Fragile Battlegrounds & Killer Fish
Next stop, Croatia. How to get there? Go to Italy and hop across the Adriatic Sea. Croatia lines the Eastern Coast of the Adriatic, opposite Italy. Despite the allure of the coastal towns and villages, its most beautiful and famous treasure, Plitvice Lakes National Park, is 45 miles inland, in Central Croatia, near the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Take a look at this place. It looks like something out of a fairy tale.
Before we look at Plitvice’s awe-inspiring sights, let’s review its history There were two wars in the not-so-distant past in this region of the world: The Croatian War of Independence, 1991-1995, and the Bosnian War, 1992 – 1995. The Croatian War was fought between the Croats who wanted independence, and the Serbian Rebels, who were loyal to the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Bosnia War was fought between the Bosnian Muslims, the Serbs, and the Croatians (to put it in its simplest terms).
So, what does any of this have to do with Plitvice Lakes National Park? Lots. The plot thickens.
Prior to the wars, in 1979 a submission was made to make the park a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its unique and fragile landscape and rock formations. However, in 1991 the park was completely taken over and occupied by Serbian Rebels. They were arch enemies to the Croats and the battles that ensued in the park between the rival forces were bloody and ruthless.
Plitvice Lakes National Park was filled with EXPLOSIVE LAND MINES.
In 1995 the Croatians overthrew the Serbs, the war ended, and Plitvice Lakes Park was placed on the status of UNESCO Heritage Site “in Danger”. Extensive and meticulous measures were taken to clear undetonated landmines from the area. However, it is believed that landmines could still exist to this day in remote areas of the park. You never know when a history lesson will come in handy BEFORE you go for a walk in a park!
Plitvice is home to a number of animal species including brown bears (aka grizzly), grey wolves, eagles, owls, Eurasian lynxes, and European wildcats. In total, 50 species of mammals, 321 species of butterflies, 12 species of amphibians, and 157 species of birds are found in the park. (I bet you don’t remember all these numbers five minutes from now.) The park is as vibrant with wildlife as it is with beauty and stunning, contrasting flora and colors. There are some things I’d rather not run into – like landmines and grizzly bears. I guess the sun was shining on me that day because I happened to avoid running into either. I did, however, see THESE characters on my journey.
Call me weird, I don’t care. Fish freak me out. They’re okay as long as they stay in the water where they belong. But it’s a FIVE-BELL ALARM if I come anywhere near one of those creatures out of the water! They wiggle and squiggle and flip and flop. Ugh! They just make the skin crawl right off my back. They’re just like fat snakes with fins. I don’t know how anyone can stand holding one of those wriggling, creepy things in their hands while flashing a big toothy grin for a camera. It boggles my mind. Double Ugh!
Take a look at this guy. He looks like he’s getting ready to bite and he’s giving me the beady eyeball. I JUST DON’T LIKE IT. HE’S DANGEROUS!
Plitvice Lakes National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its Karst and Tufa.
Of course, THAT explains it all. I knew there was a perfectly logical reason.
Maybe you readers who are gamers or rockhounds know what karst and tufa are. Even after looking up the definitions, my understanding of the terms was still as clear as a block of cement. How could I explain something to you that was total gobbledygook to me? Thanks eventually to the University of Kentucky for simplifying the definitions.
A KARST is an area of irregular limestone in which erosion has produced fissures, sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns.
A TUFA is a variety of limestone rock formed as a deposit from springs or streams. I’ll add my two cents worth and elaborate that tufas often appear as LIMESTONE COLUMNS sticking out of the water.
The popular building stone, travertine, comes from tufa.
Maybe I’m just preaching to the choir and everyone but me knows the full scoop on karsts and tufas. If that’s the case, simply welcome me to the 21st Century now that I’m karst and tufa savvy.
Karst is very important stuff. In fact, one-fifth of the earth’s surface is covered by karst and 700 million people depend on groundwater from karst aquifers for their main water source. Wow! That is a LOT of karst!
