[khoj]

Apologies for this interjection but while that Swift is indeed the rebadged Esteem, the Bravo is just that a Bravo.

Originally Posted by mr.sinha

Day 3 (Dec 25, 2011):


Noticed these cars in the hotel parking lot.

ESTEEM is sold as SWIFT in Slovenia.



Fiat PUNTO is rebadged BRAVO.

And that is too much info Looking forward to reading about the next three hours and then some

Originally Posted by mr.sinha

A Croatian sunset by the side of the highway where I had stopped for an emergency bio-break. And in case you are wondering, I did use a hand sanitizer before touching my camera. Biwi ka training


The next three hours would turn out to be particularly tough, exhausting and something I'd remember for a long time.

[Figopian]

Rovinj looks pretty nice! It reminded me of Quebec city which I found very similar to Rovinj, same costal city/town and as colourful as in your snaps.

[mr.sinha]

Originally Posted by Figopian

Rovinj looks pretty nice! It reminded me of Quebec city which I found very similar to Rovinj, same costal city/town and as colourful as in your snaps.

Funny, I was thinking something similar myself, though it was not Quebec city, but another small city called Trois-Reveres about 120 kms south west of Q.C. on Route 138, along the inlet of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Quebec appears more French (European) than a North American province.

Here's a off-topic photo I shot on Rt. 138 somewhere before entering Q.C. There are many beautiful small towns and villages I discovered on that road.

[Figopian]

Originally Posted by mr.sinha

Funny, I was thinking something similar myself, though it was not Quebec city, but another small city called Trois-Reveres about 120 kms south west of Q.C. on Route 138, along the inlet of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Quebec appears more French (European) than a North American province.

Here's a off-topic photo I shot on Rt. 138 somewhere before entering Q.C. There are many beautiful small towns and villages I discovered on that road.

Attachment 876599

True. Mostly because as you said Quebec (province) is more of a french colony and hence the feel of this area is more European than American. I like the European sense of beauty that you can see in places like these.

[mr.sinha]

Day 3 (Dec 25, 2011) - continued:


This section of the travelogue below until I reached my hotel in Plitvicka is verbose with just a few pics. I wasn't in a situation to take more pictures. But I have to record the events somewhere for posterity and this travelogue is as good a diary as any.

If you get bored, please skip until my next post which I promise will contain some great photographs of a snow-bound Plitvicka Jezera National Park. Otherwise, thank you for your patience in reading through this.



After paying the last toll on A1 highway, I took an exit and GPS took me to a country road.
The next 6 or 7 pics were taken through the windshield.

Progress became really slow after that. The country road was not too wide and it was foggy. But at least there was no snow on the road.

On Christmas evening, there were very few cars on the road. Maybe I passed a car once every 15 minutes. I almost had the road all to myself. It was around 6:30 pm. The temperature was 7 degrees below zero.



I proceeded with high beam on. But at least I could see some houses with lights on now and then, so I thought that even if I get into trouble on this road, I could walk 10 minutes to a nearby house and knock on the door for help, and perhaps in the spirit of Christmas, they wouldn't shoot me. My phone had no signal in this area.



The road got more treacherous with sharper curves and steeper gradients. The posted speed limit was 20 km/h and thats supposed to be in daylight and normal driving conditions. I was driving very cautiously.



After about 40 minutes or so, I reached a small sleepy town. At least it was a sign of civilization. A few cars on the road. Christmas lights on doors and electric poles. A few more turns here and there and I crossed the town and then finally GPS instructed me to take a right turn…. here.

This was the road GPS told me to take a right turn into and travel 24 kms.



I took the turn and then paused for a bit. It was very narrow road with space for one car only. And it was full of snow. I noticed a single set of tire marks on the road, which meant that one vehicle had passed through earlier. But the tracks looked like tire marks from a bigger vehicle, perhaps an SUV. After a minute of contemplating, I decided to press ahead.

I engaged 2nd gear and started puttering along. I hit pockets of dense fog where visibility was reduced to almost nothing.

