Krka Falls to Hvar Lefka September 2 - 6, 2001 We stayed at anchor off Skradin for two nights, a lovely and convenient location with a beautiful view of the town skyline and the surrounding green clad hills. Unfortunately when I was getting into Sprite, my prescription sunglasses fell overboard from my shirt pocket. As we were only in 20 feet of water, I got the mask and snorkel while Judy dropped our hand lead and line, with a float, in the water at the spot they went over, to serve as a datum marker to start my underwater search. As we were at anchor, the boat was swinging and I would have lost the specific location of the overboard glasses without that marker. I found them on the third dive, doing a circle search around the lead line. The bottom was muddy, and the visibility about five feet.  Our guests took us out for a lovely meal in a local restaurant, -- no cooking, no dishes to wash, good food, pleasant company and conversation, a lovely evening. Next day we dinghied over to catch the first boat up to the Krka National Park. No private powered boats are allowed above the bridge into the park area, but the park day pass (economical at about $10.00 Canadian) includes the ferry boat ride from Skradin to the park entrance. We had been advised to catch the earliest boat in order to be ahead of the crowds that arrive later. It was good advice, as we wandered through the park with very few others around for the first few hours. Being September, I didn't think the crowds would be very big, but they were, and the park was quite crowded by the time we left in mid afternoon. It was the most beautiful park we have been to! It had the grandeur of multiple pristine waterfalls, towering cliffs, fresh water streams and rivers cascading through winding canyons, mountain fringed lakes, but also tranquil paths through verdant wooded and marsh areas, with crystal clear water providing a natural window into the aqua domain of the fish meandering around the moss covered rocks and through patches of fallen boughs, with water lilies and other plant life wafting in the gentle currents. There were energetic brooks cascading sparkling diamonds over rocks and tree limbs to settle into still clear pools. The walkways were comfortable, easily managed combinations of pavement, gravel, dirt, flagstone, and boardwalks. There were of course steps and gentle inclines to negotiate. Several patios, benches, picnic areas, observation platforms, restaurants, snack bars, tourist shops, and several small operational ethnic workshops provided environmentally friendly relief for those needing resting places and an easier stroll. We enjoyed the operational water mills, historical documentation dating their presence back to 1251. They were not the traditional flour mills with one big water wheel, but had smaller paddlewheel turbines powered by a series of narrow sluices. These in turn rotated axles that were geared to three different functions. One was a series of up to 8 smaller (one metre diameter) traditional grindstones for milling flour. However the other two were kosevi and stupe. Stupe or stupare were early devices in which the axles were altered into a modified camshaft lifting and dropping heavy wooden hammers to pound and soften rough woolen fabrics. Kosevi are simple open topped wooden barreled washing machines using the channeled swift flowing agitated water to wash clothes.  Krka also claims to have built in 1895 the first hydroelectric system for production, transportation and distribution of alternating electric energy in the world. Apparently the Niagara Falls system started operating two days earlier, but its transportation and distribution system was not operational for another year. Thus Sibenik had electric energy to homes and public lights before other European centres such as London, Rome, and Vienna. Additional turbines were added in 1936 and are still operational today. I was held in awe and frequently spellbound by the tranquil settings of moss green cloistered pools, clear water babbling or sighing over rocks, around tree limbs and alongside quiet sandy or muddy banks lined with lush vegetation. The board walkways wound through this thick, almost tropical, lush green tree-bowered Valhala. I often stopped just to drink in the tranquility and natural beauty of these scenic grottos. These cloisters contrasted with observation points overlooking the white water of the main tributaries cascading over craggy rocks and cliff faces to foam and send spray rainbows into the clear morning air. It took us about three hours to walk the lower paths, circling back to the first major waterfall, and its large freshwater pool beneath. Now however, there were hundreds of people sunbathing, swimming, and sightseeing from the bridge. Judy and I went in for a swim in the currents and gently swirling pool below the falls. We swam over to one side cliff and let the cascading water pelt us as we unsteadily balanced on submerged rocks or swam and tread water beneath the cataract. It was a glorious day! We would strongly recommend this park as a must see for anyone visiting Croatia. Back on Veleda, the two Judys did laundry in Sprite, rinsing the clothes overboard in the fresh water of the Krka River. In the evening we heard beautiful rhythms played on a couple of church bells by enthusiastic citizens. One would hammer out a pattern and then the next would imitate and then vary it. The first, not to be outdone, then responded and the ensuing rhythms and cacophony echoed across the water and into the hills. It reminded me of some of the rhythms of Japanese taiko drumming. In the dusk, from Veleda, we could see one square clock tower illuminated with a soft yellow glow, and the bell ringers having a good time working the ancient chimes.  Our last day there, Barb and I went for a hike up behind Skradin to a couple of ruined watch towers overlooking the town with a commanding view up and down the river. Skradin, one of the oldest continuously populated towns in Europe, dating back to the 5th century BC, was captured by the Turks in 1552, then held by Venice from 1684 until Napoleon took it in 1798. Incidentally, Sibenik held out and was not conquered by the Turks. The two Judys walked the town and came across a municipal ceremony in which a roto tiller was being presented to the town by some international aid agency, received by civic dignitaries in the town square.  We left at noon hour for a pleasant motor down the tree clad canyons across the lake, beneath the Sibenik bridge, and a brief stop up stream of Sibenik to drop Sprite into the water. The two Judys stayed on board while Barb and I dinghied over to one of the shellfish farms and bought a kilo of mussels and a kilo of oysters, all for the economical sum of about $8.00 Canadian. In Sibenik that evening we had a lovely shellfish meal of steamed mussel, raw oysters on the half shell and an oyster stew, with local white wine. As a Bora was predicted, we stayed alongside Sibenik town docks for two nights. It gave us an enjoyable opportunity to explore the ancient walled town with its cathedral, cobblestone alleys, old cemetery, and the fortress dominating the hillside and the seaward and upstream approaches to the city. By September  6th, the Bora was still blowing, but with less force, so at noon hour I said, "Let's go." It was a glorious sail! We had NE winds at force 5 driving us on a broad reach SSE at hull speed. We sail so rarely that each opportunity is a treat. Because of the heavy northerly winds, we were initially planning to go up Luka Rogoznica, a large enclosed bay on the mainland with only a southern but well sheltered entrance. However, on approaching the southern point we noticed a small cove well sheltered from the north in which were only two boats, no buildings and a few people picnicking along the shoreline. We anchored there (43 31.6N, 015 57.6E) for a very pleasant quiet evening. The other two boats left before dark, and we had the whole uninhabited cove to ourselves.  Judy had prepared a lovely meal of smothered pork chops, but for some reason my stomach was upset and I spent the evening and much of the next day enroute to Split, in bed. We went alongside the town docks where our guests wandered over town through Diocletian's Palace for the afternoon. However the afternoon northerly wind came up making the dock very uncomfortable, so Judy and I took Veleda to anchor in the harbour in the same location as our previous visit. We went to the ferry terminal to identify the best return route for our guests to get back to Italy, and found that a ferry from Hvar in a few days would return them to Split and then on to Ancona, Italy, and train to Rome. So this allowed us to visit the island of Vis before a couple of days in Hvar prior to their return to Italy on Sept. 11!
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