Plitvice Lakes National Park

We were away early today at 9 am and headed south the 10 km to Plitvice Lakes National Park. Plitvice is a series of spectacular waterfalls and lakes created from calcium dissolved in the water which sediments out on the rivers bottom. It prevents erosion and creates these large pools and lakes. It was quite spectacular but also very touristy. One walks on boardwalks and the masses of people move slowly with people stopping very frequently. Andrew and I decided that we had to get away from everyone so we chose to do the route K around the periphery of the park and then back down to look at the main waterfalls. Just as we set out away from the masses a sign indicated the way was closed. We asked why at the info booth and the fellow said mainly for liability as a few trees had come down but he suggested we would not get in trouble if we did the walk. We ducked the rope and continued on the K hike around the largest lake. It was so nice to get away from the masses. After hiking up to look over the entire park we hiked down through some of the major waterfalls but also got back into the masses of people and the very slow pace. Waiting for a boat for a very short ride pack to the opposite side of the river we chatted to a Dutch couple with dogs who confirmed our belief that in the summer the Adriatic coast is incredibly busy and hot. We chatted with an American couple who had 2 young children and were stationed at the large US military base by Trieste. Andrew's Strava said that we had hiked 18km at the park.

We drove the one hour to Zadar on the coast. Rick Steves didn't think highly of Zadar but the old walled town seemed pretty nice. There was a Red Bull wings for life world run so things were hopping as there must have been many athletes in town for the race. We walked along the waterfront with a lot of other people to watch the sunset and listen to these water organs that created sounds from waves striking the pier. It sounded like a whale. After the sunset we headed back to our AirBnB for a well deserved rest.Read more