Zadar

Sitting on a hot and cramped bus, just leaving the town of zadar; heading for split and the south islands.

After Malinska, and with a fairly hefty hangover we hopped a few islands down to the town of Mali Lošinj, on the island of Lošinj. On arrival, we were greeted by yet more crystal clear seas, another bustling tourist port and the first real sunshine since we left Zug way back when.

After we pitched in an idyllic yet painfully rocky and sickeningly highly populated campsite, there was a little time for some snorkelling before we headed into town to catch the tail end of the day, eating yet another pizza in yet another restaurant.

The town and the island seemed to fit my exact expectation of what a croatian island would have to offer, and made some of the stresses and strains of the travel seem even more worthwhile.

However 2 days was enough to see everything and catch some sun, ad before long we were on another boat toward the mainland and the town of Zadar.

The town itself was as many European cities seem to be; beautiful old town with some roman ruins, some modern buildings thrown into the mix and some less modern and in no way historic tower blocks thrown in for good measure. The skyline out to see was magnificent however, and we have been blessed with some magnificent sunsets since our arrival.

Amongst the mass of desperate, alley cat-like locals vying for our custom, we found a slightly less aggressive excursion company and arranged a fee for the 3 of us to visit the plitvice lakes on Sunday morning.

After a couple of hours on the bus, we were not disappointed.

Words and pictures again couldn't explain the true beauty of this place, constituting of 16 lakes and countless waterfalls cascading from one level I another across a vast and fertile area set within the arid mainland of mid-northern Croatia.

Fair to say, then that the common consensus across this group is that the fee was most definitely worthwhile, and that these lakes, with water so pure you can drink from the falls, and so green you feel like you're taking part in a fantasy novel, are definitely an unforgettable experience.

So we are looking forward to seeing what split holds, and the islands in the south toward Dubrovnik.