Croatia, etc. Day #11 “Into the Caves We Go”

I’m starting to hate myself. Yes, I’ve become one of those obnoxious self-absorbed tourists.  It became evident this morning at breakfast when I told Patrice that the Eggs Royale this morning wasn’t as good as at the Hotel Esplanade in Zagreb.  Oh well, I’ll just have to adjust. 

Today we had a very early start being told to have our bags ready for pick up at 6:20 AM because we would be leaving the hotel at 7:20 AM.  Apparently an early start was necessary because Tauck Tours had a very special activity planned. I’m not from Missouri (the “Show-Me State”) but I still need to be shown the proof because I would have preferred more time in bed.  

After about one hour on the bus (Excuse me, Tauck Tours has a “coach” not a bus. This is a very high class operation) we arrived at Postojna, Slovenia. Is it my imagination but does almost every city in this region have a J in its name? Also they seem to be thrown in at random, like in Postojna and Ljubljana. In Postojna, we toured their famous caves.  They are famous to anyone who knows anything about this section of the world. Of course that would not include me. One very rewarding part of this trip has been that I have learned a lot of information that quite honestly has been soulfully lacking in my education. Back to our early start. We left early so we could enter the caves one half hour before opening and have the place to ourselves.  Our sacrifice was well worth it.  My pictures cannot do it justice.  The sights were spectacular.  It was a bit chilly and occasionally we would get hit by some water drops from above, but overall it was a great experience.  Here are some photos that won’t impress you but you should definitely add this place to your bucket list.   Before this trip I didn’t know a stalactite, or a stalagmite, from a hole in the ground.

I just read how to make it is easy to remember. If you care at all about these formations, stalacTites grow from the Top of the cave and stalaGmites from from the Ground of the cave. That should make it easy to remember.

There were a series of formations that resembled some other objects. Such as a couple with one holding a baby, a kissing couple, and the one below that looks like a rooster.

At end of the tour we were treated to a series of Slovenian songs sung by a male A Capella group.  The acoustics in the cave were fantastic and made the performance unique. 

Leaving the caves we took a short ride to the town of Prašćari.  There we were the guests of the Prodan family who owns and operates a truffle farm.  I learned that truffles are mushrooms which need to be “hunted”.   Apparently they grow in the wild and are not readily apparent.  So in order to find these guys you need to use truffle sniffing dogs to locate them.  We also had a wonderful truffle-themed lunch.  Appetizers, salad, scrambled eggs, and ice cream all using truffles as a focal ingredient. 

As a little bonus I did a card trick after lunch that worked perfectly.  I had promised John and Brian for days that I would do the trick but kept forgetting to bring my cards to lunch or dinner. I finally remembered today and my travel buddies were a great audience. I’m now 2 for 2 doing magic tricks on this trip.  Dare I press my luck with my favorite trick on our last trip night?   We will see. 

After Prašćari it was back on the bus, oops I mean coach, and headed to Rovinj.  This is a small seaport town in Croatia. We had a short working tour on arrival but I was too hot and worn out to pay much attention. I will say ciao for now and hopefully have some more trip information for you tomorrow.