After getting our fill at Paklenica, we continued our track south along the Adriatic. Along the way, we got spectacular lightning storms, more magical waterfalls, an ancient city, an impromptu rafting trip, and quality rock climbing!
Ancient cities and waterfalls
On our way south, we travelled through the cities of Rovinj and Pula before carving our way inland to explore Plitvice lakes (PlitviÄka jezera) national park. Our road trip was filled with history lessons and beautiful waterfalls, an excellent introduction to Croatia.
Cerro Tronador
Hiking to Refugio Meiling on Cerro Tronador is typically something that is done in two days, but we only had one. Unwilling to let that stop us, we began our hike at 8:30am, a Patagonia alpine start. We took a photo of the trail map, which stated Refugio Meiling – 18km and felt a mix of excitement and nerves, thinking we would be hiking 24 miles (including a detour we planned to take). The trail began in a beautiful dense forest with big trees. The sun was still making its way up, but we could already tell that it would be a gorgeous day.