Soca River

The Soča River had grabbed my attention from the first moment I saw it on Google images. It just begged to be swam, rafted or kayaked. It's such a beautiful river not just in colour but the way it cuts through the landscape, sometimes being 20m deep in a 5m wide gorge, or broad and shallow over pure white pebbles. It is however a bit of a siren, anyone drawn to its waters are quickly reminded it's spring fed melt water and veryyyy cold! But enough with the river appreciation and more on riding the thing!

Upper reaches of the Soča River.

So although we weren't experienced kayakers neither were we numpties who wanted to ride a glorified lilo down stream. We had to try quite hard to find a company in Bovec who used real, enclosed cockpit kayaks and would take us down some worthwhile rapids. We found not with any surprise that adventure companies are overcautious, so after bigging ourselves up as 'a fair amount of experience' kayakers we got ourselves a guide and headed off to a 'put in' which would lead straight into the good stuff. A point of note is that most companies start from Cezscoa, which is, if your up for some real fun ... boring! Go from Boka further down stream which then covers better rapids in the 2hr trip.


The rapid's grades vary with flow (obviously) but tend to get lower over the course of the summer with some parts of the river becoming negligible (grade wise) others are in their prime!


We went with Sport Centre Bovec and a guide called Panos (good lad!) so can recommend them as a good outfit with quality kit. Although we only did an afternoon and saw a small section of the river we'll definitely be going back to do more.

Adventure Holiday Slovenia

So why Slovenia? Most people who asked where we were off to were a little taken back with my answer, mainly though lack of knowledge as opposed to anything more sinister. Admittedly it wasn't the first place that sprung to my mind but after putting the South of France on hold and looking into it I began to discover a country ripe with adventure.
Two key attributes jumped out, mountains and rivers!
The Alps finish their long sweeping curve through Europe with the dramatic range of white limestone peaks known as the Julian Alps in the north west of the country. What they lacked in height compared to the main Alps they made up with a multitude of accessible walking and climbing and what's more, the addition of some quality via ferrata.
As far a the rivers were concerned a quick Google presented the Soča River, which if you have a look, it's attraction speaks for itself. Crystal clear, turquoise blue, with world class rapids gives you half the picture.
The Triglav National Park which seemed to be the focus of all the fun so it was decided...9 days in Slovenia was booked in!
Now rather than run through everything here I'm going to put each activity in separate posts. X-country mountain biking, downhill mountain biking, mountain climbing / Via Ferrata and kayaking.
Bit of back ground on Slovenia. It's has been in the EU since 2004 and has suffers no legacy from the Balklands wars like some of its more eastern European neighbours do. Its generally a modern country with a quality road network, good public services, bus's / trains and very low crime. Most people we met spoke good English which always makes life a bit easier.
Flights are mainly into the capitol Ljubljana, with the airport (free WIFI!) being about a 30min drive NW of the city. The roads are good and as its a small country you can drive across it in half a day.
There are two 'seasons' the winter ski season is huge and from the large empty hotels we saw is busier than the summer season. We went at the end of June which is just before the start of the 'summer' season as it can still be a bit unsettled weather wise. However the weather was still warm and we we lucky with only two damp days improving to 35 degree sun and blue sky! Expect July - September to be busy in the mountains with school holidays and more reliable weather. Prices go up 1st of July to reflect this.
Hopefully I can inspire more people to experience this ace country. Drop me a line and if I can help I will.

Primus LiTech Trek Kettle

The Primus LiTech Trek Kettle had its first outing during a trip to Slovenia last week and I have to say I was impressed.

At the lower end of the ‘light weight’ spectrum it’s no titanium pot, but costing around the £22 mark and weighting in at 285g it’s a good alternative if the grammes aren’t a big concern. It feels very durable without being overly thick and has an integrated handle on both the pan and pot. A 1ltr capacity is good for cramming in two boil in the bag pouches and the lid fits snugly keeping the steam in well. We also quite easily cooked enough pasta for two (hungry lads!) in the pot followed (separately) by mince and tomato sauce making a pretty decent meal.

The Trek Kettles best feature is the non stick coating which is fantastic. Boiling milk or sauces on a camping stove inevitably causes the bottom to burn due to the small intense heat source. The usual result is a good bit of scraping during washing up. However the non stick on the Trek Kettle was so non stick just adding a bit of water afterwards was enough to simply slosh the burnt milk off the bottom in one lump. I’m sure with a bit of care and no metal spoons it’ll last well.

A downside is the heat conducting handle. You’re never going to keep an integrated handle totally cool but even with the rubber coating they get very hot. Slightly thicker rubber may help but would add to the weight so something for them to look at for future development.

All in, good kit for a middle of the range camping pot suitable for two man cooking.

★★★★☆

Ljubljana map

I decided to add in some bits and bobs I think are useful (or I would have found useful) before travelling. I really wanted to get hold of a city centre map for Ljubljana before we arrived as we would be driving straight into the city and didn't want to waste time, A - getting lost B- searching for the tourist info place to get a map. I never found anything worthwhile on line so here's version of the city centre tourist map (a bit battered). Not a very big city at all and certainly one not pressured by traffic so a few wrong turns don't waste much time!