Krka National Park & Šibenik: Waterfalls, Culture, and a Lady with Her Onion Plant

For Saturday's adventure, we set our course for Krka National Park - approximately an hour and a half drive southeast from our rental apartment.  Leaving early in the morning, we planned to stop in Šibenik, a town close to the park and ideal location for lunch.  Along the drive, we passed a strange elderly woman mysteriously lingering in the street with an onion plant*.  In her defense, she was near a grocery story (Lidl) and within an appropriate radius to appear she was waiting for the bus.

An hour later, we reached Šibenik with empty stomachs and were craving cephalopod- and mollusc-based cuisine.  Working from our list of potential restaurants, we looked at a few, but ended up using the old fashioned method of reading menus and picking one we liked.  Once again, we had calamari and mussels at a street-side table overlooking the Adriatic.  Following our meal, we briefly explored the town, passing the Cathedral of Saint Jacob (Katedrala Sveti Jakob) and Town Hall Square (Gradska uprava Šibenik) - where crew members were constructing bleachers and a stage for an unknown event.  We didn't have time to stick around to inquire about the evening's festivities, plus; we were ready to hike around the many waterfalls of Krka National Park.

Stairs leading upto Saint Jacob and Town Hall

City on the Adriatic

Another twenty minutes in the car we arrived at our destination and promptly purchased our tickets.  We boarded the bus by the entrance which would take us down to Ulaz Lozovac.  From there, we started the "footpath," a trail mostly constructed of wooden planks that give park-goers access throughout the park that a normal trail wouldn't (over lakes and streams).  Everywhere we walked, we were surrounded by crystal blue water densely populated by fish.  The brochure boasted a bountiful variety of wildlife throughout the park, however; we saw mostly fish, insects, and a few birds (about 790 species shy of seeing it all).  The wooden trail meandered through the middle of the park, over the Krka River, for which the park is named.

Cathedral of Saint Jacob

Near the cathedral

Small Square

Following the trail in a counterclockwise loop, we caught our first glimpse of the main attraction, Skradinski Buk, a large series of waterfalls (seventeen in total).  Continuing along the path, we found ourselves at the base of Skradinski Waterfall after a lengthy decent down stairs.  Here, we spent a fair amount of time sitting on tree stumps and soaked in the atmosphere while the mist of the waterfall quenched the day's heat.  To complete our hike, we crossed a bridge over the natural pool created by the falls and started an ascent up a series of hills and stairs.

Panoramic of river feeding to Skradinski Buk (not pictured)

Walking along the trail

Rare photo of us in front of Skradinski Waterfall

Water falling

At the summit, we found a park employee at an information stand; how convenient, because we had questions.  We wanted to visit Visovac, a small island within the park also home to a Franciscan Monastery.  The only way to access the island is by ferry, but there was no schedule provided in the pamphlet (possibly the least detailed information packet ever made).  When we inquired about the times, the information lady explained the last boat leaves at 16:00; giving us ten minutes to go a kilometer.  Having rushed all the way to the dock, we passed a series of people, presumably those returning from Visovac before the last trip of the day.

More water falling

Sensing a theme here...

Krka River

Panoramic of Krka River

Once we reached the dock, we found a three boats and six employees.  There was a ticket office opposite the boats, but again, no schedule could be found.  We inquired about the 16:00 boat departure, and after a long and awkward pause, the employee informed us the last boat left at 15:00 (Note: the long pause gave the strong impression of a blatant lie).  It was time for our back-up plan and luckily Julie had one. (Suggestion for Krka National Park: add boat and bus schedules to information brochure, or at the very least, put the schedule anywhere where the human eye can see it.  Of the 70 employees we passed, no one seemed to be on the right page about anything).

River route our ferry would have taken

Visovac Island and glimpse of Monastery

Panoramic from the dock

There was a way to see the island without having to hike for several more hours; which was definitely not an option with the park closing at 18:00.  To get there, we drove around the perimeter and followed a small dirt road until it ended at the river.  While it may have been great to take a boat to the island, the view from the dock at the end of the dirt road was a wonderful consolation.  Good fortunate remained on our side as we left the park earlier than expected due to the "scheduled"/nonexistent 16:00 ferry to Visovac.  Missing the two-hour boat excursion had us back in the car and on the road, but I wasn't quite ready to return to Zadar.  We would need dinner shortly and I wanted to return to Šibenik to walk around the quaint village once more.

Women watching the wedding

Practice Round

Waiting for the main event

When we returned to Šibenik parking was disastrous; we had no issues before, but now we were in a stagnant line of endless cars.  While sitting in the caravan of parked cars, we noticed a series of boats coming to port.  Exiting the boats were groups of men, women, and children all donned in traditional Croatian garb.  Traffic resumed to a crawl and we realized what was causing the logjam.  A bride was dancing in the streets as a small band played (assuming) Croatian ballads.

KUD "Bedem" iz Grebastice

Dance of KUD "Bedem" iz Grebastice

KUD "Nasi korijeni" Kljake

We parked the car and returned to Saint Jacob and the Town Hall square, where we caught up with the wedding party who was now mingling with the groups in traditional dress.  Around the corner, where we saw workers assembling bleachers earlier, we found the main event.  There was a traditional folk song and dance contest between denizens of various cities throughout Croatia - whose costumes are unique to a specific region or town.  The groups gathered in a line, respectively behind a flag or crest representing their respected villages.

KUD "Dinara" Kijevo watching from cafe

Last act of practice round in line

View from dinner

The omnipresent stimuli made us forget our dinner plans; we found seats in the bleachers to see what was going to happen next.  For the next half hour, we watched town after town get on stage and perform a folk song and dance number.  Neither of us have any familiarity with traditional Croatian culture, however; we were captivated by the event.  We soon realized it was a "practice round" and there would be a break in the action until the main competition started.

Wedding recessional meeting folk competition

Goodbye Sibenik

After the last practice act, we refocused our attention to finding a venue for dinner.  Turns out, the restaurant we were looking for was only 50 meters away from the stage.  Fortunately, we were seated at the only table not reserved.  Better yet, it was outside with a peek-a-boo view of the sunset over the Adriatic in one direction, and the folk event in the other.  Somehow, we avoided having calamari and mussels, a most welcomed change of pace - devouring two terrestrial based cuisines.  To top it all off, we were able to celebrate the end of another successful day with some Belgian beer.

Video giving an idea of the events that took place in Šibenik

*Strangely enough, on the drive home, we passed (what we think) was the same old crazed woman with her onion plant still waiting at the bus station.  We noticed bus service in Croatia was limited, but hours at a bus stop can't be healthy for the woman nor her onion plant.  She was not there the following day, therefore; our assumption is that she found her way home after a very long day lingering in the street.  Imagine spending a whole day just to get an onion plant... Also, it may have not been an onion plant; I am not a botanist.