It’s 31st July now.

We have had a mixed bag since last blog.

I think we ended up by trying to explain the engine problem. Well we have had a lot of opinions, it’s amazing how many mechanics seem to be traveling on the roads here in Europe. So many opinions and we had hoped solutions but the easy ones had not helped at all. We finally bit the bullet and booked into a mechanic here in Ljubljana for last Monday morning. We were told to be there about 8.00a.m. so we got up early and packed up to make sure we were able to find it in the early morning traffic. Well we did but then were told to come back about 1.00 when the mechanic could look at. We then decided to go for a little drive to a small village not far away from the city, we drove up to the town but had a bit of trouble finding a place to park so turned around and stopped in the first parking bay we could find to have a coffee and a bit of a break. We decided it was a good a place as any to sit and read until it was time to head back when we had a man come up on a scooter and talk through the window and ask to talk to the people from “down under”. He was very friendly and introduced himself as Joe and he had been born in Adelaide. His parents were Slovenian but had gone to Australia when the war broke out and he lived there until he was 4 1/2.

We talked a while with him and he had visited Australia and also had a friend in Adelaide so he was very interested in us as well. We explained why we were sitting on the side of the road and he then said that he was a mechanic so he had a quick look and then he said he worked as a manager for Skania in Slovenia and for a few other countries in the region. He offered for us to go to the Skania workshop and get his mechanics to look at it for us for nothing but if there was something then we would have to pay.

We couldn’t believe how helpful Joe was and when we went to the Skania workshop we had all the mechanics trying to solve the problem. After a while it seems that the clutch may be the problem so we have booked into their workshop for Monday morning to have it fixed.

so in the meantime we have done a little trip down to the south-west and visit the coast of Croatian Istria.

On the way down we visited Postnan caves where you ride 2kms down in a small train, then do a tour through the caves for about and hour. Spectacular caves with lots of stalactites and stalagmites so it was very interesting. We then drove out to see a castle that is built into the entrance of a cave. We decided not to go in but it was very impressive to look at from outside. After we left the castle we drove down to the coast area of Sloveni and stayed a night in a campsite at Ankaran. It was a very busy touristy campground but we were happy to have a place to stay for the night.

Tuesday we drove over the border to Croatia and the region they call the Istria. We followed the coast down hoping to find a small campground that wasn’t too touristy. all along the coast was lots of large resort like campground and they were very busy so we then decided to head over to the other side of the peninsular to a campground that was described as being a bit smaller. We found a small campground that was a bit more relaxed and we found a site under the pine trees. The campground reminded us of the Second Valley campground, set on sloping ground, rough roads and especially with all the pines. It wasn’t a flash place but we felt more at home at this one that if we had booked into the resort type that have all the mod cons and are populated with lots of families.

We became friendly with the couple next door from Poland, Kate and Greg who were happy to have someone to talk to. Kate was a school teacher who teaches English and Geography and was very happy to practice her English with us.

After we left the campground at Koramacno and headed east and north back into Slovenia. We entered Slovenia late in the afternoon on a small minor road and were able to find a quiet rest stop nestled amongst some trees well off the road. After a very quiet night we made took a round a bout way back to Ljubljana.

As we had a lot of time we took our time and after a bit of a side trip we doubled back head back to the main road and came across another cave site. We decided we had a bit of time to spend so made our way down the rough road to a small hut set up to service this cave site. It was a far different cave experience than we had earlier in the week. This one was more of an adventure, we were provided with rubber boots and a light with a battery pack and we had to climb down the slippery stairs and into a cave with no lights or good walkways. We followed the guide down into the cave, across a muddy slippery walkway up and down rocks until we came to a little lake where there was a large rubber boat. We all hopped on board to have a small boat ride along the underground river. Out lights were turned off and the boat had a light underneath so we had a clear view of the river bottom and the eerie feeling of floating in an underworld. It was a great experience, felt a bit like the hobbits from Lord of the Rings walking through the mountain.

We arrived back at the campground to be greeted by other Aussies. We ended up camping near them and we have spent an enjoyable time with them. They are South Aussies too and live not far from us at Mitchell Park. It was good to talk to them as they have just been to many of the places we are planning to go and we have been able to get some advice and information. Wendy and John are on a 4 month trip and will head home a couple of weeks before us. We also met David from New Zealand who has been traveling through the Balkans on his pushbike for the couple of months. So lots of stories and information has been exchanged and we decided to have a b.b.q for tea so that we could have a bit of social time with these fellow travelers.

So it’s late now and we have an early start tomorrow.

Good night and God Bless

So now we are back at Ljubljana all set to take the camper to be fixed at the Scania workshop tomorrow morning.