After a great night sleep, we woke to sunshine and lots of wind. We looked out to the Adriatic Sea and the waves were definitely rolling. Since part of our bike trip will be taking a boat between islands, we were glad we had picked up some Dramamine before we left. Puking my guts out on a boat does not sound like fun and that would be exactly what I would be doing with a few waves.

We went down to the main restaurant for our free buffet breakfast. It had the normal European breakfast items of fruits, cheese, meats and hearty breads, but also the more traditional eggs, bacon, and omelet station. There were several tour groups in the hotel which always adds to the hustle/bustle with either a mass entry or exodus no matter where they go.

Today we were going to Plitivice National Park, about 2.5 hours north of Split.   It is known for its beautiful waterfalls and turquoise lakes.   With our handy GPS from the car rental place we put in the address and headed out.   Unfortunately, it kept taking us back to the hotel.   So, we got out the handy Rick Steves book (never go to Europe without one) and followed his instructions. Once we got back on the right track, Ken continued to play with the GPS and we finally thought we had it right. After 120 miles on A1, it told us to exit…which didn't seem right. But we did and figured out that it was wrong. So, we stopped and asked at a hotel and they got us on the right track…the park was still 1hr 15 mins away.

After a VERY windy mountain road, we made it Korenica where Mrzlin Grad our B&B for the night was. Unfortunately, we had a few more wrong turns before we finally went up the dirt road to the B&B overlooking the valley. Mrzlin Grad is a working farm and we were promptly welcomed by Rocky their black sheep dog. Branko checked us in and showed us to our small but clean room overlooking the pasture.    He also gave us instructions on what to do at the park….so off we went.

Plitvice was about 10 miles and we needed no GPS to find it. We parked and headed down the ½ mile path to the ticket office. After getting the tickets, we walked another ½ mile down to the boat dock were we took a short 5 minute ride across the lake. On the other side, we followed the trails up for about 3 miles passing more lakes and more waterfalls than we could count.   Seriously. There were waterfalls in every direction for 3 miles.   Plus the water was a deep blue or bright turquoise. Truly beautiful.  

Once we got to the top, we could either hike back down or take a tram. We chose to hike down another trail back to the boat. The worst part of the entire afternoon was hiking back up to the parking lot once we got off the boat…by that time we had already hiked 6 miles and those steps to the car seemed to never end. Luckily they did and we rewarded ourselves with a piece of cherry/peach strudel from a small stand by the parking lot. YUM!

After our less than stellar job at directions in the morning, we knew exactly where we were going on the way back.   We arrived back at the B&B in time for a quick rest before Sonja and Branko made us a great dinner of home smoked trout, vegis and a wonderful soup made from bear garlic.    We had never heard of bear garlic, but have found out it is similar to a chive and grows wild all over Croatia.    Branko uses it in many dishes and it is quite good.   After visiting with Branko and another couple from LA, we hit the bed…ready for some good sleep.