Day 17 - May 22, 2014 - Plitvice Lakes Nat'l Park

Lower Lakes...here we come! We caught the shuttle bus to the trail head to reach the lower lakes. Upon our arrival, there was instantly a noticeable difference...people...bus loads of tour groups...tour groups that had people seemingly too old climb a flight of stairs let along a 1000 foot elevation gain. It would seem that the "90 minute stop" for most groups was the lower lakes. We kept thinking if we could just get past the slow moving herds, that we could break free, but we would just hit another group.

Finally, we came to a cave area which dropped straight down to the river below. The steps were narrow and very slippery but the big tour groups were avoiding them. So down 700 feet we went, into the cave which spit us out at the base of a waterfall along the river. The paths wove across the river along the cascading waterfalls. It was really enjoyable as we made our way along. 

When our trail met up with the switchback trail from above, the intersection became a complete traffic jam and continued all the way until the base of the largest waterfall that was on everyone's "must see" list. What a log jam. The trail was flooded. People were stopping to take photos and blocking the narrow trail. Old people were losing their footing and the giant tour groups were jostling their way through oblivious to others or any trail courtesy.

It was one of those places where you had to focus on the beautiful thing in front of you and not the crap that was going on in the background. It was fun watching tourists pose for photo ops. I would never think to stand that way in front of a majestic waterfall.

We took the switchback up, frequently saying "on your right" to get past the slow movers and had a quick lunch. The we escaped and caught the shuttle back to the top of the upper lakes. It was instantly quieter and much more peaceful. We just enjoyed some time hanging out on the grass along the river in the shade, watching trout jump out of the river. Finally, it was time to meander back down the trail which would take up the remainder of the afternoon.

Once off the trail, I had my first Croatian beer. I asked the man a little Kiosk which he liked better, but he just replied, "Light or Dark." Before I could respond, he just placed a big bottle of beer on the counter and asked for 15 kuna. It was dark beer and tasted like flat Guinness, but it was cold and well....it was beer!