Day 6
I’ve no alarm set this morning, and we had decided
we would all start the day whenever we had all got up. So of course I wake up at 5.30 and can’t get
back to sleep. At 6am I decide I may as well
get out of bed, make a cup of tea, and I sit on the balcony to watch the sun
rise over the mountains. It’s so
peaceful this early in the morning, I only see one car go by that has a boat on
the roof; someone starting their paddling day early. I do some pilates and have some cereal and
wait for the others to rise! Rob is up
for around 9 and he points me in the direction of the local shop as we have
very little milk left. Unfortunately it’s
shut, because it’s Sunday, so I walk back empty handed. I don’t mind the walk though, it’s not far and the scenery is so good. Clare and Matt are up now so we have tea and
toast, get ready to head to Bovec to stock up on supplies for the week, and
get our river tickets.
We have lunch back at the house and have a look
at the river map to choose a nice easy section for Clare’s first day, and to
give the rest of us a bit of a break from the big stuff. Following on from yesterday this makes me
quite happy, as I’ll hopefully be in my comfort zone, and able to have some type
1 fun!
After some discussion and checking out the put
ins/outs we settle on Cezsoca to Boka.
It’s a grade 1-2 section and the cars will be close to the water at both
ends. While Rob and I shuttle cars, Clare
and Matt get a chance to have a look in the Prijon shop, and then we finish
kitting up and get down to the river side.
Just before I put my deck on I remembered I was going to try moving my
foot plates to see if this made me more comfortable. So I hop out and sort this before I get back
in. The river looks so clear and so
inviting. There are small ripples and
the water is moving reasonably quickly, but nothing about this put in is making
me worry. I’m reminded of the get in for
the Sun Run in the Alps, and that gives me some happier memories to settle me
further. We’re all ready now so we head
on down stream. I’ve got a smile on my
face!
At the first set of rapids I start singing, just
to keep me relaxed. It’s not tense and
actually has a rhythm to it, even if a little out of tune, and more out of enjoyment than fear. By the end of that little wave train I’m
feeling great. Rob says that’s about as
big as this section of river gets, so any last bit of tension vanishes and I
really begin to enjoy myself. A little
further along I ask to lead some and end up leading quite a bit, asking Rob on
a couple of occasions about how to read the river and select a good line. We catch some eddies here and there, and I try
to spot and catch some eddies for myself too.
When we reach the put out I find myself, for the
first time, feeling like it wasn’t long enough.
I could happily paddle at this level every day. My leg fell asleep a little, but only pins and
needles and no pain like yesterday, so hopefully the little extra leg room has
done the trick for now. Clare suggests
having a swim, and we are all soon in the water having a splash around and a
cool down. We spend some time feeling the flow
and swimming across it. I decide to get
my throw line out for a little practice, but it’s quite evident that in reality, a light 18m line is difficult to throw 18m, and even when you can it doesn’t
get you very far out.
Back at the house we quickly put kit out to dry
and get some sturdy shoes to go and take a closer look at Slap Boka, a nearby
waterfall which was pretty spectacular, even from down at the river. It’s the highest waterfall in Slovenia and
falls almost immediately after rising from the Karst Spring.
The boys drop Clare and I back to the house so
they can go and Shuttle Rob’s car back from Cezsoca, and we sit and enjoy a
drink and a chat on the balcony. I get
to cooking once the boys get back and surprise myself by successfully cooking a
dish I’ve never done before. We had pan
fried Hake with pasta and an onion and garlic sauce, followed by some fruit and
chocolate tarts (Ok so I cheated and bought the tarts, but they just looked so
good!!!!) After dinner Matt and Clare
took Matt’s cafe to the river to watch the sun go down and see some fireflies,
Rob went off to shower and I set to catching up on my blog again.
It’s been the perfect day, but I realise around
10pm how long I’ve been awake and decide I’ll have to stay a day behind on my
blog, and get some sleep.
Day 7
4am... ARRRGGHHHH!!!! Cramp in my leg!!!
 |
| Hay is being made everywhere at the moment! |
7am... I wake up just before my alarm, and creak
and groan my way out of bed. It’s clear
that today I won’t be paddling. I’m
stiff all over and my calf is tight after having cramp in the night, my body is
clearly telling me I need a day off. Over breakfast I
let Rob know I’m not coming, take some pain killers and go back
to bed for another hour. Feeling a
little better but still a bit slow, I get myself dressed and go in search of the
horses. I had found a place on the
internet that Google said was a 15 minute walk away and a gentle wander was
just what I needed. I stopped in at the
little shop to see what they had and picked up some fancy looking biscuits off
the little bakery counter. The horse
place was closer than I thought, and I felt better the closer I got to them. The man working in the tractor turning the
hay came over to say hello and told me Greta, the owner’ would be back in
around an hour. I had a little look at
the horses on my way out, to decide whether I was going to come back to book,
and they all look well cared for, happy and content. I gave one a little scratch when he offered
me his chest, he seemed thankful and I headed back to the house again. I went back after a cup of tea to meet Greta
and booked a ride for Thursday morning.
She said we can go along the Soca and take the horse through it
too. She won’t be riding as she is
pregnant, but will be walking with me and taking pictures! 
I get back to the house and it’s lunch time so I
sit with some tea and biscuits before I busy myself with a few things. Around 2.30 I’m feeling tired and stiff again
so I take another nap, then shower and do some pilates when I get up. The paddlers arrive back around 5.30 and they’ve
been to the shops on the way through, so we are ready to settle in for the
evening and have dinner. Clare has found
the edge of her comfort zone today, and then sailed through the stretch zone
and in to panic, when a very rare navigational error by Rob meant they ended up
in Bukerji before he realised they had missed the put out!
Clare and Matt are
cooking this evening and it smells delicious while I type this. I can’t wait to see what we have!
Now this is what holidays are about!!!
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