Plitvice Lakes, Croatia DAY 4

Day four started early as we had hopes of beating the tour buses to Plitvice Lakes.  It's a VERY popular national park with a ton of waterfalls each cascading down into the next lake below.  We had about a three hour drive from Rovinj ahead of us so we woke up early to get going.

Our morning was exciting as Josh had a scorpion in his pants (thankfully he shook them out before putting them on) and we didn't have hot water.  We made do and got everyone loaded and in the car.  The drive there was uneventful and we managed to beat some tour buses ;)

Josh and Mara in front of the large fall

The lakes are absolutely beautiful.  The water is crystal clear and this amazing shade of turquoise blue.  You can see the fish swimming along the edge and pretty far into the depths as you walk alongside the lakes.

The paths take you on top and on the edge of the lakes.  The lower section started with a downhill hike and took us around the edge to the largest of the falls.  It was a little nerve wracking as Mara was walking on her own and the "safety" rails weren't safe enough for this Mama!

Crystal clear

The rest of the morning was spent hiking the lower section.  We just soaked up the beauty stopping to take pictures along the way.  Mara was a trooper choosing to walk most of the way and ride in the ergo the rest.

We stopped for lunch at the boat dock.  It was crowded but we managed to find a table in the shade and enjoyed a delicious meal.  Thankfully the wait for the boat went fast and we were on it in no time!  By the looks of the line during lunch I thought we would be waiting for awhile.

One of the caves

The boat took us across the lake to the upper section of the lakes where after a little mishap with our navigating skills , we continued circling the lakes.  The upper section had less water falls and more hiking trails.  While the girls napped we made our way around eventually taking a bus back to where we begin.

It was a long day of hiking (maybe 8 hours total and 4 miles) but the girls were troopers.  We left the park around 4 and headed the rest of the way to Zadar, our stop for the night.  Dinner was at a local place on the water called Knobat.

The view right as you enter the park

Zadar is known for it's nights on the promenade.  They have a light instillation that little ones love and a sea organ that draws crowds.  These were must sees for us.  Mara was in awe of both especially loving the sea organ.  The sea organ is constructed with different size pipes set at the tide level on the dock.  The waves rush in and create different sounds which come through holes on the side walk.  Mara had her ear to the ground listening for a good 15 minutes!

The upper lakes