A Tad Bit Damp and a 3 Hour Trip Turns into 6!

We bid Zagreb goodbye in the morning and headed to a Plitvicka… a gorgeous national park with lakes, falls, and pools.  Looking so forward to awesome pictures!  Wait, what’s all that wet stuff falling from the sky?  Yup, rain, rain, rain!  We’re not going to let that stop us!  Maybe curtail part of the adventure, but not keep us from going forth.

Left around 8:45 in the rain and got to the park about noon.  Yup, still raining!  We were hoping that maybe, just maybe, the clouds and rain would stop… nope, nada, didn’t happen.  Our two-hour hike got reduced to one hour as the paths were also very sloppy but we still got to see the panoramic views of the water.

Had a huge lunch again… boy, had a platter of veal, lamb, and potatoes.  Veal-too fatty for me, Lamb, well gosh, that was fatty too!  I did manage to fill up on the potatoes, soup and bread. 

Finally, we were all dried off, back into the bus for our journey to Split… All started well, when 3/4s of the way there, the roads were closed due to high winds (and, we do mean high, not just 30 knot winds) Google maps is not quite advance as it is in the states, giving current updates, etc. hence, we didn’t know till the police turned us around back the way we came.  Anyway, we were sent to another point at which to head to the sea… Oh no, buses and trucks were NOT allowed to travel that highway.  Result, we had to take all the back ways through pretty empty areas, with shells of homes.  Many Serbs lived in this area, but all have left.  Even sadder, there is not much ethnic diversity in the country anymore.   Most of the wars fought have been over religion and land, and as a result, areas show where one community of people just left.  In this area, it was the Serbs.  The whole history here is so complicated.  Trust me, ones head spins processing it all.

Finally made it to Split, at almost 9PM.  We saw the sun set on the way, then the moon rise, and the winds calm down a bit.  Alberto, our guide, offered free dinners for all, be in room service or going out.  He took several of us to a café near the hotel.  A great dinner, good wine, and tasting Croatian food I LIKED: Ćevapi are served with ajvar, a thick sauce made with red peppers & a side salad with the freshest feta, cucumbers and olives.  A nice way to end the day!

Oh forgot another highlight... had to stop at an hole in the wall bar for a potty break... Not ONE person did not have a cigarette in their mouth... the patrons I'm talking about!  only one bathroom stall... feel our pain!

This  WAS the color of the pools... not fixing the colors.  Brave souls that hiked down...