PADDLER 36
“ Neither decrees nor dams can take the joy out of paddling, because we can find joy anytime we are on the water.”
PADDLER 36
“ Neither decrees nor dams can take the joy out of paddling, because we can find joy anytime we are on the water.”
these dams, the scenery never disappoints. I enjoy resting my eyes on long stretches of green undergrowth, pretty parks and cute villages with ancient architecture, proving that humans and the river have coexisted here for a long time.
At the bottom of the last dam, the Sagrado Dam, the river grows more wild again. With no campsites around, we opt for the gravel bar rather than one of many apartments or bed and breakfasts nearby. We beach our kayaks on the pebbled riverbank, pop off our sprayskirts and stretch our legs on top of our boats, leaning back and surveying the pebbled bar, assessing the best locations to cook, sleep and hang out. To onlookers, we might appear lazy or even confused. But because it’ s late May, meaning nesting season for many waterbirds, we quickly scan the gravel and wait patiently for one small resident to show itself.
RESPECT AND CARE ARE NEEDED
The little ringed plover( Charadrius Dubius) is one of many residents that call gravel bars home. They nest on bare ground, laying camouflaged eggs that can be mistaken for pebbles. With no sign of this cute little bird, we set up a camp, a couple of tents and a humble fire pit below the high water line. A paddle gives you access to places less visited by humans; thus, respect and care are needed. When we push off the next morning, it looks as if we have never been here.
On our final day, we let the Mediterranean pace catch up to us as we near the Adriatic Sea. Water levels are important during this segment, as the intensive use and re-direction of water from the Soča here, used for agriculture, means that the Soča can dry up completely during warm summer months – a tragic and unacceptable way to treat such a majestic river.
We rode the snowmelt wave and enjoyed the bird activity on the snow-white gravel bars, which were washed clean by high waters earlier in the spring. And digest the last five days spent on the Soča / Isonzo. This source to sea trip down the Soča deepened my reflections about the harmonious blur between humans and nature, an insight into how close humans and nature can live if we are smart. And how nature can recover if we give it a little space.
A SIX-DAY ECOLOGY, HISTORY, GEOLOGY, AND ENGINEERING LESSON
Winding like a river – especially one as complex as the Soča – sure isn’ t the shortest path to the sea, but I can say that it is the most enjoyable. It’ s a six-day ecology, history, geology, and engineering lesson. It’ s an excuse not to take life too seriously. It is a chance to show the villains that there is so much more to the Soča than those stretches they are holding hostage with fees and bans, and at the same time, it illustrates the incredible resilience of a river blocked by dams. Neither decrees nor dams can take the joy out of paddling because we can find joy anytime we are on the water.
For example, we get carried away when immersed in a good story or colourful fairytale. Bird watching, daydreaming and flowing with the outgoing tide is pure bliss. We test the water for salt content and chase the salt with sips of beer before we realise just how fast the tide is sucking us out to sea! The final paddle strokes of this mellow source-to-sea expedition were contradictory to the whole experience as we paddled against the flow back to the fishing hamlet of Villaggio Punta Sdobba. Over cold beers at the nearby hotel, we are already talking about doing it again because we know that each trip down this mystical river will be different because she is( mostly) wild and still( quite) healthy. Just like us.
SOCA GUIDEBOOK
The Soča guidebook can be purchased at many local paddling shops and on the Balkan River Defence website: https:// balkanriverdefence. org