Each and every time I am amazed by Dalmacija's beauty, this time however, I am sure: THIS IS IT.
Will I stop scrolling around, the answer is nó, of course not.
To tell you a little story how this beauty came on my path:
A few days ago, me and my friend Robert (the guy from www.malimlin.com) took a day of and loaded our canoes on the roof of the car and went to do another section of the Cetina.
Drove from Svinisce to Kucice, following the Cetina till the bridge to Kostanje, crossed to the other side of the river and at the very first steep corner we left the asphalt to enter a dirt road following the Cetina upstream.
There we took a tiny road to the right leading us to the Cetina's banks, where we dropped the canoes into the water.
Slowly slowly slowly (polako in Croatian) we peddled upstream through a beautiful shady tunnel of trees, crossing some minor rapids dragging our canoes, and on we went, to the next rapid ( they are just about thirty centimeters high, so no big deal, step out, drag the canoe through and on you go again).
Than, the canopy opened, and we where on this extreme spot, where this waterfall came down in a silent secluded lake where even the fish are not afraid.
On the left (in the shade) the main canyon of the Cetina ends, so we slowly entered till a natural wall showed up, behind which a roar of the big waterfalls of the Cetina sounded.
Being "doctor Livingstone" that day, I ignored my slowly healing six broken ribs and climbed up the blockade about seven meters high, and looked into a deep pit where the water was falling down in a continuous gust of rumbling water, loaded with energy.
Somehow all that water flows deep under that barrier during the summer season, but for sure the level rises many meters when the rainy season fills the Cetina again to a less friendly level.
In summer however, specially this very dry summer, the place was like a mirror, with impressive walls rising high above us.
We stopped at a tiny sandy beach, took our swimming goggles and swam around in fresh clear water, totally silent, enjoying each and every second we spent there.
Question: is the Zagora (the hinterland) of Dalmacija worth a visit, an "expedition" if you want, the answer is:
!!!! HELL YES !!!!
And if you still think Dubrovnik, Split, Trogir (!!!) should grab you (by the balls) during your visit, with Plitvice, Biokovo, Kornati or Krka as cherries on your sunsoaked Adriatic holiday cake, right you are,
but wrong you are if you think you've seen it all !!!!
On top of it all, we finished the day with another discovery, a true Dalmatian diner at Konoba Kunjak in Kucice (www.kunjak.com).
A "simple" meal of roasted lamb (the very best !!!), some home made fries, a couple of beers and as a gesture from the owner, a dish of chilled watermelon and melon to top it all of.
The drive home was a bit "ehhhhhh", but not very long as the whole expedition took us from start to finish less than twentyfive kilometers (with a couple of kilometers in the canoe of course).
For sure we will go back there, as Hvala Bogu (thank God), they don't serve pizza's at this konoba, and no doubt this very special hidden lake is on my list now too.
And to those of you staying in Omis, Kucice is just 15 minutes into the Zagora, ánd worth the trip if you prefer to have a true taste of Dalmacija's basic but delicious kitchen.
Dalmacija, ja volim te (I love you).
PS:
-Those of you who like to go DWS (deep water soloing) come here, as you can even choose to do it naked as nobody sees you going nuts !!!!!!
-Should you want to experience the impressive canyon without a canoe, a couple of adventure organisations guide you through safely, canyoning like you never did before.
-And if you need coordinates or some details, mail me at the address in the header of this blog.
(For those of you familiar with google maps, I attached a location marker to this post).
