Friday, 23 May 

Licko Petrovo Selo 

 

Lyra Hotel, Plitvice 

Weather - Storms and rain in the morning, light drizzle in the afternoon - very cold - 9c Max - feels like 6c. 

The weather forecast was accurate and we woke to storms and rain. The temperature had plummeted overnight and any chance of visiting the Plitvice Lakes during the morning was impossible. We received a message from Sanda prior to breakfast saying the day would be reversed and we would have a free morning and meet at 1.45pm in the lobby to visit the lakes during the afternoon. It rained all morning, quite heavily at times, and a few brave souls from our group ventured outside to return and report that it was freezing.

About eight of us from the group met up for coffee at the bar at 10.30am. It’s good to see how well we are gelling as a group. Most of us had spent the morning catching up with emails, social media, the news etc. We found that the restaurant only opens for lunch from 2.00pm and as we were leaving at 1.45pm the discussion centred around the choice of cafe cakes - Tiramisu, carrot cake or Red Vevet Cake - we could have for lunch. 

I chose the Red Velvet Cake and Henk the Tiramisu. Julia joined us for “cake lunch” and said she had practised what she was wearing to go on the afternoon walk and couldn’t bend her arms! 

When we met in the hotel lobby for the tour I was feeling a bit like Michelin Man with layers of clothes to keep warm. The temperature when we got on the bus at 1.45pm was 6 degrees and the weather app said it felt like 3 degrees. It was only a 15 mins drive to our destination, the Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO Heritage site and the most popular tourist attraction in Croatia. It is also Croatia’s largest national park. The heavy rain in the morning had subsided and as the afternoon progressed the weather improved. 

Each day 13,000 tourists visit the national park and the hourly rate is tightly controlled at 600 people. We were fortunate that Sanda could reschedule our tickets for the afternoon.

The national park is world famous for its 16 beautiful aqua lakes which descend in cascades and the many outstanding large and small waterfalls.

The first of the many waterfalls which we saw was huge. The roar of the water permeated throughout the canyon. When we looked down from the lookout we could just see people walking on the boardwalk towards the larger waterfall. 

The walk around the lower lakes and waterfalls took almost three hours on mostly boardwalks. We had our umbrellas up for most of the walk as it continued to sprinkle. 

Although it was a dull day we could see the beautiful crystal clear aqua water. It must look stunning on a sunny day. Our guide said we were seeing the waterfalls with extra water after the overnight rain of 50mm. 

There was evidence of beavers biting into the trees. We could only think of how strong their teeth must be. 

Near the end of our walk we caught a flat bottomed boat to return to near where our bus was parked. It gave us another view of the lake.

It was a wonderful three hours visiting such a unique area of the world. The scenery was magnificent. When we boarded our bus the warm air enveloped us and we started thawing out. We arrived back at our hotel just after five o’clock. We all quickly showered and readied ourselves for six o’clock dinner at the hotel restaurant. As we dined,  three other busloads of people arrived. We all remarked how lucky we were to have a large bus with only 19 of us. Tomorrow it is forecast for sunny skies. Fingers crossed.