Croatia – Split and Plitvice Lakes

Finally! The one thing I’ve been looking forward to the most in this trip: Plitvice Lakes! It was magnificent, certainly nothing like it! Celebrated last night with the group at Split.

Plitvice Lakes
We left the campsite around 8AM. Weather was cool. Perfect for just wearing my hiking shoes. Plitivice Lakes was only 5 minutes drive away. I was excited! I wasn’t disappointed!
We were given till noon to explore. I was wondering why. I realised the whole place was massive!

The water was so inviting but nobody is allowed to swim. It’s UNESCO World Heritage Listed.

The vista that greeted us from the start of the walk was simply breathtaking. Gracefully cascading falls on one side cradled by lush green hills, and on the other side, lake spilling into another layer of lake.

As I walked through the pathways, greeting me were more and more of those cascading layers of lakes spilling one onto the other, falls gently flowing. The water was so clear you could see the bottom. Ducks glide buy minding their business. Fishes were everywhere oblivious of tourists.

The water changes from aqua to deep blue-green to emerald, depending on the depth, the light and the sub-strait.

It was just breathtaking, serene and beautiful! A bucket list ticked!

Split
We had another 3 hours ride before we reached Split. From there, our group was divided into three separate accommodations. I got a whole studio room for myself!

After getting refreshed, we all met for dinner. We walked through the Old Town. It reminded me of Rhodos. Very different feel from the other European countries we visited. It has a Roman and Greek feel because of the ruins, the streets (slabs of marbles not cobble-stone).

As usual, we hit the bars. Mel gave us shots of the local spirit, Rakia. I guess we had to do that for every country. This one was like vodka with plum juice. It wasn’t as strong as Palinka, thank God! Didn’t take long before we got in the mood for dancing. It’s only now that I am really feeling the bond of the group. Shame, it’s the last night.

Last stop was the best one.An open air bar, right next to the sea. At first there were only our group dancing. The DJ was cool enough to realise we’re mostly Aussies (maybe from the drunken behaviour, haha!) and played Aussie hits. We just went crazy!

Later the place started to get packed. DJ played all my favorite dance songs, and I just went for it!

There was this guy, dancing as if he’s in his own world — almost professional-level moves. Just for fun, I danced with him and we got into a friendly mini-battle. It was awesome — but I was exhausted. I just can’t compete with someone probably almost half my age!!! But… Love, love, love, loved it!!!

Danced till past 1:30AM — again!

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