Croatia

Hello everyone

We set off on the coastal route south through Croatia marked on our map as a scenic drive – and it was. The road hugs the coastline but is set high offering lovely views of the sea and the small villages set within the coves. The sea is crystal clear and the area is renowned for diving.

 

Our first port of call was Zadar - a pretty town with Roman ruins near St Donat's church in the centre. The weather had improved and we were back in shorts and T-shirts as we ambled around.

 On the waterfront is the impressive ‘Sea Organ’ – a series of 7 marble steps leading into the sea underneath which are pipes and bellows which create a pan-pipe-type sound when the waves lap. It was a mesmerising sound increasing in volume when boats passed! Next to this is the ‘Salute to the Sun’ – a huge disc of small solar panels set into the ground which absorb the sunlight and then produce dancing multi-coloured light patterns after dark. Watching this whilst listening to the wave music was fascinating.

From here, we continued southwards stopping off at Primosten – a typical coastal town set on a small promontory with a church at the top of the central hill. As the tourists have now left, we had the place pretty much to ourselves to mooch around.

Split is a much larger and busier town than Zadar. We visited Diocletian’s Palace – built in 305AD, but now a ruined shell filled with cafes and bars. Next to it is the mausoleum with beautiful Corinthian columns inside - this has since been converted into the town’s cathedral.

There were no overnight camping opportunities in Split, so we headed inland.

 

Turning northwards, we headed for the Plitvice Lakes National Park. There are 16 lakes over 8km with water rushing from lake to lake via a series of waterfalls. Surrounding the lakes are forests, whose leaves shone gold and bronze when the sun occasionally came out. We walked through the lake area on wooden boardwalks to see the falls up close – a truly beautiful place.

 

 

 

 

We’ve now crossed the border and are in Slovenia again, planning on visiting the Skocjan Caves later today.

Will post again next week - love to all