Kobarid to Ozeljan

Thursday July 26, 2018, 38 miles (61 km) - Total so far: 5,138 miles

(8,268 km)

We had a rest day yesterday, which mostly involved laundry and admin. So today felt like our first proper day in Slovenia! We started off on tiny backroads which was lovely. It's so lush, with meadows everywhere, and tiny, picturesque villages. We had a couple of stints on the main road which were less pleasant, but once again the drivers were well behaved (apart from one bus, but we'll let that slide!).

Things became a bit less scenic after we passed through Kanal, with a HUGE cement factory creating quite a blot in the pretty valley. The riding was lovely and quiet though! We eventually ended up on a fabulous dedicated cycle path which took us along the valley and into Nova Gorica. The cycle path climbs up a fair way giving wonderful views of the incredible emerald-green soca river. There were a few steep undulations though, which our legs didn't appreciate - I think we're still suffering from the big day into the country!

We shopped at an incredible hypermarket in Nova Gorica - great fun trying to translate the slovenian labels. Very happy to report that Slovenia believes in porridge! We couldn't find rolled oats in Italy. We also found a camping shop to provide camping gas, and also used their porch to shelter from a terrific rain storm. Then it was just 5km down the busy main road to the campsite.

We're staying at Camp Lijak. It's laid back and not quite so packed, which is quite refreshing after Kobarid. It also gets extra points for having fridges and cooking shelters, in addition to great facilities. WEell be here for two nights so we can check out some of the local wineries :)