Adventure on the River Cetina, September 14, 2008

We awoke to gray and threatening skies. We telephoned the rafting place (it was before 7am) and they said weather was okay in their area and the adventure was still on. So off we went. We managed to get the van out of the parking spot and driveway without taking out any of the stone walls or shrubs lining the area. The ride to the small town of Omiš was a pleasant one, we had no troubles getting here at all. We met the guides and then followed them to a parking spot (a restaurant we would later eat at) and then got in their van and made the ride to the starting point of the adventure.

The other group heading out at the same time as us were six Russian women. Each raft had one guide and they were very entertaining and certainly seemed to know what they were doing. You get a brief lesson on how to handle the oar and they give you a few key command words. We donned our helmets and life vests and then were off.

The water was wonderfully clear and quite still when we began. The shores were bursting with greenery, shooting towards the sun in some places and dipping in the drink in other places. We had to duck down to clear branches in a few areas and we did have to guide ourselves with the oars through narrow passages on some parts of the river. There were dips and bends, some sharper than others. At one point they "docked" the rafts and had us all get out, walk (climb) up a rocky hill and then take a path, roughly a quarter of a mile and then down a very rocky slope to the waiting rafts. Wild rapids are what we missed, one guide tied one raft to the other and maneuvered through while the other guide walked us over. After that there were more rushes and dips, but all very manageable. At one point they got us under a waterfall, which was a big laugh for everyone. There was one pretty good size dipity-do and we had to remember one of the commands that had us dropping into the raft (normal position was sitting on the side rowing). Another of the stops was at a huge rock formation (about 3 stories high). They invited anyone adventurous enough to get out and make the climb to jump off the ledge. Only the guides were jumping. At this point there were several other rafts converged and we assumed they were all from the same company. From here it was a nice jaunt to the end point. The sun really only peeked out a few times but the rain stayed away the entire time we were on the water. You work up a pretty good sweat, we were glad to not have had the sun beating down while we were working so hard.

Once landed we helped carry the raft up and then changed clothes-we were soaked. There was another of those double U type changing areas, but it was off towards the woods so wasn't that disarming to use. There was a restaurant right there so we decided that is where we would lunch. We had left so early we really only had a coffee and a piece of fruit. All were good and hungry.

Restaurant Radmanove Mlinice obviously has the hoards of tourists arriving all at once down pat. There were several long, long banquet tables all set and ready to go for tour buses that would show up while we were there. Then of course they must get the rafters and since it was Sunday, families were everywhere as this was a park as well. We sat down and ordered our beverages. The table next to us had this huge platter just filled with all sorts of meats, etc. It looked wonderful! Additionally the specialty at this place is bread and it is to die for. Each loaf is about the size of a medium pizza, round with a truly appetizing golden brown crust. They had huge slices of this bread along with the tray of goodies. When the server came back we simply pointed to the table next to us and said "we'll have that". It had pork, sausage, the special little "hamburgers" Croatians make, potatoes, and several other yummy items. We left here thoroughly satisfied.

This complex used to be a mill that has been converted in to a restaurant. There is a trout stream and you can see them swimming around as you walk over the bridge. The huge brick oven has bread going all the time. After our wonderful lunch we walked over to the gelato stand and had a little treat.

It began to rain as we were heading back. We sort of settled in and then the rain really came. Several of us decided to nap, Bon settled down with her book. Once the rain stopped we decided to run out and get some snacks. First grocery store was closed and we worried we might not find one open, but the little store across the bridge and down the road was open. We got our stock and enjoyed the brisk air as we walked back. It was a lazy night for us all to kick back, organize the bags and prepare to head out the next day.

Thoughts on Trogir: We liked that it was a small town. Everything was easy to get to and our accommodations were wonderful. Our place was in the jet path though and they did fly over on a very regular basis but it really didn't bother us. The city itself could be heard but it wasn't an overwhelming blaring kind of noise. Certainly there was very little traffic noise although the road could be quite jammed when trying to get to the bridge to head out of town once everyone was up and moving. The people here were very friendly as well. The dock area was always abuzz with activity. We would return and we did find it a nice base for day trips.