Grant, Slovenia: Village at the End of the Road

Curious to experience what was on the other side of the Julian Alps, we rented an Airbnb in the village of Grant, population 24. There are no services and the closest grocery store is an hour drive down the mountain in Tolmin. Padlocked Virgin Mary statues and Catholic shrines were everywhere, with LED candles and fresh flowers, contrasting the rural mountainy feel of log homes and farm animals. But, what really caught my attention were the automatic external defibrillator signs posted along the single lane roads. I was only allowed to stop once to take a picture, while everywhere else we went, the camera was glued to Mark's face. I guess AED signs just aren't cool. 

Most days, we would drive down to swim in the Soca River, visit more waterfalls, and occasionally hit up a super old castle and WWI mountain top trenches. We also visited the Skocjan and Postjna Caves, each famous for different reasons. Skocjan, because it's the largest known underground cave in the world, and Postjna for its underground train (and first in the world) and Olm habitat. Also known as baby dragons, they are tiny, blind, and territorially aggressive salamanders that can live up to one hundred years. I think they look like tapeworms with arms and legs, but the kids think they're cute. So much so, they bought stuffed Olms and named them after famous Slovenian cyclists.

On the days we stayed home, we read, napped, hot tubbed, watched the entirety of The Good Place, and fantasized about retirement. In fact, that was a big reason why were vacationing - to investigate towns where we might want to live and could afford. We want decent access to things like outdoor activity near or in the mountains, fresh water, a yard, medical care, and my most recent request: near a highway. I can handle windy mountain roads most of the time, but I would prefer to not be nauseated every time I drive. Dreaming BIG here, is that asking too much?

too many people tried to turn left to find Grant.

shed behind the house

hiking up to Veliki Rascovec summit

like father like son
Great Soca Gorge - right off the road, no hiking required!

electricity and fire management

Tolmin Gorge

more gorge (Soca)

and another. We never got sick of the looking at clear water everywhere went went.

the only place we were allowed to take photos at Skocja Cave: the exit

Kozjak Waterfall

outside the park.

the hike I did NOT take

tripod gathering in Grant