Slovakia - Day 22: Chata Stefanika to Certovica

Another short day – but tomorrow should be very difficult, we are breaking ourselves in gently, very. 

 

My Footprint

The Dead Bat Cave was, was, was – well, closed. For stock taking.

One big hole… Tick.

Lots of little bat bones… Tick

Party Time

No, not really. It was closed, but because it was a Monday, go figure. The cave is littered with the bones of bats that, for some reason, all went there to die. Worth a visit – but not on a Monday*. Obviously!

Millions upon millions of tiny little bat bones, honestly. Not that you get big boned bats.

I will not have a rant about tourist attractions being closed in the middle of the summer – just because it’s Monday. It does seem strange. Especially for a country that is trying to promote tourism – but only six days a week apparently. But we should have known: Bratislava is always full of tourists looking for something to do on Monday’s.

The Invisible One

But back to the matter at hand – or more correctly – under foot. More ridge, more views (open on Mondays – at least at the time of writing). Heaven. More views of the High Tatras. I checked the source of all modern day knowledge – Wikipedia - to see what animals live in the Low Tatras – in case we get lucky. Apparently, bears, wolves, lynx and chamois. But, they all appeared to be closed on Mondays too. Obviously!

One of Us

But we saw a snake – a poisonous*** one. That counts double. Our biological needs satisfied. Wikipedia never mentioned them.

Today was mainly down, unusual for Slovakia – down to Čertovica Pass, which divides the Low Tatras into two distinct sections (Wikipedia)(it’s addictive). We didn’t see any Čertovician Devils, a distant relation of the Tasmanian Devil**. The place where we stayed that night was actually closed, still Monday, remember. But since we were walking they opened up especially. They fed and watered us that evening and the next day. Maybe there is hope for tourism.  Maybe just abolish Mondays? Petition anyone?

Three of Us

Almost forgot. We met another almost naked man. A local, out walking with his wife, not almost naked. ‘Watch out for the bears’ he said. When I asked if he had seen many bears he went quiet and blushed. So apparently, standing on a path in the Low Tatras in your underpants is less embarrassing than the lack of bears in Slovakia.

Art

There are no bears in Slovakia! I am convinced.

Ursus Nonevidens!

* - or on a stock taking day.

** - Čert – means devil.

*** - actually it was venomous. We could have quite happily eaten it, so not poisonous.

	Day 22	Cumulative
Distance Walked	9km	453km
Meters Climbed	260m	17,758m
Walking Time	4:43	152:46
General Comment More fantastic views. Lots of people – but no wildlife. Where are the Chamois? Sausages? The 209 times the height of SNP bridge in Bratislava 84.6 x 209 = 17,681.4 meters.