Something like this or worse.



A few things were going through my mind at this time. It was about 7:30 pm. The temperature was now 9.5 degrees below zero. The narrow curvy road was going through forests.

There was just no place to turn the car around. Beyond the shoulders were bushes and soft deep snow where my wheels would just sink. What if the car broke down now? It was pitch dark outside the direct path of my headlights. There was not a house or any other lights anywhere around. No vehicle or a soul in sight.

Thoughtfully, I covered about 2 kms. The snow was getting worse and deeper. And then I found a small clearing in the forest with enough space to do a 3-point turn.

I should have turned the car around and simply headed back to the small town. Screw GPS. But the spirit of adventure (or was it foolhardiness) prevailed and I decided to proceed further. It was a mistake. Mentally I marked the place of the clearing.

And then after this stretch around the bend ahead, the snow got so deep that I could not proceed any further on my 2WD. The wheels started slipping and sliding badly and getting stuck in deeper snow.

(this photo was taken after I had reversed back from that stretch)



By now I was at the 2.4 km mark, so that meant I had no option but to go 0.4 km in reverse to reach the clearing and turn the car around.

I engaged reverse but I could not see the road behind me on the IRVM or the ORVMs. It was pitch dark behind the car and on the sides, and the road was not a straight one.

From the dashboard:



So I lowered the window, and in the bitter cold, craned my neck out towards the back and whatever I could see with the faint afterglow of the reverse lights, slowly started reversing. Being not able to properly look and judge the curve of the road, I got stuck on the soft snow on the sides twice, but engaging 1st, I managed to get out.

The third time I got stuck, it got really bad. I misjudged a curve and drove my rear left wheel straight into the snowbank over the side of the road. Engaging 1st gear didn't help. I tried rocking the car between reverse and 1st - didn't help, I was only sinking the wheel deeper. Finally I got down and took out my flashlight to inspect. My left rear wheel was sunk on the side in deep snow, and at that moment I really didn't know what to do.

I was thinking if I should abandon the car, walk back about 2.2 kms to the town and try to get help, or at least spend the night somewhere and figure it out in the morning. At least I had a flashlight. I was extremely tired and very hungry. Then I decided to give it one more shot to try to free the wheel by digging it out.

Got a little worried at this point about wild animals. What if a polar bear jumps out from the bushes now? Ok, no polar bears there :-) , I was sure, but wolves would have been a distinct possibility. So I did the next silly thing I could think of. I fished out my tiny Swiss Army knife, extended the 1.5 inch blade and held it in my left hand. If at all an wolf decided to surprise me while I was trying to free up my wheel, I could at least give her a sharp jab before jumping back into the car.

I didn't have a shovel of course, so I put on my water-proof gloves, and started digging around the wheel with my right hand and shifting the snow away with my boots, with the torch held between my teeth and the knife still in my left hand, warily looking back every few seconds for wild animals. I must admit I was a bit scared here.

After about 10 minutes of digging, I was satisfied enough to give it a last try. I broke some branches and twigs and stuck them under the front and back of the left rear wheel. First, I reversed the car very slightly, then engaged 1st, and with a swift motion, pressed the accelerator to the floor while releasing the clutch. The car shuddered a bit, the wheels caught on…. and rolled forward. Yippeee, I was free.

The next 0.2 kms of reversing was done extremely carefully in short bursts. Every few seconds, I craned my neck out and checked the road at the back with my flashlight first before moving. Finally I reached the clearing without further incident, turned the car, and drove the 2 kms back into the small town.

The ordeal was not to end though.

As I drove back into the town, GPS recalculated another route for me. Now this road initially turned out to be much better than the previous one. It was paved, and there was less snow on the road. 29 kms , GPS said. I started driving in 2nd gear again, sometimes to 3rd, back to 2nd. Now this road took me into the real mountain terrain. Very curvy, with rock walls on the left and a gorge with tall trees on my right, through the middle of deep forests. Deep snow everywhere around. Again, I was the only car on the road. Pitch black, except what my headlights were illuminating. By this time I was so fatigued that I was having a hard time driving. But I kept telling myself, this is the time even the best drivers can make mistakes. One mistake here, and it would be hasta-la-vista for Sinha baby.

