Krka National Park
Despite the overcast skies on our approach through the narrow channel of Saint Anthony, the day slowly cleared with the sun shining in a bright blue sky. The temperature was perfect for strolling the boardwalks of one of Croatia's most beautiful and unique national parks. The Krka River flows together to form 17 travertine cascades (Stradinski Buk) from limestone deposits intermingled with moss and algae. We also visited the ethnographic museums, which depict everyday life in 19th century Croatia, including how they harnessed the power of the flowing water for grinding flour and washing clothes. The sound of rushing water all around is quite soothing and all our senses were stimulated by the surrounding nature. Ripe figs hovered over our heads and pink cyclamens were in bloom throughout the woods. At one point our more avid photographers lay spread-eagle on the ground so as to capture them in their exquisite detail. At the bottom of the falls we had refreshments and the more daring went swimming in the surprisingly warm waters which were reminiscent of a natural jacuzzi.
We returned to Panorama for a delightful lunch of fresh local sardines, pork in white wine sauce and lamb chops (and a traditional Greek vegetarian ladia - okra baked with tomatoes and olive oil). Our local guide Ante (whose family has lived in Sibenik for several generations) then guided us on a lively walking tour of the medieval town of Sibenik. He took us through the Church of St. Francis of Assisi (rarely open for visitors) and pointed out the many architectural delights of the town sometimes called “Little Venice”. As in other medieval towns along this coast, the Austro-Hungarians tore down the walls that protected the city, but some ruins remain to feed the imagination. The city's jewel is St. Jacob's Cathedral, built by Juraj Dalmatinac, and it is a masterpiece of Baroque and Renaissance design protected by UNESCO. The exterior is impressive with its frieze of 71 heads of local citizens, and the interior is magnificent – particularly the dome made from white marble from the island of Brac (which also provided the marble for the White House in Washington, D.C.). We were lucky enough to gain entry to the baptistery – a lovely nave carved from a single piece of marble arching over the baptismal font made of rare pink marble.
For the late afternoon we anchored off of the island Slatin for a swim and then sampled local wine, cheese and other local delicacies up in the Lounge. Sharon our Naturalist photographer presented a fascinating slideshow on the history of the olive and its cultivation since ancient times in this region. We then debated which olive oil was the best: Greek, Albanian, Montenegrin or Croatian – all of which were available for us to try.
