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| Day 9: July 18,
2007 - Piran |
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Skocjan caves - Piran
In the morning we'll head to the underground
world of Skocjan caves, a UNESCO World Heritage
site. After walking through its three miles
of underground passages carved out by the
Reka River (two hours), we'll drive to the
charming coastal city of Piran, situated on
a narrow piece of land bordering the Adriatic
Sea. We'll explore the tangled streets of
the red-roofed medieval town. Farewell dinner
with the group.
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Due
to the heat wave, we convinced everyone to
switch our plans and spend time in Piran before
visiting the caves. After a leisurely breakfast
we headed out to the remainder of the fortifications
that once surrounded Piran. We climbed up
and up and up some more until we finally reached
the wall. We climbed the highest tower and
had some fantastic views of the city. From
there we came down to St. Georges church and
then down to the waterfront.
People kept referring to beaches and we were
a bit confused because we couldn't see a beach
anywhere. In fact the beaches were stretches
of pound concrete with piers that the kids
could jump off of. Everyone was content to
set their towels on the concrete or huge boulders
and grab some brutally strong sun.
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| The old wall around Piran |
View of Piran from the old wall |
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Everyone met on the
hotel terrace for lunch and then we headed
out to the Skocjan Caves, an UNESCO World
Heritage site. The caves are in a Karst landscape
and run over 6 km. We toured a "dry"
cave where there were numerous stalagmites
and stalactites. A stalagmites grows 1 cm
every 100 years and only 20% of them are growing
at any one time. There were lots of places
where it was smooth and looked a little fake.
Then we entered the "Great Hall"
which was over 100m tall. It was beyond description.
The hall is massive and beautiful and rugged
all at the same time. The temperature is constant
around 60F and around 80% humidity.
Next we moved into the "murmuring caves"
which were formed by rivers cutting through
the soft limestone. The path zigs and zags
down a few meters and you can look out and
see the entire cave with the path lit. It
was overwhelming to be there and walk through
the cave. You could see the old path much
lower on rocks. It is no longer used because
the spring floods would cover the path.
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| That evening we had
dinner at a house of an olive oil producer.
They have a license which allows them to act
as a restaurant 8 days per year or by appointment.
All of the food came from their garden and
was fantastic. We sampled virgin olive oils
that were infused with mint, sage, oregano,
rosemary, lime, and chilies. The meal was
one of the best of the trip and everyone had
too much to eat. |
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