Plitvice National Park-9/10/08

Today we awoke to the peacefulness of the lovely park area. We joined our friends Tom & Nancy, Tom & Suellen and Bon & Rollie down in the breakfast room to have our morning meal and plan the day. The breakfast was a simple and pleasant one, cheese, sliced meat, rolls, juice, coffee or tea, yogurt, the standard fare for these kind of places. We decided when to meet to walk the park. This is a must-do when in this area and of course one of the reasons we made the stop here. Tom T tried (again) to get some Kuna and his Tyme card wouldn't work here either. Seems this was an ongoing thing. All the rest of us, as well as his travel group, had no problem accessing our accounts through the local ATM's. He called his bank, a local bank in Wisconsin, North Shore Bank and they told him it was the government that was not letting them let him get his money. Okay, well we all knew that story was a load. He made a little video at the ATM which we urged him to post on YouTube-one of those "Leave home without it..." spoofs (I don't think he ever posted it though). He resolved this when he got home-yes never was able to withdraw while in Croatia-by going in to the bank and closing his account. Talk about your miserable customer service! A good lesson here, always have a back up plan for money. He did notify his bank before he left the states. They knew his destinations, that is probably the scariest part of the story. Lucky for him he was traveling with friends that were spotting him cash until they returned home. He would have had to get cash on a credit card or have someone wire him cash if they had been alone. Wow, that would really tick me off!

Off to the park. There are numerous trails. Which one you take depends upon what your tolerance is. There are different points that you can catch a bus or a boat. We opted for the one that was in the 2 to 3 hour range if I'm not mistaken. Of course we lolly gagged at the restaurant in the middle of the walk so that added to our time in the park. You also have wait time for the boat and for the bus. One does need to give it a full day even if you are only going to do the "short walk". The trail was spectacular. Waterfalls everywhere pouring in to crystal clear lakes and streams. Mother Nature is what is happening here. Pictures do not do it justice, nor do mere words, although we took pictures of the water and you can actually see the fish swimming around. We were traveling at what is considered almost off season and there still were plenty of tourists. It was a very warm day and I was glad I had my big old straw hat. We made the walk with no problems at all. Everyone enjoyed it, no casualties in our group. There was one lady the heat got to, lucky for her everyone let her get to the front of the line so she could get on the next boat, sit down and get out of the sun.

After the walk we cleaned up, some rested and some sat outside enjoying the peaceful evening, sharing stories, evening cocktails and music of course. We were all leaving the next day, heading south, each group to a different area with plans to meet up one day in Split. We went to Licka Kuca again and as I noted earlier, it wasn't anything spectacular. They were out of whatever had been the "special" and what we had was just okay. I think those that had fish enjoyed there meals. Plans to meet for breakfast and then off to bed for everyone.

Thoughts on the park: As they say, certainly a must see. It is serene and breathtaking. The walkways are in very good condition. We are walkers, not hikers but found this to be a wonderful place to just walk. I am quite sure the hikers love the park as well. I'm with everyone else that says this is well worth the time and deserves a visit. We would return here as well.