FIAT!

Today we woke up early, packed our stuff, took out the trash, and turned in the keys to our lovely apartment – thank you Dinka!

Our time in Dubrovnik was great, from good mussels bouzzara, to home made food, a walk through living history, and breathtaking views, the city was unique and a great place to visit.

Ulises rented a car for our journey to Plitvice Lakes National Park. We hopped in the FIAT, and drove, drove, and drove. Over mountains, along the coast, past lakes trapped by mountains on all sides, through Bosnia, back into Croatia, and skipping the multilane highway, for a trip through the scenic route.

It was a beautiful drive, made all the better by good weather and an ipod hookup for the car radio. We drove through several small towns with their own city centers and historical claims to fame. We stopped and had a “quick” lunch, which ended up being dinner for lunch, of two whole grilled trout with potatoes, fries and a salad, (and that was just my meal). We continued on the road for another few hours, finally arriving near Plitvice around 8PM, and after a few attempts, finding a room in one of the nearby private guest houses.

Most of the small towns in Croatia only have accommodations for tourists in private homes; you can spot the signs from the road, saying SOBE, ZIMMERS, CAMERA, ROOMS, and CHAMBRE. The signs will usually give some information, like the address and number of stars the room is (one star means private room with shared bath with the owner, two stars means private room with shared bath with other guests, three stars means private room with private bath, and four stars means you can probably afford to buy this place – so why don’t you and then all the rooms are yours).

We have typically arrived in each city with some accommodations worked out in advance, even if it was only a few hours in advance. This was our first attempt at using the “just showing up” method. With only one rejection we found a place at Jezere Guest House, and our host Malik was quite gracious. He had a severe limp, but insisted on climbing up the stairs at every opportunity to show us how to use the TV and the fridge, and how to navigate through the hundreds of satellite channels of hot Arab chicks to get to the Euro Cup game. He had a tendency to slip from English into Italian and then into Croatian, but somehow with a mix of bad English and Italian, we communicated.

Tomorrow we are heading to the park, so tonight is an early evening.