Zadar and Waterfalls

Along the coast between Pula and Zadar.

Aftera long but scenic bus ride from Pula, I arrived in Zadar. The bus ride itself is worth mentioning. For what seemed like a majority of the ride, the road was clinging to the side of mountains that drop off into the sea. I had amazing views of the islands and coastline. Any accessible rocky outcropping along the water had people sunbathing and swimming. It was a lovely Sunday afterall and it seemed like all the locals were out. Unless all the tourists rented boats and found all the secret coves. Photos really don't capture it (but then, do they ever?).

From Zadar, I did a day trip to Plitviče Lakes with a girl I met at my hostel the night before. We had a great time walking around, looking at the beautiful waterfalls and lakes. Apparently, it is even more spectacular after rain. It was supposed to rain, and did drizzle a bit in the morning, but we ended up with lovely weather for most of the day. I highly recommend Plitviče. But then, it is one of Croatia's must-see sights for a reason. There were some crowds, but it wasn't too bad, maybe becuase of the bad forecast. We got back to Zadar in time to watch a lovely sunset from the beach. She left the next morning but our intended routes are similar, so we will cross paths again!

Plitvice Lakes.

Zadar itself has a small old town, which was nice for wandering. I spent an afternoon on the beach and walked back to my hostel along the coast. The coast of Croatia tends to be quite rocky and that held true here as well. I watched another sunset with a few people from the hostel at the Sea Organ and Sun Salutation. The Sun Salutation is an installation that collects solar energy during the day and then creates a light display at night that reflects the sunset. Unfortunately, it was cloudy so the sunset and light show were a bit lackluster. But the Sea Organ was really cool. We sat for a long time just enjoying the atmosphere. A few times, people did close passes with their boats to get the organ going. The organ creates sound from water moving through it.

Sunset over Zadar. Zadar is known for sunsets.

The Sun Salutation in Zadar.

Hope you aren9t sick of waterfalls yet... there are more to come!