“Life is not a PG feel-good movie.
Real life often ends badly.
Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us
it is still possible for us to endure nobly.”
- Matthew Quick | Silver Linings Playbook
Real life often ends badly.
Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us
it is still possible for us to endure nobly.”
- Matthew Quick | Silver Linings Playbook
ALMOST THERE - I suppose, is the perfect description of this day. Yes, this was a failed attempt too see Plitvice National Park. No words can describe how sad we were and unlucky that the dreary weather enveloped the mountainous national park. We drove from Split to Karlovac County for about 3 hours and stopped by at Krka National Park on our way here. The day started out to be cloudy. At first, I was thinking and feeling positive that the day would brighten up and the skies would eventually clear out. Sadly, luck is not on our side this time. You can't have a perfect trip, right? We originally planned to stay two nights here so we can explore the park for a whole day.
When we woke up the next day, I was feeling hopeful that the weather might actually change. This is what I thought the highlight of our trip - at least for me (for Brock it was going to Dubrovnik and swimming the Adriatic Coast). I dreamed, envisioned and desired to see this place how it should suppose to be - blue skies, cotton candy clouds, clean and clear turquoise water with the famous cascading waterfalls. THIS IS NOT THE CASE FOR THIS DAY. The weather forecast was "rain all day long", for the whole time we planned to stay.
We did try to drive to the park's entrance only to find out that - the walking trails are flooded, the cold water is gushing out like flood waters, the once so clear water turned out to be pouring rain and muddy water. Some of the areas are even blocked for tourists and there is only one trail you can use. We packed for summer clothes since we thought our road trip is our last hurrah for the summer! We were not prepared for the cold, rainy and gushing cold water - we simply did not bring clothes for this kind of weather change. It is an unexpected scenario but lessons are learned because of this. In case you are wondering what Plitivce National Park looks like, or how I envisioned it, see this link. On the bright side, the entrance fee was half the price. Nevertheless, we decided not to go because this is not how I planned to enjoy this scenic place. We wanted to see it as perfect as it could be. Ever imagined or dreamed of something you really want to see? This is for me. I know this place is like a fairytale wonderland and this pouring rain takes the magic out of this place.
When we woke up the next day, I was feeling hopeful that the weather might actually change. This is what I thought the highlight of our trip - at least for me (for Brock it was going to Dubrovnik and swimming the Adriatic Coast). I dreamed, envisioned and desired to see this place how it should suppose to be - blue skies, cotton candy clouds, clean and clear turquoise water with the famous cascading waterfalls. THIS IS NOT THE CASE FOR THIS DAY. The weather forecast was "rain all day long", for the whole time we planned to stay.
We did try to drive to the park's entrance only to find out that - the walking trails are flooded, the cold water is gushing out like flood waters, the once so clear water turned out to be pouring rain and muddy water. Some of the areas are even blocked for tourists and there is only one trail you can use. We packed for summer clothes since we thought our road trip is our last hurrah for the summer! We were not prepared for the cold, rainy and gushing cold water - we simply did not bring clothes for this kind of weather change. It is an unexpected scenario but lessons are learned because of this. In case you are wondering what Plitivce National Park looks like, or how I envisioned it, see this link. On the bright side, the entrance fee was half the price. Nevertheless, we decided not to go because this is not how I planned to enjoy this scenic place. We wanted to see it as perfect as it could be. Ever imagined or dreamed of something you really want to see? This is for me. I know this place is like a fairytale wonderland and this pouring rain takes the magic out of this place.
For now, all I can do is treasure what we saw despite the circumstances. We decided to leave that morning and escape the bad weather conditions at Plitvice, instead we drove to Slovenia earlier than we planned. We gained another day in Slovenia and was able to visit more off-the-beaten path destinations plus a quick stop and lunch in Italy!
Who would have thought that we are going to add Italy on our road trip adventure? I guess, we are not-so-unlucky after all. After this failed attempt and almost-there experience, we definitely decided that we are going to see this place if we are visiting Europe again, even if we are going out our way to just see this. For now, this elusive Plitvice Lakes would be kept on hold but our burning desire to see this place will not falter.
Who would have thought that we are going to add Italy on our road trip adventure? I guess, we are not-so-unlucky after all. After this failed attempt and almost-there experience, we definitely decided that we are going to see this place if we are visiting Europe again, even if we are going out our way to just see this. For now, this elusive Plitvice Lakes would be kept on hold but our burning desire to see this place will not falter.
