The Journey's the Thing…

I left Split on Monday with my friend at the helm of his sturdy SEAT two-door sedan. SEAT is a Spanish Volkswagen, kind of…

We arrived in Plitvice (pleet-vee-chay) National Park around 5:30pm and I checked into my simple, clean room while he continued on to Zagreb. The next two days were lovely for me…alone except for a few other tourists (the season hasn’t yet begun) and some of the most spectacular waterfalls I have ever seen. It also rained off and on for the time that I was there, giving the mountains and lakes a dramatic cast. I managed to squeeze off about 170 pictures while I was there.

(On Thursday morning, I waited in the early hours on the side of the road in order to flag down the regular Zagreb bus for a lift to Karlovac (kar-low-vatch) where I would change for Pulapoola), where I am currently sitting here at Enigma Internet updating for all the faithful readers who have become disillusioned with my absence over the past 4-5 days.

There is a lovely Roman amphitheater here, as well as some splendid temples. The city museum awaits tomorrow, but today was great fun. I decided to take a trip just north 15km and then take a boat out to Brijuni (or Brioni, in Italian) which was Tito’s private island retreat for many years…1946-1980, actually, six months out of the year. The place is a real Hollywood paradise, complete with a wildlife sanctuary, exotic flora, and Roman, Byzantine, Frankish, and medieval Christian archaeological sites. On the bus to the dock, however, I ran into a new pal, a woman named Lottie, a Briton currently living on Okinawa with her Japanese husband. She is a few months pregnant, but was active enough and traveling alone, so we hooked up platonically for a fun afternoon. We will meet up again tomorrow evening for a free classical music concert in a Franciscan monastery at 8PM.

Guess what? Both her parents are recovering alcoholics…coincidence?

I leave for Slovenia on Sunday, and will spend the rest of the week there. My friend Marko has told me that there is another AA convention next weekend in Slovenia, in the mountains. It will most likely be in the Slovenian language, which isn’t much like Croatian, but what the hey, the message is the same…

Next update…Ljubljana, Slovenia!

Johhnyboy

I have reached that point in my travels that I have stayed here too long, in Split, that is. My friend Marko has been very kind to let me stay at his home, far outside the city, but it has actually been very inconvenient for me. I have been reliant on him for transport, etc…Yes, you can say that I am relying on a Higher Power, but humans are not my idea of a HP, and Marko is far from the ideal. He is flighty and disorganized and changes his mind at a moments notice, giving any real thought to his passengers. He may believe that he is thinking of them, but he is not.

I am also finding it difficult to stay out of other folks’ adventures. I gave someone some unasked advice yesterday and I just did it again…Damn. I hate breaking my own travel rules. This is more evidence that I have outstayed my time in Dalmatia. I am becoming an ‘expert’.

So tomorrow I head off to Plitvice National Park, north of here and find a hotel, where I belong. I am a tourist and do not relish the idea of staying in people’s homes too long. Plus I do not know the area, so I will be the one asking the questions. Unfortunately, before I get there I will be at the mercy of my mercurial friend who has offered to drive me there. He says we are leaving at noon, and that it will take 3 hours to drive to the park. We’ll see…In some ways I’d rather take the bus.