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Published: August 7th 2013
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FOCUS ON THE BEAUTY OF NATURE
For the first time in weeks we woke the morning of our exploration of Plitvice Lakes, to a cloudy sky. The clouds remained most of the day and was a blessing for our 6 hours hike thru the park as well as aiding in the drama of photography. We had been warned that lines for tickets were know to be very long and so we were at the ticket office at opening (am). Probably the 3rd in line and we had long solitary periods during our hike. It was beautiful and comfortable to explore this UNESCO World Heritage site that is made up of 16 lakes and we were able to move around by following footpaths and footbridges. Of course as all of these lakes empty into numerous dramatic waterfalls, some running under the footbridges and then over precipitous rock formations, the photography opportunities were phenomenal. Most of the paths were narrow without fencing and skirted the cliffs, waterfalls and lakes. An electric boat took us across the largest lake, enabling us to be amazed by the virgin, dense forest of fir, pine and beech trees, surrounding the entire lake. As you will
see in the photos, the color of the water in all of these lakes is a vibrant turquoise, even on the cloudiest day. By early afternoon we had consumed our coffee break and lunch and were ready to hop on the scooter and return to camp, with another day's hike planned for tomorrow. Despite stiff knees and tired feet, we were at the park by 8 the next day, in full sunshine, giving us another view of much of what we had seen the day before, but also some different and bigger waterfalls. This day we opted for the 4 hour route and covered much of the hike with lots of other visitors, all trying to take photos from the same SCENIC VIEWPOINTS. Moving along the narrow pathways became more challenging when meeting large tour groups, dogs and small children, but again by early afternoon we were more than ready to return to camp.
We had opted to stay at Autocamp Korana, 7 Km from the National Park entrance. It is a large campsite housing 2500 visitors over a large and forested area. Many of the campers are tenters and backpackers, including many young people using public transportation
to visit the country. One couple we met was from France and backpacking and traveling by bus throughout Croatia and Bosnia. Their first night out, tenting next to our site, they found that the gas bottle they had purchased wasn't adaptable to their stove. After some conversation, we ended up cooking their pasta and we have been meeting them here and there on our travels as they are on a similar route to Dubrovnik.
Our next campsite, Autocamp Borje, was also adjacent to another area of the National Park, a much smaller and more relaxed campground with wonderfully friendly staff. Laundry facilities were not only available, but handled happily by the staff. The restaurant offered a great variety of food and service and we evened helped the supervisor of the staff of the park celebrate her birthday. The night was cool with wonderful breezes to lull us to sleep and we felt rejuvenated. They called ahead to Camp Strobec, within 7 Km. of Split, to reserve a site for us, sent us off with smiles and an invitation to stay with them, only longer, on our return trip.
After 3 1/2 hours we found Autocamp Strobec:
a large resort type campground, immediately on the Adriatic Sea. The sites were large, the market adequate and swimming and boating easily available. Again bikinis and speedo were the dress of choice. (not for us, be assured). The next day, Saturday, we took one of the earliest buses (7:ish) into Split, a shipyard, and busy port and a popular visitor city. It has grown unchecked since WW II, but the old town center is still full of charm. It has grown up in and around the Emperor Diocletian's vast Roman Palace. We took a 2 hour town tour narrated by a native Dalmatian. He demonstrated and explained how drastic architectural changes were made throughout the centuries by different cultures, crowding, political factions and modern day needs. He was also able to give us his candid interpretation of the effects on Croatia of world politics, especially the efforts of Gorbachov and Reagan. The Saturday street market then beckoned as did lunchtime and we were able to speak to a traffic controller at the port. A high school Junior on her last day on this job and looking forward to an Engineering career due to her love of Math. Back to the
bus station and eventually the campground. Today as we are sitting seaside in a small, breezy campground on the Makarska Riviera, we see that the temperature in Split is 98F. Too, too hot.
Sitting here 20 ft from the beautiful Adriatic, we are going to take a few days rest before heading to Dubrovnik. See you from there.
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