Hello Hive, this is my first not only Hive, but also blog in general. When I was a little girl, I was writing my journal and some of the stories still today are making me laugh. I was just thinking, why wouldn't I write some sort of journal again and maybe when I will be old and wrinkled this will bring some tears of laugh again. So here I am with my first traveling blog and we will see where this takes me.
I am happy to be surrounded by a forest like this when I grow up.
For my first traveling destination I chose Slovenia, which happens to be my home place. I was born here and the beauty of this country amazes me still. Slovenia is a small country many don't know, but it has some striking qualities. One of many surprising truths about this tiny country is its large bear family. In fact, Slovenia has one of the largest brown bear populations in the world. Keep that in mind if you feel like exploring the pristine forests of Slovenia. This time I was wandering in Kocevje, the home of the bears, the place of wast forest.
Even a path is marked with a bear foot :/
On my quest to the best viewpoint, I advise you loud discussions or singing which instructs bears to stay away. The last thing you want is to be trapped in between cubs and mama bear! I don’t want to scare you, but it is fair to mention that forests are alive. Although, wild animals avoid contact with humans, so do not expect a line of curious eyes following your every step.
Wintertime usually isn’t the best time for travel, but Slovenian brown bears sleep through the winter (at least they should). So, I took advantage of a sunny winter day and went for a leisurely walk in the Kocevje forest. Because I was a bit scared, I invited my sister to go with me, this time. So much about SOLO TRAVEL BUG :)
It took us less than an hour's drive on a well-maintained road to get to our destination. We parked and followed the tree signs in a shape of a bear paw, directing us towards the viewpoint. Indeed, we followed the paw and noticed much more than a mere reminder of a fury sleeping beauty.
Are these from the bear? A deer, luckily :)
The first thing we couldn’t get enough of was the sweetness of the air. Immediately we were intoxicated by pure fresh air and couldn't stop sniffing it. With noses sticking up we almost stepped on some Icelandic lichen. Lichens are known to grow only in the environment with pure air and we were happy to see many different sorts. These bioindicators of clean air are becoming increasingly rare so we were very pleased to see the abundance.
Lichens are known to grow only in an environment with pure air
Further on we heard singing birds and one was really close. This little bird was jumping on the dried leaves so loudly, that we expected to see a big mammal any moment. Who would have thought that such a tiny creature can make so much noise? On our way up we also discovered “game loo”. One especially large spruce tree was surrounded by mossy rocks and many doo-doo piles. Then there was a huge dead tree with countless holes in its trunk, possibly done by Woodpeckers.
Woodpeckers are working class
When we reached the viewpoint tower, safety concerns crossed our minds. Despite that, we couldn’t wait to get up there. Of course, if you watch your step and hold on to the ladder everything will be fine. Plus. the light adrenalin rush makes the view more spectacular. However, the 360° of an endless canopy is pretty sensational on its own. Even so, it was striking to see the Alps poking out of the canopy. Needless to say, we were blessed with the weather and clear view. Who knows how many times in a year one can see so far?
The view is stunning
I am a monkey :)
Many questions came up with the most important one being about the general state of nature in this world. Who knows how many pristine forests are left on this Earth for us to see? Certainly not much, but we know that nature is resistant and quick to renew if given the opportunity.
After some decent sunbathing we headed back to our car. Singing and laughing like two lunatics, just to get bears away. However, there were no bears, mostly because they were still sleeping or because our bad singing. No matters what, this warm weather will call them out anytime soon and then is a bit more tricky exploring these wast forests.
Thank you for your attention and can't wait for my next blog.
Welcome! It sounds like bears are a big concern in the wild there. Do hikers usually bring bear spray (capsaicin fogger)?
Thank you very much. I have never heard of this spray. Usually singing help, but there were some accidents when the bear was a mom :/ But it is rare, very rare. I don't know if they are a concern, but being aware of them and paying respect should do.
Welcome to the HIVE blockchain! What a cool adventure to share in your first post! Love the pic with the sunburst in upper-right! 😃
Thank you very much for warming welcome. I am happy to hear you like it.
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Slovenia 😍 Great post. I wish to see a bear once in the wild. Long away with my camera, just to be clear. Welcome to Hive
Thank you! Yes, stay away from bear :)
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I loved the walk - and with the thought of bears... I am happy with just your pics right now ;p
Thank you very much. My phone is not super good with photos, nor my sister's one. But I am glad you like it and it did the job.
Welcome to Hive 😊
That’s a beautiful forest I think I to would visit in winter for less chance to see a bear
So beautiful and fresh there
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :), I truly enjoy exploring the world virtually each Wednesday seeing walks from all around the globe and feeling I am there and experiencing it all myself, such as I did in your post just now :)
Thank you so much. However, I was there on Monday and tried to write this down till Wednesday, well after some complications with Hive I did it yesterday :) I am glad you like this virtual walk and you are welcome to check more of my explorations. But first I must take some steps here on Hive to see others' walks and how things work.
Hello @solo-travel-bug welcome to Hive and we're so pleased that you have chosen to make your first post in the haveyoubeenhere and pinmapple community, we also welcome new travel content creators. Just curious, were you on Hive/Steem with another account as I see you have pinned your post on Pinmapple and are familiar with Wednesdaywalk and OCD? That's a great achievement for someone totally new to Hive especially as Pinmapple isn't exactly the easiest to use for newbies 😀
Hello, thank you for the warm welcome. I wanted to post my first post on Wednesday, but it took me more to understand and learn how things work here. So this is why Wednesdaywalk. I am quite familiar with computers (I was the only girl in my class - some sort of computer science) so more people are wondering how I got to the woods and out alive :) I couldn't even write a post on the start, went to the Hive discord and @pfunk helped me out. Easy peasy. I checked some traveling posts and I learned about the tags. Monkey sees, monkey do🙈 Pinmaple is easy to use I simply copy/paste the code I got. I think I could use HTML here in the editor, still know some things. Thank you again for the warm welcome.
Hi @solo-travel-bug welcome to Hive. Enjoy and had fun😊
Thank you very much. I will
Have a nice journey and enjoy on hive.
Thank you and same to you
Hi solo-travel-bug,
Join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
I see, thank you very much
Such a beautiful area you live in and you caught some wonderful photos! I too live in the forest, the Boreal forest of Saskatchewan Canada and so appreciate to be able to wander in the pristine wilderness. Thank-you for sharing your traveling adventures - I love see other parts of the world!