tale of two cities

Kids up and at the breakfast buffet well ahead of the support staff this morning - not helped by Wendy and Dale getting two calls on the cell phone from an idiot insurance broker in New Zealand at 3.30 am and then again at 4 am, separated by a very noisey american foursome in the car park immediately below our rooms - Marcus let them know the noise wasn't appreciated ..... Wendy was pleased the kids didn't seem to realize the negotiations the ladies of the night were discussing ......

This mornings training session was a bit of a nightmare for most first runs - the kids seemed to struggle to co-ordinate their arms and brains - Wendy had an email telling us the news that there was a live web cam operating on the bottom end of the course and passed this information on to the kids and the fact that they were being watched by their families at home seemed to help them focus a bit ....

Looking upstream, low water level, towards the new and old  bridges

Lunch was eaten outside in the sun and at that stage the prospect of another thunder storm during the afternoon seemed likely - sure enough just at the end of the second session down it came - so hard it was like someone was actually hosing us down with a high pressure hose as we staggered up the path from the course back to the hotel - 

This afternoons session was a technical session and the river had dropped significantly. Kids also practiced teams runs but with a lot more paddlers of other nations on the course it was a bit more chaotic than the last couple of days. The juniors from Slovenia were in big numbers as this weekends race is actually their selection race for the world junior champs in three weeks time.

Deahna and Haylee, teams practice

Callum, Matthew and Finn, teams practice

Dinner was served inside - its a bit tricky to find a space to house us all to eat, the 'apartment' where Pavel and Martin are with the one sink and the fry pans is as big as a bathroom and can only fit 6 people in if everyone stands up side by side - so we took the camping tables up to Matthew, Callum and Luke's room and ate there. One pan bacon and potato fritatta without the final grilling in the oven 'cause we haven't got one!!red cabbage,carrot and crispy noodle salad, followed by icecream and strawberries.

It was time for a bit of a geography lesson so we headed out in the vans to the old border between Italy and Slovenia - which was determined at the end of the second world war and runs through the middle of the town of Gorica creating a new town on this side called Nova Gorica of which the older area of Solkan is a suburb. Its only been for the past two years that even though it is two different countries its really now run as one town as far as transport systems and infrastructure goes

waiting between runs

one foot in Italy, one foot in Slovenia, just prior to Jandal golf.

. Kids tolerated the small geography lesson for 5 minutes and then had a game of jandal golf across the border - much more fun than history!