Suprising Slovenia

A calm six-hour motor sail from Caorle brought us to Izola, Slovenia. For the third time in a row, I had to haul lines and fenders over to our starboard side at the last minute because we were instructed to do yet another side docking. (We are normally ready for med mooring.) An advantage to side docking with Sabática, though, is that we don’t have to use the pasarelle to get from boat to dock. Sometimes “walking the plank” (as I call it) can be daunting depending upon the height difference between dock and boat. Just stepping off the stern onto the dock directly when side docked can be quite easy as it was in Venice. However in Izola, as with the rest of the northern Adriatic (mainly the Istria region of Croatia), you have the tides to contend with if it is not a floating dock. So at low tide, we had at least a three foot height distance between the top of the boat where you could step off down to the dock. That may not sound like much, but for someone who is vertically challenged, getting off and down was a bit nerve-wracking.

Anyway, we stayed in Izola for three nights to wait out the poor weather. We took the opportunity to catch up on work and chores. I spent the better part of a day still getting through mounds of laundry with the one washing machine available. Conor spent nearly just as much time trying to get Slovenian SIM cards and Internet access with eventual success. We did meander around Izola and thought it was an old pretty town with a nice promenade along its coastline. It (and Slovenia in general) has a similar history to Croatia – being ruled by Romans, Venetians, Germans, Napoleon, Austrians, Italians, then becoming part of Slovenia, then Yugoslavia, then independent Slovenia. “Izola” means ‘island’ in Italian, and that’s what it used to be. Under Napoleonic rule in the early 1800s, Izola’s city walls were torn down and used to fill in the channel that separated it from the mainland. However, it kept its name. 😉

Our last full day there was Conor’s birthday. He really wanted to go see the old coastal Venetian city of Piran, which is now a resort town and only about 14 miles away from Izola. We figured we’d experience the Slovenian bus system. How hard could it be? Everyone kept telling us the buses come every twenty minutes, but we think they meant every forty. Needless to say, much of the day was spent waiting for buses, but once on them, we had a wonderful tour of some inland cities over the hills and along the coast. Beautiful. Piran itself was also a wonderful treat. Beautiful city, wonderful coastal promenade, Venetian architecture, great swimming spots, lots of restaurants, etc etc. We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon there. More interesting than Izola and definitely worth the trip. Conor also had an ulterior motive – the next day we were to leave Slovenia and would need to check out at the police station in Piran. He likes to scope places out ahead of time. 😉

This is probably because we had no expectations of Slovenia, but we were surprised with how beautiful and nice it was. The buildings and homes were large and very well kept. It definitely had the look of a wealthier country than Croatia, and upon researching, we discovered it certainly is. (And oddly enough, it was less expensive than Croatia.) While possibly not “wealthy” compared to Western European standards, its developed economy enjoys a high level of prosperity and stability. It offers much in the way of natural beauty. Conor remembers that from his former visit nearly thirty years ago when he was paddling white water rivers there.

We were glad we routed through Slovenia. We’d definitely recommend a visit – seems a great, beautiful, inexpensive holiday spot!