Not all waterfalls are the same. Today, we experienced spirituality in a waterfall... here in Plitvice... one of Croatia's top tourist destinations... and that is saying something, given the large number of top ranking sites. We felt the spirituality in spite of 1,000 tourists blocking the path... so the vibes must have been strong.
The start to the walk through the rapids could have been better. The path was narrow and steep. At one of the more precarious spots, I was tackled around the legs, in a style reminiscent of Steve Menzies defensive skills. A Japanese lady... mid-fourties... tripped in her high heeled boots. To save going straight over the edge, she choose to grab my legs... presumably with the thought that if she was going down, she was taking with her as many as possible. Fortunately, reflexes developed during years of training for school boy rugby league, clicked in. I was able to palm-off the tackle and execute a high speed side-step... those of you familiar with Kenny Irvine would have recognised the style. All ended well... the lady fell without going over the edge and didn't hurt herself... I stayed on my feet on the path.
The start had one more incident. We were behind another group of Japanese tourists... one was very keen to get an early shot of the waterfalls... he set his tripod in the middle of the path... went about the intricate business of focus, aperture, white light, etc. He seemed surprised when others waiting behind him tried to hurry him up. "Walk around" he seemed to be saying (in Japanese)... even though we would need to step into the water to do so. He received advice from others in his group that convinced him to move his tripod. Self awareness and tourist groups are mutually exclusive!
The congestion at the start of the trail soon sorted itself out and we were able to focus on the unique landscape of Plitvice... correction... it is not unique... it was very similar to that at Krka. The lakes are built through action from algae and moss. The process is something like this... water seeps through limestone and becomes saturated with calcium or is it calcium carbonate (I'm not sure)... carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere to form a dissolved calcium carbonate... one type of algae loves this dissolved calcium carbonate... it has some symbiotic relationship with the moss that grows at the water's edge. Together, they convert the liquid calcium carbonate into a deposit secreted at the feet of the moss. Over time, this deposited calcium carbonate builds one meter after another... reaching heights of 15 metres... to such an extent that lakes are formed. The water tumbling over the edge of the lake makes waterfalls that have a very manicured appearance.
The tourist authorities have done a great job in building the pathways in the park. For 7 klms of pathways, you wander amongst the rapids and waterfalls... getting very close to nature. The walls of the valley are steep and high... covered with beech trees. The overall effect is magic... yes, a spiritual experience.
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