Breakfast was cold pizza and tea, and then we set off down the road. Today’s stage follows the river Soca, and we had been told that the path was stony, with lots of tree roots. We had therefore decided to walk some of the trail on the road, where we can walk at 5kph, rather than 3-4kph on the stony ground. There was very little traffic, and we soon reached Soca (about 8 km down the road), where we finally crossed the river and onto the path. The path was good here, wide and flat, with a lot of tourists walking. There were also several fishermen in the river, which is being restocked with the local trout. We eventually rejoined the road, and again we walked on it, rather than the narrow footpath. The river was a fantastic colour pale blue colour, at times wide, and other times rushing through narrow gorges. For the final few kilometres we again followed the path, crossing yet more footbridges over the river. We finally reached Bovec, spotting our hotel on the outskirts of town. We walked into town for dinner; the town is surrounded by mountains, and was full of mountain bikers, climbers, canoeists, and walkers. We’ve seen more people with rucksacks this evening, than in the whole 24 days since we started the walk! Tomorrow should be a short day, as much of the trail is shut for electricity work. We hope to get a lift, where necessary, with the Germans’ transport.
