The D4DR Instructor Training Programme was due to start on the 16th of June, so participants were supposed to arrive on the 15th. Alas due to a misunderstanding myself and Martin arrived on the 14th(o0ps). But not only did we both arrive a day early, we also arrived about 9 hours apart from each other(double oops). I arrived the earliest at around 2.30 in the afternoon had the pleasure of doing the shop with Leo and watching some footie. After picking Martin up at around 11.15 in the night, the three of us then drove onto 22 Trnovo ob Soci on the Soca river in Slovenia, which has been our base whilst in Slovenia.
The next day the three of us went onto the river, on a bit of a warm up run. We got in at Cezsoca and paddled down onto the get out at Srpenica 2. This run consisting of a lovely wave train, with one of the best surfing waves around (check out the youtube clip). This lead onto a next bit of a boulder garden. Then we went to collect Debra (who'd arrived the correct day).
After a bit of a lay in, the four of us then went down and ran the same section as above. After having lunch, we then returned to our boats at Srpenica 2 to paddle the rest of the way to Trnovo 1, this section being a bit more of a bigger boulder garden type section. Then the heavens started to open and it tipped down!!!!
The next morning we awoke to rain, and lots of it. The river rose upto around 250 (ish) cummeces, it was at around 20 (ish) the day before when we got off. So after a bit of driving around to look at the river, it was decided there had been too much rain (As we were all coming from the UK, we found this hard to swallow). As a back up plan, we ended up making a start of our REC first aid for paddlers course.
Next day we paddled the lower section of the Soca, this was from Kobarid to Tolmin. Due to the amount of water in the river this was great fun with some hugh eddy lines, boiling eddy's and some big bouncy wave trains.
Seeing as the river still had loads of water in it, we drove upto to Kulze to have a look at one of the tributary's of the Soca. This one being called the Koritnica. It was running at a great level. Making the entry gorge quite fast and fun. But due to a mishap in a gorge lower down the river, Debra ended up losing her paddle, which put a bit of a dampener on the day. The team got off at the get out at Vodenca (prijon shop), and meself and Leo continued down to Trnovo to see if we could find the paddles. Unfortunately we could see them anywhere, but we did find the river still at quite a high level.
We then paddled the next day from where the Koritnica enters the Soca down to the Prijon Shop, and did from Cezsoca down to Srpenica 2, as the river was still high, this made for some interesting paddling.
Saturday the 21st saw us have an early start on the Koritnica which was still running at a great level. We got back to the digs before lunch, waved good bye to Leo, as he was flying home for a long weekend to enjoy his son Sol's 2nd birthday. The three of us (me, Martin and Debra) having our freedom from any instructor's decided to hitch into Srpenica for dinner, to watch footie and have a couple beers. We managed to hitch back, late (ish) into the nights and continue with some more beers at the local bar.
After a nice lay in, a late breakfast and generally lazy morning the three of us decided to hitch in to the near by town of Bovec, which is roughly 17 Kms away from Trnovo. This was surprisingly easy having only to wait around 6/7 mins to get a lift there of some friendly German paddlers, who we'd meet whilst watching football earlier in the week. We enjoyed some lovely ice cream and a little look around. We then hitched back, making the first half of the journey in a friendly climbers tiny car, we have a drink and a sit down and made the reminder of the journey in a local rafting company's mini bus.
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