Thirty years ago a fellow who was part Croatian told me horrible stories of how Croats despised and poorly treated foreign tourists. Since that time I'd never given the idea of visiting Croatia a thought. Croatia, along with a few despotic African nations and most of the Middle-East were all off my radar. That said, here we are:
 
ZAGREB
The first people we met were at an outdoor cafe. A giant of an off-duty policeman, his fiancé, and two other gals who might be his fiancés in days or weeks to come. They absolutely loved us because we were healthy, wholesome Canadians - but they were also all very drunk. The following day we encountered more friendly people, and helpful ones too.
 
Zagreb's Old Town is busy and vibrant. Our massive (check out the photo) apartment sat right in the centre of the Old Town. As we walked the streets and climbed the steeples I knew it wouldn't last. Soon we'd be in the Hinterland with all the nasty people.
 
PLITVICE NATIONAL PARK
Warning: If you're hydrophobic by nature you should avoid viewing the waterfall photos. Plitvice National Park sits south-west of Zagreb, about a two-and-a-half hour bus ride. It's a waterpark unlike any we have in North America. You walk along pathways and boardwalks watching water blast over precipices, sometimes rushing under your feet, other times just oozing out of the ground. It's quite easy to develop a feeling that all of earth's orifices had sprung a leak. There were no nasty people in or around Plitvice. 
 
SPLIT

It's a four hour bus ride from Plitvice to Split, on the Adriatic coast. Our apartment in Split was on an enchanting, quiet little street. We hiked the city, then roamed the palace of Roman Emperor Diocletian ( AD 245 - 313). The palace is considered to be one of the most impressive Roman ruins still standing today. Then, just to say that we'd done it all, we climbed the palace tower. 
It had been quite a day of hiking when we settled down around ten. By midnight a party at the tiny wine bar across the street from our bedroom window started to get rolling. Shortly after three all the noise went away. But at a four-thirty there was yelling, carts clanking on cobble stone, odd sounding motors and lights. Maybe a movie shoot? Enchanting, quiet little streets can be oh so deceiving. 
It has been thirty years since I was told about the Croatian tourist haters. Perhaps the Yugoslav War changed their attitude. Everyone, except for two women, have been exceptionally friendly towards us.

 
Yesterday morning as Elenka, Lynn and I did a soft-trot down to the seaport, Elenka said, "Moving as often as we do is awfully stressful, but it's so exciting when we're rushing toward the unknown, whether on boat, bus or train."
 "If we'd have been locked into staying at the place we just left for another night it would have been a helluva lot more stressful than climbing onto a boat," I said.
 She said no more, just gave me that Adventure Girl smile. We're off for a week, maybe two of island hopping.     

The Toronto Blue Jays clinched a playoff spot in the American League last night. Go Jays Go.