Plitvice Lakes National Park is only one of 70 parks worldwide that has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because the karst in it is HIGHLY SENSITIVE to landscape damage. If the karst gets damaged, the water supply also gets damaged, and the delicate ecosystem gets altered along with it.
Am I the only person who wonders why the park was used as a military base and a battlefield during the Serb/Croatian war, given this information?
Plitvice Lakes National Park has a total of 16 lakes, 90 waterfalls, and 14 miles of walking trails. I have a gazillion pictures of tumbling torrents of water falling into beautiful turquoise ponds to remember my day trekking around the park. As usual, I fancied my photography skills to be rather creative, only to spend my evening deleting most of my mesterpieces. I did capture a few interesting shots though.
Take a look at this tree.
There were wooden walkways throughout the forest. Note the walkway in the top right-hand corner of the photo below. I’m not sure if I intended to capture the walkway in the photo, but it’s there. And it looks quite DANGEROUS. What do you think?
Between the killer fish, the undetonated landmines that I didn’t run into, the karst, the tufa, the grizzly bears and wolves that I didn’t see, the 16 lakes, the 90 waterfalls, and the 14 miles of not-always-safe trails I spent a very memorable day at Plitvice Lakes National Park.
I also had to run like a cheetah with its tail on fire to catch the last boat back across a lake to get out of the park before the gates were closed and locked for the night.
My quest took me west to the Adriatic coastal village of Novi Vinodolski. The flat I rented was two miles south of the village, it had a fabulous view of the water and a private beach. There were just a couple of drawbacks. One. The flat was on top of a cliff and the beach was way, way, way down at the bottom of the cliff. The beach access was via an extremely long series of wooden stairways. Two. The beach was rocky. Very rocky.
Neither obstacle presented an insurmountable problem to me because, as I’ve shared with you in previous postings, I’m not a beach person.
Zipping down the stairway was a breeze, but the uphill climb was a real heart-thumper, no question about it.
I swished my big toe in the water to test the temperature – it was quite balmy. Lickety-split I whipped my toe back out of enemy territory.
Remember? Killer fish live in water.
That’s their domain, not mine. I usually leave the aquatic monsters alone and, in turn, they leave me alone. We have an amicable arrangement, and it works.
The town of Novi Vinodolski has been recognized as a holiday destination since 1878 and tourism is the town’s primary industry. However, archaeological artifacts and remains found in the vicinity indicate that Novi has been inhabited since prehistory.
Certainly, its mark has been noted since Medieval times when on January 6, 1288, the Code of Vinodol was signed in Novi’s Frankopan Castle.
No doubt, everyone knows what the Code of Vinodol was because we are walking, talking, brainiac, history books, and encyclopedias, right?
Hmmm. Do encyclopedias still exist these days, or am I aging myself? Aging myself, you say. It figures.
For those of you who might like a refresher on the “Code,” it was that very significant document that regulated medieval rules of conduct, determined fines, and defined the rights and obligations of feudal lords and “ordinary mortals”, the serf-commoners.
The document has shed immense light on the culture and norms of the times and served as an invaluable historical resource. Originally written in Croatian, today it is stored in the National and University Library Zagreb.
As a tourist area, Novi excelled. The ice cream was yummy. The restaurants were plentiful, as were the shops. The ice cream was yummy. There was no shortage of nooks and crannies and small alleyways to explore. The ice cream was yummy.
One of my favorite pastimes when I travel is to explore the towns I visit, as I gawk, walk, and talk. As you can see, there was lots to keep me entertained.
Novi Vinodolski was a vacation paradise. The weather was perfect. The price couldn’t have been better. The food was scrumptious. The Croatian hospitality was exemplary. The history and cultural aspects were unsurpassed. The beach in town was lovely and clean. The killer fish stayed in the water where they belonged. No wonder it has been a favorite vacation destination since 1878.
Did I mention the ice cream was yummy?
Now, just to jog your memory a bit. Do you still recall how many animal species of each category there were in Plitvice Lakes National Park?
.