Today started in the middle of the night with the continued downpour refusing to abate. Eloise talked to Laurie a while since she was awake, so decided to catch up taking advantage of the 8 hour time difference.
In the morning, the skies had cleared and the
sun was shining for the short term at least. We beat a hasty retreat and headed
to our next destination before the threatening rains midafternoon.
We headed away from the coast we had followed sine
our arrival in Croatia and headed across country towards the east and the
mountainous area. We followed secondary roads and twisted and turned our way along
through mostly quiet rural areas devoid of any real agricultural land or
animals. There were occasional homes, isolated in desolate settings, but little
else. As we proceeded, the road twisted and turned and climbed until we came to
serious mountains that were rocky and elevated compared to the usual hills we
had seen until today. We climbed ever higher, looking down into the deep
valleys, being careful as the roads were narrow, allowing cars to pass freely.
It seemed when we had crossed the mountains, we
were seeing more arable land and flatter terrain. This, however, was short lived. We did, however, see many signs for cheese and
honey being sold from small roadside covered stands. We took the opportunity to purchase both
cheese (a block) and a jar of honey which
together with fresh bread rolls would make a perfect lunch. They did!
As we progressed, the skies darkened but we did
not experience any severe rain. At one point, we arrived at a very impressive high
bridge over a deep canyon requiring us to stop for a photo opp. Here, there
were zig-zag stone steps to the bottom of the canyon. These we did not attempt
but did see someone below! Though our journey was suggested to be, by Mr. Google, about 1 ½ hours, we arrived at our accommodation at about 2:00 which was 4 ½ hours
later. Granted we did stop for breakfast!
Our accommodation is located along a narrow one-lane
lane, seemingly in a very isolated area but upon looking around, there are many
other apartments nearby most of which remind us of Swiss Alps chalets. We are
on the second level in a spacious 2-bedroom suite.
After settling in, we quickly took advantage of
a dry spell and headed to an area featuring waterfalls. With a relatively short
walk from the road, we arrived at a stunning lookout with a view of many
waterfalls feeding into a beautiful, rich blue lake. It was breathtaking. We
moved across to another view of the falls which showed the tallest of them from
a different angle.
Though it was still early, we headed for dinner
to avoid the crowds and hopefully make it home before the rains. We almost made
it!
We hope to see more of this beautiful Plitvice
Park tomorrow.
Along the route
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| We stop to buy cheese and honey |
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| Heading into the mountains and much cooler temperatures |
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| Note the pathway down |
We visit the Big Waterfall (Veliki Slap) at Plitvice National Park
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| Above views are from outside the park |
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| From the balcony - we're really in the country |
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| The narrow roads approaching our destination |
