Bled, Sweat and Beers

In northern Slovenia there is a particularly dense cluster of climbing spots around the Lakes Bled and Bohinj that drew us in. Like many large, picturesque bodies of water, the area is understandably a honeypot for tourists and so we ended up in a great big, fancy, expensive campsite for four days. A little out of our depth, we went on the rob for their hand soap and toilet paper to address the balance. 

Over-enthusiastic rain pissed all over our plans for a lot of climbing, and nearly washed our tent away too. We managed two trips out; one to Bohinskja Bela which was nice, but the holds had all thoughtlessly eroded upside down making for slightly strange climbing. The second was to Kupljenik, on the only day of sunshine, for which we walked hideous, scorching kilometers uphill (where Amber was accosted by an old man with a profusely cigarette stained moustache) only to arrive at the crag which was dark, damp and lousy with ticks, and our sweaty t-shirts were instantly freezing. After one route and some top-roping we hitched a ride back to the lake, bought beer, and sat and basked in the sun and midges.

The final day, a very happy Bled-day! Dawn swimming, beer drinking and a really amazing meal at a friendly, tucked-away restaurant made up for a day of drizzle, and was an epic way to send off Slovenia. Slovenia sent us off well too; more rain and just to ice the soggy cake, the campsite managed to bill us an additional 10€, through such inventively titled charges as 'tourist tax' and 'registration fee (x2)'. 

C'est la vie.