July 2023

Eye Popping Tour – an adventure tour of Most na Soči

My nine-year old son Phinn and I experienced a wonderful “Eye-Popping Tour” of Most na Soči. Our guide to the history and natural beauty of the town was the friendly and entertaining Nataša Hvala. We began our day at Pension Šterk, a lovely guesthouse nestled on a hill above the opal-aquamarine confluence of the Soča and Idrijca Rivers. Our weather was perfect with majestic views of the valleys and mountains around us as Nataša introduced us to our surroundings as we walked through the town and learned about its origins as an Iron Age and later Roman settlement.

One of our first stops was the seventeenth church dedicated to the patron saint and former namesake of the town, St Lucia (also St Lucy). St Lucia is also the patron saint of the blind as we learned to chilling effect, when told that during her martyrdom she plucked out her own eyes. As such, she is often depicted in the church’s murals and statues around Most na Soči with her eyes presented on a plate.

Our ‘eye-popping’ tour continued with Nataša telling us about the Iron Age discoveries made in the region and showed us a quaint but fascinating museum with structures uncovered from that era. Next we went up through the town admiring the views with small stops and interesting explanations of Most na Soči’s importance during World War One and the town’s history in the twentieth century. Nataša then took us to the ruins of a Roman house, briefly explaining some architectural elements, before we headed down to a spring for a refreshing rest before we arrived on the banks of the Soča River. In the cool shade next to the iridescent blue waters of the river with high valleys rising above us, we were invited to ground ourselves in nature with a ceramic, or clay molding workshop. It was the perfect rest for us halfway through our tour, and allowed us to pause and absorb the scenery all around us while working earthen clay balls in our hands. Our small dishes formed and left drying in the sun for us to pick up later, Nataša led us along the Soča to meet our captain and crew of the mid-size paddle-wheeler that would take us along the river and under the most of Most na Soči to its confluence with the Idrijca.

We had a peaceful and relaxing boat trip as we paddled up and down the river, listening to interesting explanations and local stories from our guide and boat crew. After we embarked, we went back up to Pension Šterk for a truly delicious meal of fresh whole local trout cooked and seasoned to perfection followed by a lovely local štruklji filled with nuts.

In all, we had a really amazing day out and experienced Most na Soči in a way we never would have had we just come exploring on our own. We are very grateful to Radio Si, our guide Nataša, and Pension Šterk for such a memorable “eye-popping” day out!

Derek Elliott & Phinneas Žvan Elliott

Photos by: Derek and Phinneas