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Slovenia: STKP: Part 4

STKP stands for Slovenian Mountain Bike Route and with Nada we decided to cycle the coastal part. The whole route consists of 111 checkpoints and is around 1800 kilometres long with 50000 ascend meters.

In the morning we drove to Bertoki, where we saddled our bikes. Flat part next to Škocjan Inlet Nature Reserve (Škocjanski zatok) was soon behind us and just before Koper we started with the first uphill section to Gažon. We followed E6 European long distance path to Jagodje. In Strunjan (checkpoint 44) we stamped our logbooks and next to Lagoon Stjuža and Strunjan Saltworks we continued to end of stage 15, Piran (checkpoint 45). We continued with stage 16, past Portorož to Sečovlje Saltworks (checkpoint 46). Soon we left touristic coast and nice gravel road took us past Dragonja to Koštabona, where we left the SKTP and returned back to our car, with 68 kilometers behind us.

Previous stages of STKP: Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3.

On the border between the sea and the land, where the rivers Rižana and Badaševica used to flow into the sea, lies the Škocjan Inlet Nature Reserve: the last witness to the insular past of Koper and the Slovenian largest brackish wetland.

View to Koper

 

Cycling in the hills above the Slovenian coast

Izola

Mountain biking with a smell of the sea

E6 and SKTP markings

Church "Loretska Mati Božja" in Jagodje

 

Enjoying winter time on the bike

Mamba and Beast next to Lagoon Stjuža, the only sea lagoon in Slovenia that is considered salt wetland. The name is derived from the Italian expression "chiusa" – closed.

Riding through Strunjan Landscape Park

 

Tartini Square in Piran was named after violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini, of whom a monument was made in 1896.

The Slovene Riviera is 46.6 km long (length varies according to politics).

Road towards Sečovlje Salina Nature Park

Navigational stop

Following the blue arrow, that marks the SKTP

Start of the ascent to Koštabona

Crossing the Supot creek

Saints Cosmas and Damian Church in Koštabona

STKP: From Bertoki to checkpoints 44, 45 and 46 and over Koštabona back to starting point - Garmin Connect

STKP logo - visit http://pzs.si/ktk/wpstkp/en/ for details

In the evening we attended a comic-drama Vohun iz Šiške (Spy from Šiška), where our local actors did a great job.

GeoCaches found (all received a visit by trackable items "2008 Groundspeak Volunteer Geocoin - sponsored by GC-KNECHT", TB20DYH, "gran san bernardo", TB84C9J, "Key chain #2 Happy Face", TB6R4PD, "FarmtagZ klompendans", TB6BAG2 and "Bryan 2014 Tag", TB6PQA1)
- E6_SLO_2, GC3FY7J, where I dropped off trackable item "De reiziger", TB6R4VV
- Stjuza, GC1XNRA