Day 15 - May 20, 2014 - Split to Plitvice Nat'l Park

We opted for the 12:00 bus from Split to Plitvice Nat'l Park over the 8:00am bus. I knew the 8am bus was a 4 hour drive. When I purchased the ticket for the 12:00 bus, I asked the ticket agent how long and he said, "4 hours." Catching the noon bus gave us time in the morning to enjoy some breakfast at our uber-trendy-too-sexy-boutique hotel and then meander through the local farmer's market before catching our bus.

We packed a lunch for the bus ride and were all set to arrive at the National Park by 4. This journey was the only one I was really worried about. Everything I read contradicted itself and with it being off-season, I was even more concerned with exactly where in the park we would be dumped off. Matt was optimistic and said not to worry, that thousands of tourists must take this bus yearly.

Our bus was a bit more rickety than the nice one we took from Dubrovnik. Turns out it was a different company. The bus drivers were also old, cranky and rude. We left Split on schedule, but as we tracked the bus on our GPS, we kept expecting it to get on the motorway. Instead, it was taking the coast route and stopping at every little town along the way, including a stop at a corner where a guy sold the bus driver some grappa. We were not on the express bus. We were on the bus that was going to take 6.5 hours to get to Plitvice. 

The bus driver was also one of the worst I've encounter. He made the bus drivers in Peru look like DMV instructors. 2 hours into the trip, we pulled into a bus station. Matt asked if he could use the restroom and the driver nodded saying "2 minutes." All of a sudden, the driver closed the door and started pulling away from the station. I stood up, tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Stop, my husband is not here yet!" He looked at me and just shrugged and kept backing up. Fortunately, right as I was planning my next move to grab the keys from the ignition, Matt came running around the front of the bus and they let him in. After that, everyone on the bus was afraid to get off anytime we stopped for fear of being left behind. An elderly lady next to us finally gave up holding her bladder at one stop. She told them to wait for her. Of course they did not only this time, multiple passengers on the bus were yelling at the driver to stop. We deduced that their layover time was determined by how long it would take the driver to quickly smoke 1/2 a cigarette. When new passengers would hop on, the ancient abacus ticket calculator was used. We could never figure out exactly how this thing worked.

By hour 3, the roller coaster ride was taking its toll. I was so car sick, there was no air ventilation and I was in hell. Fortunately, the bus was not full, so I was able to curl up in a fetal position and try to find my "happy place" so I would not get sick. During the next 2 hours, I faded in and out. Apparently the bus driver was not happy I was taking up to seats to sleep. Matt just have him the same "Croatian Shrug" that we had been getting. Also during this part of the drive, we traveled through more of the war-torn parts of the country. Matt later described seeing lots of buildings with bullet holes and shelling. There was also a brand new white Russian Orthodox Church that the local Serbs had just completed rebuilding.

Finally, the bus came to a stop. I popped up to find that we were at a rest stop. Both bus drivers got off not saying anything to any of the passengers. We all looked confused and then in unison decided to make a mad dash for the bathroom. Once inside, I discovered the bus drivers sitting down to have dinner. They told one person we would be here for 20 minutes. Everyone was afraid to get a meal, because we did not know how much time we really had, so we all got bags of chips from the mini mart. This 20 minute stop was also only 30 minutes from the park, so it was really frustrating.

There were 3 other passengers on the bus going to Plitvice. 2 were a nice couple from Belgium who were thoroughly annoyed with the drivers. Our hotel was by Entrance 2. Their sobe was by Entrance 1. The bus stopped at Entrance 2 and we were all told this would be the only stop for Plitvice. The nice older lady on the bus translated for us that since the bus was behind schedule, they would only be making this one stop. The rude thing was is that the bus was going to pass that next stop only 5km up the road. The Belgians were pissed. There was a moment of confusion when we all looked around and realized we were standing in the middle of a forest in the middle of nowhere.

I had gambled with our lodging, hoping that since it was a hotel close to the park entrance, the bus would drop us off near it. That actually paid off. It was only about 500 meters to our hotel. Hotel Bellevue is pretty much like the Yosemite Lodge. Bare bones and old....but...it's right next to the park entrance. Upon our arrival, the front desk clerk was very helpful. She said, "Yes, yes...you here 3 days...tomorrow you go to information center and they tell you what to do each day. Is very good to have long stay. See everything. Now go eat dinner."

It had been a very long day getting here. Tomorrow, we would get to see the park and all its spectacular waterfalls.