Pletvička Lakes National Park

Pronounced PLEET-veet-chkuh, the lakes are unique. Rick Steeves says: Imagine Niagara Falls diced and sprinkled over a heavily forested Grand Canyon.

We drove for a couple of hours from Krk to get to this national park, saying goodbye to our good friend, the Adriatic Sea. What makes the park unique is a process similar to that the creates stalagtites and stalagmites in caves. In this case, the river water flows over limestone, causing it to become supersatured with calcium carbonate. This causes the still lakes to have a beautiful turquoise color that we've never seen in a lake before. As the water flows out of the lakes over a fall, some of the calcium carbonate drops out of solution and is deposited on the rocks (actually on calcium carbonate previously deposited on the rocks). This leaves smooth rounded features, over which the water flows. The topography is constantly evolving as the calcium carbonate is absorbed and redeposited.

As in most places we have visited in Croatia, we were struck by the lack of hand rails. We saw one kid fall off the trail, but he wasn't hurt. Two days earlier, an elderly couple fell over a ledge to their death. We were careful. The paths of dirt and stone or wood wove around and over the lakes. It was a beautiful hike, about 2-3 hours.

At the end of our hike, we stopped for a beer at the concession stand. It was one of the very best dark beers we have ever tasted. It is called Velebitsko, and is made by a local microbrewery in such small quantities that it can only be purchased at the national park and in one store in Zagreb. We took one of the small electric boats back to our starting spot and hiked up to the cars. Everything is lush and green with lots of wildflowers. Our lunch at a restaurant just outside the park was excellent: mixed meats cooked on a rotisserie and under a peke. We are learning about and trying lots of traditional Croatian foods--being with locals is such a rich experience and we spend lots of time at the table talking and exchanging stories.

We then drove to Zagreb, going through the area most affected by the war. We saw many buildings that we still partially or completely destroyed by bombs, bullets or fire. There are a variety of social and legal reasons for the slow rebuilding.

Finally we got to Zagreb a little after dark and settled in for a little sleep before exploring our last sights in Croatia.