Day 38-44 - We are (foster) parents!

Our last days in Istria, as it should be, were spent climbing. Here is a short description and review of the climbing areas we visited - non-climbers, you can skip to the next paragraph.

First, we spent a day in Dvigrad. This area definitely stands out for its location: easy approach, beautiful surroundings, and a great view of the valley and the opposite castle. Unfortunately, the routes here were a bit challenging. Everything we tried had powerful start boulders and very small holds at the top. Some say there are better lines to the right of the crag, but they were quite crowded. Croatia is generally known for its tough ratings, but this area takes it to another level. Let's just say the day ended with both of us giving up halfway on a 6b+ route, despite trying everything and using all the tricks in the book.

Fortunately, there was another area nearby, namely Limski Kanal. The sector Krugi provided some shade and climbing with a great view of the sea arm and the accompanying fish factory, which unfortunately came with its own odor experience. The ratings here were tough again, but the routes themselves were enticing. However, we discovered that three of the most beautiful lines on the left were already occupied by a wasp nation, who didn't appreciate our invasion of their privacy. We managed to pack up with some excitement and minimal casualties (a sting on Jan's arm and a sacrifice carabiner). The crag was unfortunately dominated by wasps, who curiously circled around us while we were belaying and climbing.

We moved on to the inland of Croatia due to the threat of rain, but we managed to catch a brief glimpse of the highly recommended Vranska Draga. The collection of tall rock towers definitely provides some climbing romance and potential for multi-pitch routes, and it's probably rightly considered one of the oldest and most popular climbing areas in Croatia.

Last but not least, we visited a multi-pitch mecca, the national park Paklenica. For an entrance fee of about 7 euros per person, you get a lot of sport climbing routes. Some of the cliffs go straight from the hiking path, and the approach is virtually non-existent. It takes some getting used to, but the park offers some beautiful, sharp-edged lines. By the way, several scenes of the Winnetou movies were filmed here.

With our visit to the Plitvice Lakes, we've now been to two locations of Karl May movies. It's no wonder that the collection of blue-green lakes and waterfalls was chosen as the backdrop for "Der Schatz im Silbersee" (Treasure of Silver Lake). The lakes are located at different levels, separated by natural rock dams, and connected by small and large waterfalls. Very impressive and definitely worth a visit! However, there were quite a lot of other people with the same idea, and we can only imagine how crowded it gets here during peak season.

Just above the Limski Kanal and along the coast near Paklenica (right behind the highway exit), we found some particularly beautiful camping spots and had no problems with the police or anyone else so far.

However, what we didn't find were open campsites. Apparently, it's not worth running them at the end of October. It wouldn't have bothered us if we hadn't run out of clean clothes. So we embarked on a real washing machine odyssey, starting with a camping site that had no washing machine, and eventually giving our drying laundry a nice smoky aroma by burning leaves on the site.

But the real adventure was yet to come. On our way to Dubrovnik, we suddenly lost speed on the highway and eventually had to exit, crawling at only 60 km/h - not a great feeling!

After a phone call to the ADAC, we visited several workshops, but none of them could help us because of a missing diagnostic cable. We were even desperate enough to ask the local police station for workshops. Our first encounter with the Croatian police turned out very differently than expected. Luckily, we didn't give up, because at the fourth workshop, someone finally took a look under the hood and discovered a crack in the air intake hose. Since it was Saturday, we ended up stranded in Kravica for the weekend.

We had hardly any time for a trip to the sea, because there, at a small, seemingly abandoned camping site, we suddenly discovered something that would completely disrupt our travel plans (DUM, DUM, DUM!). We already knew that there are a large number of stray dogs and cats in Croatia. However, all the animals we encountered seemed healthy until we found Janja.

All alone in a corner of the camping site, a maybe four or five-week-old kitten was crying heartbreakingly for its mother, whom we unfortunately couldn't find despite our efforts. So we took the kitten in and did our best to feed it with goat's milk and wet food. Because it constantly wants to climb everything, we named the little one Janja. She is very affectionate, and without physical contact, she cries incessantly (it was a restless night). We will definitely not abandon her and have now adjusted our travel plans to take Janja to the vet and organize a place for her in a nice animal shelter. If by February there is still no new owner, we are considering picking her up again and bringing her to a new home in Germany, which we hopefully can find by then. So, if you can imagine taking in the cutest kitten in the world or know someone who can... let us know!

Purr on!