Taking the plunge has new meaning after today's activities. Yours truly, the once ladder fearing, urinating in britches at top of stairs yabo leapt from bridge to river this afternoon. I skidaddled from Ljubljana yesterday evening for a weekend hiatus around the city,town,dot-on-map Nova Gorica. I thought that I would sleep there in hotel,campground,or small hole but luckily had the thought to call Blaz(the z of his name should have a special symbol above it and sound almost like sh) who is one of Jan's roommates from where I stayed last week. He said that after he finished work in Nova Gorica I could come to his home. Unfortunately he didn't finish work until the wee hours, meaning 1am. After a marvelous journey of relational chatting with two of Ana's chums from Ljubljana to the beloved dot-on-map I wandered about for 4-5 (hours that is) trying not to look like a drifting criminal with my poofy hairdo and oversized backpack clinging to me. Luckily the dot-on-map population was out for a concert and also the weather did not turn wet-and-wild until just before Blaz's arrival. After that we hit a country bar called "Saloon" with fury to meet some of his chums for a few (minutes that is as the bartender would not even serve us water) before heading to his home and dreams of midgets in yodelling costumes.

This morning we were up at the crack of 10:30am and off back to the "Saloon" on bicycles (new experience numero uno del dia) for capuccinos and croissants. This before heading to the mountains and the summer retreat spot of Blaz's family. The word picturesque would hardly do the place justice and it even came equipped with a volleyball court. 'Twas another of those spots that inspires weeks of frequent grunting in the work of building an old stone house with considerable veg garden accessories. After a fab meal, dessert, glass of local wine, some chatting with Blaz's wonderfully hospitable and welcoming family we were off to the river and the aforementioned bridge. When I first took a gander at said bridge I decided I would sooner soil myself in public than leap from it. A few minutes later however I found myself atop the diving board at its edge. Between stage one and two the only ponderance had been "Why don't I jump?" From board to hitting the water and nearly having the skin torn from my backside there was little thinking done. Lesson to be learned there is that too many thoughts, too much micromanaging of the future can cripple even the best of us. I spent my teenage years terrified of the unknowns and experiencing almost nothing as a result. If now I thought of all that is in entailed in choosing country, finding wife, having children, supporting family, purchasing toilet paper in Swahili, and all else by morning I would be out chewing grass with the nearest sheep and singing to the tune of "She'll be coming 'round the mountain." Lesson number two from this adventure is to enter the water straight rather than in the sitting position. It seemed to take millenia to hit the water and when I did my boney arse took the brunt of the impact. I am lucky that I can write this while sitting. My entrance to the river had had all the finesse of a one legged ballerina attempting the splits but my enthusiasm over saying "boo hoo, sucks to you" to my long held fears gave this Irish boyo some warm fuzzies let me tell ya'. When swim time was complete Blaz and I returned our companions to the retreat spot and then we were off back to Nova Gorica. I had my second look at the incredible Soca(letter c needing a symbol to make it ch) river and had recurrent visions of returning to it for a prolonged swim and exploration. Blaz is off to work now until late and I am enjoying the comforts of his home with plenty of further chatting and being fed like a king.

Last night a blossoming opportunity was presented to climb Slovenia's tallest mountain and so tonight Blaz and I will return to Ljubljana to grab some gear (that sounds cool though my "gear" is meant more for climbing carpeted stairs), sleep a few hours, and head to Bled and then to the mountain's base. I will return to Ljubljana Monday to tell my tale. I have added a new album to Lovable Quirks and three new poems to the Poems area (inspiring place this is). In the new album Benjamin and Karla are pictured who I spent most of the last week with wandering about Ljubljana (wandering major amounts in the attempt to find a Turkish restaurant I might add). Near the end are pictures of my companions from today. Blaz is pictured in the last shot. It is not I pictured jumping from the bridge but you can get the idea of the height that nearly ripped me a new one. So read the poems and take a gander at the new pics.