A visit to Baredine Cave, Poreč

I was a tad nervous when the Oldies started talking about visiting the Baredine cave. I had been down the salt mines with them in Kraków, but this was different. It’s not man-made, so it could be a lot narrower, tighter… Not that I’m claustrophobic, mind you, but still, this is not the sort of place a self-respecting seagull wants to find himself all the same.

I experienced a frisson in my feathers as we began our descent down the 270 steps of stairs… Aaargh, we were going to descend 60 metres! Thankfully, the shaft down to the lake at the bottom – a depth of 132 metres – is only accessible on ropes. No chance that we’d be doing that! I definitely prefer the Albanian version of potholing: swerving to avoid potholes. It’s equally terrifying and dangerous, mind you, but at least it’s above ground.

I was in two minds about the stalactites too. On the one wing, I mean, hand, they are impressive. On the other, they are quite unnerving. I realised how Damocles must have felt with that sword hanging over his head. Here, I had hundreds of sharp, pointed stalactites hanging over mine! My only comfort was that they had hung there for millennia and the chances of them falling now were quite slim. But then again, you never know…  And they reminded me of rows of shark’s teeth into the bargain. Eeeek! I think I’ll be having nightmares tonight!

I have to admit that many of the formations were quite beautiful. The guide explained that they are tinted by the ore and minerals in the soil. Sure enough, as much of the soil in this area is red, they had a distinctive red tinge to them. Their shapes are fairly distinctive too and indeed, many have been suitably named: the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Virgin Mary, even the Kebab. Though I reckon that last one’s a bit hard to swallow!

One of the most fascinating stalagmites is the one known as the ‘Snowman’. This one is quite unique in that it has grown at a phenomenally fast rate – geologically speaking, that is. The average stalagmite or stalactite grows at a rate of 1 mm every 10 to 20 years, but the Snowman has been observed to grow at a rate of 1 cm a year! There is even photographic evidence showing it merging with the stalactite above it over just a couple of decades. That must be the geological equivalent of the speed of a supersonic jet compared with a penny farthing bicycle!

I was fascinated by these beautiful ‘curtains’, some of them up to 10 metres long! Ah, I had heard of curtain walling before. Now I finally know what it means.

Another highlight awaited us at the lowest point of the tour – in a pool, 60 metres underground: an olm. Yes, I’d never heard of olms either, but they are apparently a type of aquatic salamander that have adapted to cave dwelling and are found in many karst regions in Slovenia, Bosnia, Italy and Croatia. Incredibly, the olms in this cave were only discovered in 1975. These weird looking creatures are white with pink gills, are blind, live up to 100 years old, have a very slow metabolism and can survive for up to a year without eating!

Hmm… pale skinned, slow moving, blind as a bat … reminds me of Her Ladyship. Except for the not eating bit.