Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

Thanks to Emil and Elise we were staying at a Sobe in the village of Rastavaca, about a fifteen minute walk from Gate One at Plitvice Lakes National Park. Rastavaca is a little Bavarian village. The houses are fashioned after alpine chalets and they are all Sobes. No suprise there, considering the village's proximity to the park. Our Sobe was owned by Ana and Ljubo Spehar. Although they did not have WiFii, the house was immaculate. Clean air. Bright and cheerful. We were in heaven! And the price? Cheaper than the "pit in Split". We immediately decided that we were going to have to stay two nights. After storing our belongings in our room, we headed back to the park, purchased a two day pass and began our exploration.
Plitvice National Park is a popular tourist attraction. Although there is a constant stream of tour buses pulling in and out, it is possible to avoid the masses. We managed to achieve this by NOT following the directional arrows on the sign posts. The tight, twisted alleys we have become used to gave way to vast, open, green spaces with trees, fresh air and cascading waterfalls. It reminded us of home. The park is very well organized in terms of transportation. There are trams between the parking lots and boats in two different locations to ferry people across the water. It is such a shame that Plitvice is a mere day stop for most people. We could have spent several days here and continued to enjoy the magnificence of it all.
While we were eating dinner at a restaurant on our first night there, we were surprised and thrilled by the arrival of our South African friends, Emil and Elise. Their arrival from Zadar had been delayed by the cancellation of another bus. We were horrified to hear that there had been a mix-up at the Sobe with their arrival date and while we had a room, they did not. They had been re-located to Ana's sister's house, two doors down. We spent a couple of hours laughing over the trials and tribulations of travelling and discussing our future plans. Unfortunately, we did not see them again, but we are hopeful that they will turn up in Vancouver one day in the near future.

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