We left Piran and drove briefly through Italy then picked up the Soca River back in Slovenia near the largest stone arch bridge in the world (we only got a glimpse of this). A driving tour of the lower Soca valley followed before arriving at Kobarid where we followed a historical walking trail over lunch. This started in the town, led us up to a war memorial, then up further to an old settlement on a craggy outcrop. We then descended through some Italian ww1 and ww2 paths and defenses before walking back along some of the more impressive parts of the Soca River as it travels through a gorge.
After lunch and shopping in a dairy (best cheese yet), we continued up to find a campsite. Thankfully Jess slept as we toured every campsite in the valley looking for a space, eventually finding ourselves near the source of the Soca with no campsite space and no more campsites within range. Fortunately there was a layby. We felt slightly awkward initially, but were soon joined by many other campers. Without mobile signal, we couldn’t plan the next day or next campsite, which was slightly stressful, but the enforced book reading was very pleasant. A nice walk up the final parts of the Soca and some stargazing made it a good night. (The portaloo and running out of water the next day was not so good).
The next day we drove to the top of Slovenia’s most famous pass (and the most hectically busy pass we’ve ever seen). From the Vrisic pass we started up a walking path the top of a nearby hill. The ‘easy marked path’ turned into a lovely unmarked rock ridge, pushing the capabilities of baby carrying. We had great views of the Julian Alps and watched an impressive helicopter rescue from very close by.
Back in signal we tried to book a campsite. Our plans had us staying in the area at least another day, but the lack of camping in the Soca valley meant we had to leave. A lack of campsites along our route in Italy (I still wonder what is in this part of Italy that means there are no campsites) meant we detoured to Austria.
In Austria we found a campsite that had toilets, water and grass. The next day we found a cafe serving schnitzel and cake. Having filled up on typical Austrian delights, we wound or way back through to Italy, through the Dolomites to a camp on the very southern edge of the Dolomites.
The campsite is a farm/restaurant/accommodation/camping. With only 15 pitches it is one of our favourite campsites, especially after the most cheap, tasty and authentic local lunch on our day of planning, washing and hiding from thunderstorms.
Yellow Van Mountaineering 