Day 15 - Krka National Park and Šibenik

We were standing at the bus stop this morning waiting for the bus to Šibenik. The traffic was really bad considering Trogir is a town of merely 1600 people. We figured it was a crossing between larger towns such as Split and Šibenik and that was why there was so much commotion at the two-lane street in front of the old town entrance. Our plan was to take the intercity bus to Šibenik then from there to the Krka National Park. We did not know the schedule as it was not published anywhere at the bus station or provided by the Trogir travel info center. 20 minutes later, no bus showed. Frankly in Croatia, we were never sure whether we were waiting at the right spot, at the right time, or waiting for the right bus. Compare to the supreme Turkish bus system, the Croatian bus system, especially in the off peak season was a little confusing for us.

Suddenly out of nowhere we heard a greeting from a passing car. It was Jasha and Christian, the two German backpackers we met last night over dinner at Capo. At this local seafood restaurant, we had to share a table with others since they only had long table with simple wooden benches and we got into chatting. Jasha and Christian drove from Germany to the Balkans. "Are you heading to Šibenik?" We hopped off to the street and chased the car. They said they were going to the Krka National Park and it was so kind of them to pull over to the side of the street and agreed to give us a ride.

An hour later, we arrived at the Stradin, the town that serves as the west gate of the Krka National Park. From here, we thanked our gracious German drivers and went to explore the town. The National Park offered much better and more organized tourist services. A nice glassy building housed the tourist information center. We learned that we could catch the 12 PM ferry to see the Stradin Buk (the waterfall). The ferry schedule was written on the board clearly in front of both the departure and arrival docks.

The ferry ride took about twenty minutes. We walked five minutes before we heard the sound of water. Then behind the woods we reached a bridge, where the Stradin waterfall stepped down from the top of the hill and dropped to the bottom of the bridge and calmed into a natural swimming pool of green water. The part of the park where our time allowed us to visit was very tranquil and green. Waterfalls were everywhere, small ones merging into large ones, forming a nice terrace of waterfalls.

We took the ferry back to Stradin around 2 and asked the info center to call a taxi for us to go to Šibenik since the only bus to Šibenik was at 5 PM. Michael, a man who worked at the harbor and lived in Šibenik happened to come into the center and overheard the conversation. He offered to drive us back to Šibenik right away for half the taxi price. Stradin is a harbor town so there was not even a taxi stand anywhere. We did not know when the taxi would come. Michael cleaned his car for us and for the second time in the same day, we got a ride out of pure coincidence. The ride to Šibenik was unbelievably scenic. Every little town along the coast was etched in a perfect painting with blue sky as backdrop and terra cotta roofed houses dotting the hillside or island.

We visited the St. James Cathedral in Šibenik which was also a UNESCO world heritage site. Lunch by the Šibenik harbor was perfect. I had Buzara od Škampi (large prawns cooked in tomato wine broth). Julee had shrimp crepe.