But while the waterfall was nice enough, the real surprise was the nearby cave that we hadn't planned on!
Of course when you meet up with fellow travelers, you have a lot in common so there's always something to talk about. And no different this time. David is originally from Nottingham area in England, and Mirsie has been in Scotland since the 1990's... however she grew up in Albania and speaks the language!
They also love the mountains. In fact Mirsie is a long distance mountain runner! As in 100 km 24 hour races through the mountains! Crazy stuff... she keeps a blog here... https://mirsie.co.uk/
We came across this group of puppies along the way.
So cute!
I could have easily taken this one home!
The mom left her puppies behind and came all the way up to the waterfall and cave with us.
A few little falls along the way.
David, and the larger Withe Drin Waterfall
A different view.
It was around this time that we saw a sign about the cave. We've been in lots of caves, and they're all different so we were interested in going in this one. We headed up to the entrance.
Scenery along the way.
We got up there and the ticket booth was closed!
As I was testing the locked gate at the entrance to the cave, three girls came up behind us. It turns out they were there to open the cave!
It turns out that the cave closed for the season on October 1st. But they were there to specially open the cave for a group of Kosovo dignitaries who were coming to see it. And it turned out that Melisa agreed to take the four of us for a tour of the cave for €2.50 each. How lucky is that!
Ruth, heading in to the Radavc Cave.
Keep your head down!
There are a lot of bats inside this cave.
Melisa has been working in this cave for seven years! She was so full of information. One of the best cave guides we have ever had.
These pools used to be full of water.
The water hasn't been in the caves for thousands of years though.
Now, the water flows outside the cave and only enters the cave during spring runoff.
The marble inside the cave has a red tinge to it from the iron oxide.
Back outside the cave, Melisa gave us some good tips of other things to do in the area. Thanks Melisa!
Another view of the falls.
We decided to drive to a nearby restaurant and have some lunch.
Roast chicken, salad, and fries.
With a bottle of water, it was €6 ($8 CAD, $5.90 USD) each.
It was easy to sit and talk for a couple of hours. We should have been out hiking together! But, we are meeting them again this morning to do the via ferrata. They had actually done part of it the other day, but enjoyed it so much they want to go back and do a bit of a different route. And it's so inexpensive here.
David, Mirsie, and their VW Van.
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Record low deal on this Coleman 8 Person Dome Tent with Screen Room. Cheap!
And in Canada...
Great deal on this Diesel RV Heater.
You had me at puppies, waterfalls, and friends. Lost me at bats, though.
ReplyDeleteLol, bats are great, they eat mosquitoes and we hate mosquitoes. Melisa said they were friendly bats! :-)
DeleteAnd then there are the blossom bats which help pollinate fruits trees. Glad to see you having such a great time in Kosova.
ReplyDeleteBats are really good to the environment, it is a shame that they have been given such a bad reputation because most of it is false.
DeleteWe are having a great time in Kosovo, in fact we wish we could stay longer in this area but we already have a place booked for Pristina on Sunday for a week. I am sure there will be things there to keep us busy as well but I think we would enjoy this area more.