Day 9: Skocjan Caves & Venice

Today we left Ljubljana for Venice. On our way to Venice, we stopped at skocjan caves and did a cave tour which was really cool. After the cave tour we did a nature hike back to our bus, which was hard because it was really hot but we saw a waterfall so it was worth it. We had long bus rides today, but our bus driver Alfonso was really cool so the road trip wasn't that bad. There was also great scenery on our way to Venice. Once we arrived in Venice, we went to the beach and the weather was really nice. 

-Lara I.

What a day! We left Ljubljana in the morning, and visited the skocjanske jame caves right before lunch. It was a pretty steep hike back up, but almost everyone loved them! We finished up our traveling. Y arriving in Venice and heading down to the beach near our hotel. Everyone was ECSTATIC to be out of the heat and into the cold water. We went swimming, collected seashells, and got pretty sandy in the process. On the walk back to the hotel, everyone grabbed granitas (kind of like shaved ice) from a stand on the street. But the crowning moment was DINNER. A four course meal topped off with coffee tiramisu. Delicious!!! We finished off the day by chilling in the hotel's courtyard and saying goodbye to our bus driver, Alfonso. We can't wait to explore Venice!

-Colette C.

One long bus journey later, we came to the Škocjame Caves. We ventured in through the man made tunnel to a small chamber with a little lake, and finally we were able to get a break from the hot air outside. As we ventured through the caves, the chambers just grew bigger and bigger, 90 meters beneath the ground, we began to hear the rushing of the river that flowed into the cave. As we looked over the edge of the high cliff we were on, we saw the river crashing against such the stone walls. Being inside one of the biggest under ground canyons really puts a lot into perspective! My friends and I tossed a coin into the river for good luck... And to see how far the drop was. When we began to near the end of the cave, we began to hear bats, and we came upon the large opening to a wonderful view of the waterfall that lies between the mountains. With one final (hard, brutal) hike up to the main entrance, my friends and I all thought the treacherous journey was worth it. After yet another, long journey on the bus, we finally hit Venice! We took a ferry onto a separate island off of Venice to our hotel, which is beautiful. We took sometime to get ready and then we set off for the beach!! We immediately ran into the water, it was amazing! I definitely enjoyed it so much! We can now all proudly say that we have swam in a sea in Italy! 🏖 

-Sasha P.