PRESS RELEASE

Live your Dream in Slovenia, between the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea

Green, active and healthy Slovenia was the ideal country for launching the Lotto Young Adventurers, a project that led four young Belgians to experience the trip of a lifetime. Their idea of a dream adventure convinced the jury. “Going from the highest point of the Slovenian Alps to the lowest point by the Mediterranean Sea” was a great itinerary, bold enough to be implemented. The team of four, named Sočadrenaline after the Soča, one of the most beautiful Alpine rivers in the world and a Slovenian outdoor heaven, completed the mission with the help of their coach, the famous adventurer, paraglider and Red Bull X-Alps athlete Tom de Dorlodot.

The Lotto Young Adventurers is a 100% outdoor project that offers youngsters unique and inspiring experiences. It helps them establish their goals and dreams and encourages them to get out of their comfort zones. A web platform invites youngsters from 18-25 years to subscribe and propose their dream adventure, which must take place in Europe, without using motorised transport, and in a team of four. All the projects are examined by a jury who choose the winning team. Once the group winner is announced, Tom de Dorlodot and his production team guide the youngsters through their journey, producing visual content that emphasises the spirit of the Lotto Young Adventurers and its host country. In the first edition in 2015, the winning team, Sočadrenaline, had a very ambitious project: travelling on foot or on horseback, by kayak, pack raft and mountain bike, and with a paraglider, from the highest alpine peak of Slovenia to its lowest point by the Mediterranean Sea. The toughest challenges were climbing to the top of Triglav (at 2864m the highest mountain in Slovenia) and crossing the luminous green Soča river with its rapids gushing down the valley in the embrace of the Julian Alps. The Soča expedition was guided by Maxime Richard, who is in love with the emerald river. He won a gold medal at the 2013 ICF Wildwater Canoeing Sprint World Championship in Solkan. Once the team disembarked in Nova Gorica, under the oldest arched stone bridge in Europe, they could feel the rough beauty of the Slovenian Karst, the land of caves, including the UNESCO-listed Škocjan caves, and the elegant Lipizzaner horses. Their last stop

was a seaside resort on the Adriatic coast, where they jumped into the sea and pampered themselves in the Saline Nature Park, where the famous Piran salt is still traditionally hand made and treated by the same natural methods as 700 years ago. The muscles of the four athletes were happy to experience the genuine care of the Thalasso Spa Centre.Slovenia was an incredible ghost country. The land between the Alps, the Mediterranean and the Pannonian Plain is one of the greenest countries in the world, where tourism works hand-in-hand with nature. One of the most diverse European destinations is a true adventurers´ paradise, offering clear waters, wild forests and beautiful mountains. The team had an intense ten-day adventure where they learned how to prepare for the unexpected, foster team spirit, and always have a positive state of mind. They learned how to reach out to the locals; talk to people, ask for advice and use curiosity to build bridges across cultures.

If you are a curious Spanish-speaking blogger who gets goose-bumps when imagining adventures, you can apply for the blog contest organised by the Slovenian Tourist Board in cooperation with the Travel Bloggers Meeting from Madrid. Win a trip and live your next adventure in Slovenia.

The only country with the word LOVE in its name is the perfect destination for active travellers. Slovenia resembles the whole of Europe in miniature, with an alpine character, a touch of the Mediterranean, and the serenity of endless fields, as well as the hustle and bustle of charming towns, all connected by the bond of “green love”, as unspoilt nature is called in Slovenia.

In connection with Travel Blogger Meeting contest: Live your next adventure in Slovenia.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Slovenian Tourist BoardDimičeva 13, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SlovenijaTel.: 00386 (0)1 5898 550, Fax: 00386 (0)1 5898 560www.slovenia.info/pressRebeka Kumer Bizjak, Global Public Relations, press@slovenia.info

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