 11am bus and the other 2 would take the train. We would meet up at the hostel where Javier, Andy and MOnique were staying go on from there. The bus ride was uneventful but if it wasn't for the street signs i would have sworn we were in switzerland. Everything looked like it was out of sound of music. All we needed was an alpine horn, chocolate, Flo and possibly some lederhosen and we could have been in Saarnen. We got there and after waiting 45 minutes for the others got ancy and walked up to the top of Bled castle. Not wanting to pay the 6 euro charge to go to see the views( we saw them from a little bit lower....spectacular), we went back to the hostel and ran into Andy and Monique. We though that the day would be well spent if we went tobogganing down a half km track, a bike ride and possibly a rowboat ride out to another castle on an island on the lake...remember Slovenia is sporty active place.

Castle in Bled

Church in Bled

Water taxi cabby

Me, Javier from San Francisco and Mase from Australia

Turns out the tobogganing run was closed so went to the tourist info to inquire about possibly rafting. They pointed is to an outfitter (3glav adventures) that could hook us with all our extreme sport needs (turns out horse backriding is extreme...no mention of back horse riding though...sorry inside joke). Unfortunately we missed out on rafting and paragliding and sky diving were too expensive but the woman running the joint suggested canyoning. What the hell is that we all said. Turns out Canyoning or Canyoneering as its known in the States, involves you wearing thick looking wet suits, helmets, harnesses and going face first down rocks into pools of water. Well it sounded cool and stupid so we signed up. Unfortunately after paying, the call came in that Bob our guide had to be called on an emergency rescue and would be late. We were offered our money back or we could wait another hour and they would give us bikes for free to ride around the lake (only 4 miles). Obviously we took the bikes. The lake was stunning and perfect for picturesque picture taking including some jumpy shots (unfortunately our faces were in shadows but it was all about the background).

View from the lake

Castle on an island in the Bled lake

Andy from England, Mase from Australia, Javier from San Francisco and Me

We returned the bikes and Bob drove us about 20 minutes through the most gorgeous countryside and into the mountains. Arriving at our destination we got into our swimmers (bathing suits) and put on our wetsuits.. We all looked pretty stupid, like something out of a Devo video or Smurfs on drugs. We then hiked about 15 minutes, where Bob then explained the basic gist of what were going to do. Canyoning is traveling in canyons, typically down streams, by walking, swimming, sliding and jumping. Our first jump, a three or so meter high jump into a very precise area (otherwise we would hit rocks) was exhilarating. We then did it again but this time slid headfirst (note that one should not forget to have your arms out otherwise you get one hell of a face slap...oops). We were hooked. For the next hour and a half we zip lined, slid, jumped and repelled in and out of pools of water. The key as far as i can tell is keep your legs tucked at all times whether your jumping or sliding. It so much fun basically doing cannonballs from high objects. The danger lies in being exact about where you land. Bob was a phenomenal guide and super safe and helpful (Dave Richard...he could be your long lost twin).

We all felt like low level spies (except Monique who kept uttering "boys" ever so often), doing daring like things in the woods. You really felt like a kid again. It was also an amazing bonding experience and it was great that for only knowing each other as a group for less than 24 hours we were very supportive of each other and also taking the complete piss out of each other. It was a blast and an experience i will never forget (hell we've already talked about making this a yearly activity).

Mase was hooked so decided to stay in Bled with others. I on the other hand leave for Viareggio to meet up with Sexxxpensive tomorrow. There is a chance i might extend my trip for some more time but will know more about that next week. I probably won't be updating while in Italy but check the blog next monday when i will recap the weekend which is sure to be awesome.

Me (what the hell is that expression), Javier from San Francisco, Mase from Australia Andy from England, and Monique from New Zealand

Me, Monique from New Zealand, Andy from England, Bob the Man from Bled, Mase from Australia, and Javier from San Francisco