Dateline: 11.03 31 Aug 1996
Location: Slovenia, Matavun, outside S^kocjanske jame
Whoo!
My first shot at hitchhiking, so what would be a better place to start
than the village of Divaca, Slovenia? Onto the road's entrance ramp, thumbs
up and wait. Unfortunately, every car heading in my direction seemed to
be stuffed to the max: dogs, babies, grandmothers and various combinations
of the above. Some people gestured "Sorry, but..." and pointed to whatever
their car was filled with, one truck driver just gestured, most only stared
at what must, admittedly, be a strange spectacle here in the heart of the
remote Karst. I started to profile: new cars and old people were Out, old
cars and truck drivers were In. Eventually, one affable fellow in a battered
old Renault (Slovenia's national car, thanks to a factory in Novo Mesto)
took mercy on me. Communication was rather limited since he spoke no English,
but my "Is^c^em S^kocjanske jame..." was interpreted correctly despite
my horrible mispronounciation. So here I am in the courtyard of the cave,
waiting for the tour (in German - this'll be fun!) to begin.
I
was going to say 'impressive', but I use that word too much and it's only
a pale shade of my reaction to the caves: I was not merely 'impressed',
I was STAMPED with a cylinder of red hot wax slammed on by a forceful
hand. The tour started out dully enough, with a cute little cavern with
with cute little stalactites. I paid 1000 SIT for this? But then
came the first big room. And then came the BIG room. And then came
the REALLY FUCKING HUGE room. The sheer size of these things was
mind-boggling. Can you visualize a cave the size of a football stadium?
Well, I was in it. Not only that, but all the caverns were filled
to the limit with Nature's sculpture; not just your standard phalluses
hanging down and pointing up, but massive formations, ranging from piles
of cauliflowers to (literally) alien interior decorating to temple statues
tens of meters high that rival the most intricate Indian sculpture. And
the rushing underground river, roaring beneath my feet in a 100-meter-high
cavern. 100 meters! That's a 30+ floor skyscraper, except it's underground!
Oh, hell. Just go there. Trust me, you won't regret it.
The day's budget
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