Day 54 and 55 White Lipizzaner Horses, goodbye to the coast and onto the Slovenian Julian Alps

Day 54 & 55 the Adriatic coast runs out after 3 weeks and we take 2 trips into Italy in one day

No rain in the night so our bespoke lilo cover for the absent skylight is not tested. A morning swim and a few final lengths of the large swimming pool and we are off.

We have followed the Ionian and then the Adriatic sea up the coast for the last 3 weeks - 800 miles in total through 7 countries. The North Sea in Denmark is our next coast but that is another 7 days away. First the Tom Tom leads us to an unplanned but welcome brief visit to Italy en route to Lipica.

Since the early days of planning our trip a visit to Lipica ( Slo)  to see the white Lipizzaner horses at the stud farm was on Susan's list. This was that
day.

I am not a big horse fan since Whitby (circa 1975) when a donkey ride on the sands on a school trip didn't go to plan as it took off at full speed towards the sea with me clinging to its back. This compounded by another 'bad donkey experience' in Zennor ( again in the mid 70's) in Cornwall when the mad beast rampaged down the street towards me necessitating an immediate 'about turn' to avoid certain death. Susan however rode horses every week for 10 years plus and her now annual trip to the Burleigh horse trials each year is up with a trip to a far off Scottish island is for me.

The foals are all brown, grey or black and have been inbred over the centuries such that between 4 and 10 years old they nearly all turn white ( actually light grey); just 2 % do not change colour.

A tour of the stud farm is followed by a 1 hour performance in the arena and it is pretty impressive what they can do with the stallions and I am glad I have come although I still don't really get the horse thing.....We leave late in the afternoon and turn to the Slovenian mountains after another brief 30 minute drive through Italy. If you look hard when you see a border sign there are some interesting signs of faded decaying border posts.

Souvenir for C - A £7  stuffed white horse. 

We arrive late in Bohinj to a campsite that actually has grass - our first since Romania some 5 weeks ago. The Julian Alps are lush and green after many weeks of arid country.

We decide to stay here a couple of nights and Charlie makes a Slovenian football friend 

We spend a quiet day in the Bohinj area on the campsite and take a cycle ride to the lake to watch the trampoline diveboarders. The lake is boarded with high mountains with snow still lying in the North facing Gullies. The valley floor is very Alpine with piles of cut wood for fuel, hayricks, hay fields that come right up to the roadside and perfectly tended vegetable areas area. It is truly beautiful.

Mad - dont trust them !

Up through the Julian Alp hills

After so many weeks in the heat some re-acclimatising is needed. Mainly the altitude but also the gradual shift northwards in latitude has seen the temperature drop by only 5-10 deg C. However the long trousers are out in the evening and the sleeping bag has been used for the first time since the end of May. We always marvel at how people who live in hot countries seem to wear far too many clothes, or lots of black, when we Brits are in just shorts and a T-shirt; I think for the first time I understand why.

Day 54  Ankaran ( Slo) to Bohinj Lake ( Slo )   174 Km     Total 7383 km

Day 55  Bohinj ( Slo )       - cylcing only                   0 km      Total 7383 km