We started the day in Sibenik – which was not the original plan, so that meant we were up very early. Breakfast was originally scheduled for 8:00 but was served at 7:15. That left much less time for my pre-breakfast coffee. I am NOT a good eater at that early hour.

I could hear the crew preparing for departure around 6:30. That meant I awoke to an actively moving boat with a) no view of the horizon and b) no Gravol on board. And that all meant that I arrived for breakfast feeling like I was recovering from a terrible whisky hangover. My cough is still a problem – maybe improving ever so slightly? I sat quietly at our table, trying to look out at the moving horizon with only a second cup of black coffee for solace.

Rick’s breakfast of strawberry yogurt and the Croatian equivalent of Cocoa Puffs was more than I could stand, so I steadily gazed out the window and waited until I had collected myself a bit. (Feedback from our little group is that I looked like death and frankly that does not surprise me in the slightest.)

Our boat was moving slowly upriver toward Skradin, a tiny little town at the entrance to Krka National Park. We arrived to sunshine, warm temperatures (not too warm) and a happy looking collection of swans floating about on the water. The boat in the photo is ours – Romantica. It is a luxurious name for a somewhat minimalist environment, but over time it has begun to grow on me.

Our boat basically docked long enough for a drop and run. It pulled away from the dock to anchor and wait for us. Luckily there were no bikes to unload for this adventure.

We had just enough time to consume 1… more… coffee… and it was time to board the park boat to head into the park. The ride was a pleasant 20 minutes or so.

Interesting random discovery. The park is owned by the state. However, some keen entrepreneur acquired the rights to the bathrooms at the park entrance. The cost per use is 5 Kuna – or about $1.00. To make this easy, change machines are located at the entrance. There is another washroom deeper into the park, but with no clarity as to location or potential cost, most visitors stop at the first one they see and pay the price.

The next 2 hours were spent walking through the park along trails, wooden bridges and boardwalks. It was stunning. Waterfalls everywhere, cascading into clear turquoise pools of water filled with fish and wildlife. It is not permitted to go into the water as it upsets the balance of the living organisms. The first waterfall is the largest – the photo simply does not do it justice.

The park is quite busy but as we walk through it, the roar of the waterfalls is the primary sound – not the voices of the other visitors.

While there we went into one of the very old, and first, hydro facilities in the world. BC and Croatia were building their first hydro plants at the same time and BC’s came online a mere 2 days before Croatia’s. But Sibenik was the first town in the world to have street lights, that ran on AC current. Thank you Nikola Tesla.

We were particularly pleased with this Tesla story, as our Model Y had arrived just the day before – while we were in Croatia. I like the synchronicity. (Special thanks to Laura and Raquel for doing all the necessary work to make this happen – can’t wait to see it when we get home!).

Our return trip on the park boat was mostly uneventful except for a very pushy tour guide that insisted her 30 clients – all (amazingly) over the age of 90! she declared – should be allowed to bypass the very long line to board the boat first. Those of us in the front of line, also waiting in the sun, took exception to her assertion that they should receive preferential treatment. Having some experience and familiarity with what 90 looks like, I would be surprised if there was anyone over 75. Fortunately there was no direct confrontation as the park representatives boarded us all in an orderly fashion, in spite of her loud complaints.

We had a bit of a gelato-fuelded wait back in Skradin. We watched other groups being transported back to their ships on small tenders and wondered if that would be us at some point. Finally a large, rather garish yacht pulled away, leaving a large enough spot for Romantica to dock. We had 10 minutes for a super fast load and pulled away about 30 minutes later than planned. (We are at 2 speedy loads in a 2 day period. Is this an emerging pattern?)

We enjoyed a lovely lunch (mine supported by my best friend, Gravol) on the way to Vodice, where we would embark on the next adventure of our day – cycling.

It is an impressive thing watching the crew unload our bikes. We are not allowed to help. Bikes are passed from hand to hand, from the top deck to the lower deck, and in the simplest situation, down to the dock. In the more common case, where multiple boats are tied up next to each other, the bikes must be passed across each boat before being lowered to the dock. This requires one of the crew to stand with one foot on each boat in order to receive the bike, then walk it across the adjacent boat (or in some cases 3 boats) where it is loaded down to the dock. It’s unbelievable to watch. Today the crew was quite happy as they only had to cross 1 boat, 3 is not uncommon at this port.

Fed, dressed, bikes at the ready, we headed out. Our destination was a small park about 9 km outside the town of Vodice. It is best known for the 7th century BC necropolis that was uncovered after a forest fire.

A large cistern at the bottom of the hill was the first discovery, followed by walls and building foundations progressing up towards the top of a hill. Although the walk from the bottom to the top was not long, it was steep and exploring the top sections required the confidence of a mountain goat.

On our return trip we halted along a rock wall that marked the junction between our very rocky path and the return to a paved road. An older couple were there, busily picking the last of the fresh figs to take home and make the equivalent of fig schnapps. They collected handfuls from their baskets and shared them with us, picking more off the trees to ensure we were all able to eat our fill. They spoke virtually no English, and we had no Croatian, though somehow we made ourselves understood and headed off waving our thanks with smiles of appreciation.

That right there – is one of those lucky magical travel moments that find you. Impossible to plan for or anticipate, all of our travels have been filled with those moments of connection, surprise and delight. BTW – fig delight is a thing: cut a wheel of Brie into 1″ slices, place 1/2 of a fig on top, drizzle with honey and bake for a few minutes. Delicious!

Our ride back was fraught with small challenges. We had one flat on the way out, and now another on the return trip. Thankfully our guides had more than one spare tube and seemed adept at the quick change on the side of a highway.

The road itself was narrow and we rode on the right. There were a few frightening moments when drivers sped by, clearly annoyed by the long line of cyclists (32 in all) though we tried to space ourselves out to reduce our impact on traffic. The bells of the Vodice churches were ringing loudly as we re-entered the town, just before sunset. Feeling very pleased with ourselves after such a full and active day, we threaded our way back to our boat for a cold, celebratory drink before dinner.

Normally we know there will be 2 meals on the boat – yet today there were 3. We knew dinner would be onboard even before they told us because the dessert spoon was absent at the lunch setting. The dessert spoon is only available once a day, and its presence is a certain sign of something homemade and sweet to finish our meal.

Dinner itself was a loud event filled with laughter and stories, and we all talked about the figs. We started with a shrimp pasta dish followed by sea bream with the most excellent cabbage (much to my surprise). Dessert was a crepe filled with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate. We were all very vocal in thanking our cook. Angelina had started our breakfast at 5:30 so that we could eat at 7:15 this morning. It is quite astonishing what comes out of her music-filled galley.

Tomorrow we depart from Vodice by bicycle again – so those lucky crew members were able to lock up the bikes on the dock vs having to load them all back on board for the night. Croatia has a very low crime rate – and most of that is petty crimes. Bicycles are generally considered quite safe to leave outside and I have not seen a single one parked with a lock. Amazing!