My mind and body have slowed down since we arrived here. I could literally feel the process take care of itself. My heartbeat slowed down, my thoughts simplified, my brow stopped sweating, my feet stopped hurting. The air is clear. The water is even clearer. We are surrounded by mountains, and each one is a climate in and of itself. I've never experienced anything like this place.
Yesterday, Aurite, Harriet and I hiked through Vintgar Gorge, which has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. We walked through several villages to get there. Walking through the gorge was also unlike any sort of beauty I've seen before. We walked through tall rock cliffs, trees, over bridges and around waterfalls, taking plenty of photos. At the end of the walk, we made it to a cabin. And then it started to rain. And then it started to hail.
After standing under the awning of the cabin, freezing for about 20 minutes, its owner finally let us inside. We sat next to an Israeli family, who I surprised by entertaining a conversation in Hebrew with their daughter, who looked to be about 2 or 3 years old.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Rebecca," I said. "What's your name?"
She laughed. "Tamar." After smiling a few moments more, she asked, "Why Rebecca?"
Why my name is Rebecca...what an excellent question coming from this little girl. "Because my grandpa's mother was also Rebecca," I said in Hebrew.
She asked, "What's your grandpa's name?"
I smiled to think of him at that moment, considering where I got my name. "Mike," I told her.
At last, the hail subsided. We ran back through the gorge and back into town to try to find the way back home, back to Bled. We walked and walked through pouring rain, desperate for a bus or a cab or a ride or something to end the misery and maybe save us from getting sick. But it seemed hopeless--until a minivan suddenly stopped on the side of the road, and its driver, an older Slovenian woman, started to literally beg us to come inside.
I'm pretty unfamiliar with the practice of hitchhiking, and reason was not a part of any of my thought process at the moment. But she insisted, "For me, it's no problem! I take travellers all the time!" So we got in her car and she drove us the rest of the way home, about 1.5 km. She was so nice, I almost couldn't believe it.
We have been doing nothing but relaxing ever since. I took a bike ride this morning while Aurite, Harriet and Harriet's friend from Lyon went to the lake. Slow life ends soon, but it's been a wonderful refresher, and very fitting for Aurite and my 3-week travel anniversary! And now we have only 3 more adventure-filled weeks to go.
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