I had one full day around lake Bohinj during my trip in Slovenia. One day. And it happened to be the one day where it just didn’t stop pouring down. The day before we’d made a stop in Bled to walk around the lake and the weather was stunning. The landscape in this area is fantastic, with amazing vistas of green mountains and the contrast of the blue water. So we were hoping for the same in Bohinj, but the weather forecast had already warned us we wouldn’t be that lucky.
I had planned to do a longer hike, but quickly changed that for a shorter alternative. Already at breakfast it was moody around the lake. Dark clouds were looming. I tried to arrange taxis to Savica waterfall, so that we would only have to hike a little bit and still have something to do. But in such a small town there are only so many taxis available and of course they were all booked out. Option 2 then: we take the bus. I took some people from my group to the bus stop and we waited. 25 minutes later the bus had still not shown up! So we started to walk. 5 minutes into the walk, the rain started to come down in buckets and the first people headed back to the hotel. It was at this point that we saw the bus come by…
The paths quickly filled with puddles and it was impossible to keep my feet dry. I gave in to it and tried to enjoy the fresh mountain air regardless. But my group left one by one until there were only two of us left. We decided to pay for the boat that goes around the lake and makes a stop at Ukanc. Unfortunately you didn’t see much of the mountains, as they were covered in clouds. So when we arrived in Ukanc, I decided to hike to the Savica waterfall anyway. Rain or not. I was alone and walked through a big camp ground. People were sitting under the cover of the cafe and beergarden with their laptops. Then I took the path towards Savica.
I crossed the bridge over the river and saw a few houses until I reached a forest trail. It gradually went uphill to the actual start of the waterfall trail. I didn’t expect to see many people, but there were some others like me, who had just wanted to make the most of the day. Or maybe they also only had one day. The trail was wide and the trees kept some of the rain out. It didn’t matter. I was soaked by now. I was in my rain gear, but wearing sneakers. I felt the water in my shoes warming up and new cold water flowing in as I went through a puddle. And still, I was happy to be outside. I’d looked forward to this place and exploring something new. The prospect of sitting inside the hotel and working while being in such a place just wasn’t as appealing. So hiking in the rain was so much better!
Since I was alone, I could keep up the pace and didn’t have to take into account anyone else’s needs. I was a woman on a mission. I’d made my way up in no time. And then I stood in a parking lot with some restaurants. At one of them they had a paid toilet. I took in about half a liter of water that leaked out of my shoes and dripped from my clothes. At least I was mainly dry underneath my rain gear. Just a bit sweaty. At this point the actual waterfall trail started, for which you usually have to pay. I don’t know if they took pity on us today, but there was nobody selling tickets. Free entrance for all! From the ticket office you walk up a bunch of stairs. I got so hot that I couldn’t keep my hood on and just gave in to getting wet hair. It’s this balance between sweating and the steam rising from my head and the rain outside.
At the end of the staircase was a very small viewing platform. You could walk down a short, small path to get a better look at the waterfall, but you had to take your photos through a fence. So you couldn’t take a nice nature picture really. Although the waterfall is really beautiful and you can capture a nice photo with the right angle, the overall impression was disappointing. It’s cute, but it’s definitely not a must see. And because there was limited space at the end and of course because of the rain, I also didn’t stay long. But even if it was a beautiful day, there wasn’t much space to stay up there for long.
And so I made my way down all the steps, followed the trail through the forest and got back to the camp ground. At this point I was pretty tired, mostly from being wet. I was really ready for a hot shower and warm clothes. However, I’d walked so fast that I got back at the boat’s lunch time. So there was no boat or bus for more than an hour. I could wait, soaking wet, at the camp ground cafe, or I could walk the last 4,5km back to my hotel. In these situations I prefer the feeling of moving, so I took the quite boring path alongside the road, back to Ribčev Laz. You are so close to the lake, but you don’t see much of it, because you have some trees and the main road in between the lake and the footpath. Besides, the footpath was more like the little basin you have to walk through to clean your feet before you go into the swimming pool. The path had filled up with water. It wasn’t just puddles, it was just completely flooded. You couldn’t avoid it. So I marched on, trying not to think about the smell that would develop in my shoes. That last stretch wasn’t fun anymore. I was done. It seemed to last forever. But in general I’m happy I went out that day. I got some exercise. I got to see something new. And at least I didn’t sit inside all day.
