Plitvice National Park Day
We enjoyed our Breakfast buffet in the cool atomic Palm Springs mid century vibe dining room. Loaded onto the open air bus transportation to Entrance S3. Now I understood what Saso was telling us last night at the wall map. 99% of the visitors will start at S1, the main gate and bus parking area. Because we started our visit at the point where most people will end their visit, we had the trail to ourselves for the first half of the hike. About 2 hours. Peaceful, beautiful filled with sounds of water and birds.
The trail is impeccably maintained. A walkway made of wood, raised above the ground to reduce impact on sensitive areas, was walkable in ordinary athletic shoes. Even the dirt part of the trail was well maintained and easy to walk in ordinary athletic or walking shoes.
A system of small ferry type boats links the 2 halves of the park together. We took a boat across the bigger lake to a main gathering point. Concession stands, restrooms, a small area of civilization. Here is where we started to see how busy the park can be, even during our off season visit. Saso was telling us how crowded it is during the high season. The area was filled with school groups, and other tourists of the world.
We (Jim, buddy Suzy, me) hiked to the grand falls. Not a lot of water flowing down at this time of the year, plus there hasn't been alot of rain in this part of the world. We felt like salmon going upriver against the crowds. We managed. Hundreds of people going down the trail as we were going up the trail. We were so grateful of Saso's planning and experience to be able to experience the first half of our visit crowd free.
Our group meet up was at the main S1 area. This spot is filled with shops, cafeterias and restrooms. We were hungry after our nearly 4 hours of walking and the sandwiches, beer, coffee was quite good here. We all arrived to S1 refreshed from a day in nature and moderate exercise through fantastic vistas of lakes, waterfalls and forest. It was time to get back on our bus. Off to the Adriatic Sea.
My first sighting of the Adriatic Sea came into view as we drove down a two lane highway to sea level. After being in rain and colder temperatures it was a welcome weather break to be in a moderate Mediteranean type climate. Plenty of sunshine and a light sweater was needed instead of a winter coat. Oliver was required to take a break, so before arriving to Rovinj, we stopped at small, out of the way, seaside village. We had about 45 minutes to wander about. Jim and I found a cafe and had a beverage while we enjoyed talking with the towns people who were also enjoying the afternoon sunshine.