This road demanded every last ounce of my severely depleted concentration, but finally I made it. I reached the town of Plitvicka.

And then, the abominable GPS could not find the street my "Sobe" (apartment/hotel) was on. It kept telling me to take turns where there were no turns. I kept going around in circles. I wanted to throw the GPS out of the window. I was beyond fatigue at that point. I called the Sobe but the lady who picked up didn't speak a word of english.

At this point, I spotted a restaurant on the side of the road which was open, and there were people inside. I pulled over, grabbed the hotel booking printout and walked in to ask for directions.

And thats when I realized I had walked into a gay joint.

I mean, of the one place open on Christmas night, it had to be gay joint. How uncanny is that. The place was filled with guys, sitting together, eating, drinking, hugging.

I was in two minds whether to walk out immediately, but then I thought since I was already in, and all eyes were on me, might as well ask for the directions anyway. So, I walked up to the counter where three guys were hanging out and asked one of them how to get to the hotel.

Apologies to any gay members on the forum, I personally have nothing against gays, only feel very uncomfortable if they behave funnily with me. So this guy whom I asked for directions looked at the printout, and the obviously inebriated state that he was in, brought his face like two inches from my face, was trying to get his arms around my shoulders and waist and explaining to me how to get there.

I couldn't hear a word of what he said. After about 10 seconds, I grabbed the printout from his hand, rescued myself, mumbled thanks and walked out.

Back to square one. Almost at wits' end and deciding to just find another hotel and go to bed, I then saw a small gas station open, and pulled in there. Lucky for me, the person was just about to close up for the night. This was a German gentleman, and with the 10 words of german that I knew, I was able to finally get clear enough directions here. I also grabbed a wrapped ham sandwich (the only food left there) and a can of soda. That was going to be my dinner. No restaurants were open.

The 'Sobe' turned out to be just 2 kms from that place. If the GPS had behaved, I could have reached there an hour ago.

Hotel name: Apartments and Rooms Renata
Cost for 2 nights: 370 Kuna = Euro 50.
Recommended for budget travelers.

The room was small yet very neat and clean. The bathroom was clean too, though it was a shared one among 3 rooms on that floor but since I was the only occupant, I had it all to myself.



Tired that I was, I crashed into bed soon after.



Tomorrow:

Exploring Plitvicka Jezera. I was hoping it would be worth the trouble I went through to get here.

Ok, before I finish this post, here are some pics of Plitvicka Jezera National Park in winter. The main batch of photos follows in my next post.





Day 4 (Dec 26, 2011):



I slept soundly last night, woke up late, had a good breakfast, and finally hit the park around 11:30 am. I figured I'd have around 5 hrs of daylight.

The entrance to Plitvicka Jezera National Park, Croatia. This is Entrance 1. Entrance 2 is closed during the winter.



There were probably just about 10-12 tourists in all. The bus which takes tourists around inside the park was not running. Many sections of the park were closed. I mean, who, other than a few crazy people comes here in the middle of a harsh snowy day in winter? But let me tell you, even in the crummy weather, the next 5 hrs of trekking inside the park was worth it. The emerald colors of the lakes looked gorgeous.

The bonus was that they were selling adult tickets for the price of child tickets (half-price).

Discounted entry fee: 40 Kuna.

View from the top. There is a narrow stone path which leads to the bottom. It was caked with ice and snow, so had to be very careful there.





Finally reached the level where the main lakes were.




To be continued.

[amitwlele]

The GPS surely gave you a torrid time during your trip. I hope you did not face any further problems during the remaining part of the journey.

Cold Winter night on a deserted road in a foreign country is surely a situation not worth getting into. By the way did you have any printed maps with you or GPS was the only navigator?

[mr.sinha]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

The GPS surely gave you a torrid time during your trip. I hope you did not face any further problems during the remaining part of the journey.

