Plitvice Lakes - a Croatian paradise

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Geo: 44.7646, 15.6889

Last Wednesday was showery with thunder so we pottered around the site ahead of our much anticipated meal out at Konoba Batelina which was highly recommended in Lonely Planet as well as on-line. (Konoba is a Croatian phenomenon - a family-run dining place.) The owner, fisherman and chef, David Skoko, is well-known, world-wide apparently, for using all parts of fishy creatures in his imaginative dishes and the menu varies according to the locally-caught catch of the day. Tables at his place are so much in demand that when we asked Diana to book for us, the earliest was five days hence.

Although within a short walk from Camp Diana, in view of the darkening skies we took the car and even at 7.30pm many tables were already eating on the terrace. (Very attractive setting it is too with view of the sea beyond the houses and a geranium-filled balcony.)

The waiter talked us through the choices and we opted to start with a selection of about half a dozen appetisers, which included thinly sliced raw fish (not keen), red mullet (our favourite out of the lot), fish liver pâté (strong flavour) and mackerel. We followed this with lobster and pasta but we declined the suggestion to acquaint ourselves with the creature before it met its end. This was tasty, but to be honest I find lobster much over-rated and such a faff to get at the meat, but mopping the sauce up with a chunk of bread was good! I will say that we are enjoying the bread we have bought in Croatia which seems more akin to the British tin loaf - soft crumb and crust - good keeping quality over several days if you can resist cutting off another chunk. Makes good toast too - something we haven't had for weeks.

Anyway, I digress. The waiter then showed us a platter of assorted fish from which to select the next course and David chose bream which was delicious. I declined as I was saving myself for the dessert. Unusually for me these days, I did enjoy my nutty, chocolate cake topped with cream to round off a memorable evening.

The following day it was time to pack away ahead of moving on so we did this leisurely. In between I had a swim while David chatted to Kristijan, the owner's son, over a game of chess. He speaks good English and has a challenging mind so topics included the affects of the Yugoslavian conflict, genocide, religion, women, television - where is Peckham, he asks - 'Only Fools and Horses' is very popular (the next day as we stop on the motorway for coffee, a subtitled episode is on the TV in the corner).

During the afternoon a British couple pop along to say hello (we have met very few this year) and we exchange recommendations on places to see both in Croatia and other countries, so a few more 'must-sees' have been lobbed into the pot. Not sure if they will feature in this year's itinerary or whether they will carry over to another.

Friday was moving on day and our dog-leg of a 200-mile journey took us inland, not too far from the border with Bosnia, to Korenica which we had chosen as our base for a visit to the magnificent Plitvice Lakes National Park which is about ten miles away. After catching up on laundry, a bit of shopping and glad to be back online after the erratic wifi at Banjole, we decided to have an early start Sunday, so we were in line to buy our entrance ticket by 9.15am, but the place was still quite busy at that time.

The Park has been designated Unesco World Heritage status and it is definitely a must-see attraction. Forested hills surround gorgeous crystal-clear, turquoise-blue lakes which are linked by numerous waterfalls and cascades. Wooden boardwalks (no handrails in most places, so great care is required) lead you on meandering paths around the fringes of the lakes, as well as under and across the gushing white water. The pools are teeming with fish and other wildlife - a sign that the eco-system is favourable, I suppose. There are numerous routes to take but we chose initially to include a detour to admire Veliki Slap - at 78m it is the highest waterfall in Croatia. Then we took one of the trail routes down towards the largest lake - Kozjak - before another quieter one took along its eastern shore. Here, we picked up one if the electric-powered boats to transport us back up the lake before taking the footpath back to the park entrance.

So, it's time to pack away again and move on 235 miles which will take us to the shores of Lake Bled.

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Comments

[Janet]

Looks absolutely fantastic. Will have to put that on the bucket list!! Jan

[Daughter]

Looks lovely! Wish u would take us next time! Glad to see ur hair is growing back dad!x