Cold Winter night on a deserted road in a foreign country is surely a situation not worth getting into. By the way did you have any printed maps with you or GPS was the only navigator?

No, unfortunately I wasn't carrying printed maps for the places I was visiting by car. I was relying on GPS which let me down big time.

[Figopian]

That one night travel seems really an adventure! You had experience of a life time I must say. THe national Park snaps are really nice, I can imagine the joy of seeing that in person

[mr.sinha]

Originally Posted by Figopian

That one night travel seems really an adventure! You had experience of a life time I must say. THe national Park snaps are really nice, I can imagine the joy of seeing that in person

Oh, in hindsight, adventure it was, though getting stuck under those conditions didn't seem fun at that time. But I guess all the pains to visit Plitvicka was definitely worth the beauty of that place.

Will be posting more pics soon.

[rajeev k]

Nice travelogue and hope that you had a nice time.

Fiat PUNTO is rebadged BRAVO.

Appears that it is not Punto but Bravo itself

[mr.sinha]

Day 4 (Dec 26, 2011) - continued:

Without much ado, here are the rest of the pics of a wintry and snowy day in Plitvicka Jezera National Park.

I wished it was sunny and bright, but even in the highly overcast conditions, I was stunned by the beauty of the place. The gorgeous emerald colors of the lakes came out fairly well.








Reflections.




Submerged branches.





Walkway connecting the lakes.















A lone boat was operating to ferry a group of Italian tourists.





As it was getting dark, I decided to head out of the park. Thats when I noticed an area cordoned off by a chain with a 'Area Closed' sign.

Curiosity got the better of me. Looking both ways to see no park official was noticing, I crossed over. Following my example, a couple of other tourists nearby crossed over too.

After about 50 feet, we came to know why this area was closed. There were about 150 steps leading down to the base of a gorgeous waterfall thundering down by our side. The steps were thick with ice and snow.

Slinging over the camera securely, we then proceeded to take on the steps holding the railing tightly on one side, getting down by stepping sideways. With a few slips and slides but no casualties, we eventually reached the base of the stunning waterfall.

The risk was worth it, as is evident from the photos below taken enroute and at the bottom. You judge for yourself.







And finally the pot at the end of the rainbow:



Since it had gotten dark by then, and I wasn't carrying my tripod, I increased the ISO, hooked my elbow against my ribcage and stopped breathing for 5 seconds, to take the pic.


Later, after finishing dinner at the Park restaurant, I was walking to the car to drive back to the hotel, when this Chinese guy approaches me. He was an exchange student from Hong Kong studying in Hungary. He had come by bus on a day trip from Zagreb, and he had missed the last bus back to Zagreb. He had a flight next morning from Zagreb and he was wondering how to reach there. There were no more buses and no rental car places in the town. So I took him back to the hotel where I knew they had empty rooms. He was able to find a room for the night, and I promised to drop him at the bus stop (about 3 kms from the hotel) at 5:30 am so he could take the first bus back.

[mallumowgli]

Amazing. And you are saying it will be boring to read the edge of the seat thriller??!!!
Beautiful pics to complement the story too. Am already aching to go there

[raghu230506]

Thanks for sharing those amazing pictures, truely enjoyed your TL so far.
Keep it rolling.

[lapsi]

Awesome TL. I could almost smell the fresh, crisp air through your pictures. This has once again got me itching to travel. And the best part is that you did it alone. Inspiring

One thing about traveling in foreign lands is that at times, the best places you visit are the the ones you reach when you take a wrong turn.

I might, just might, have thanked the GPS for the wonderful adventures considering that I love driving in the hills and that too at night.

Cheers!

[Sam Kapasi]

Ah the difference the seasons make.


Winter




Summer (no photoshop)

Well done Mr. Sinha. Great pictures and travelogue. Even though the skies are overcast and it appears to be gloomy weather, your camera and POV have brought in an ethereal beauty to the images. I'm enjoying it very much.