lukebuehler.com About the life of a pilgrim

Being a Lone Wolf

From Rijeka I hiked along the street to Senje in four days. Even tough it is mainly street it is very enjoyable here in Croatia, most of the time it is nice weather, the sea is glass clear and warm enough to swim and the food is cheap and good. From Senje I hiked up into the mountains. Its a mountain chain, called Velebit, reaching from the Vratnik passing above Senje until east of Zadar. Even tough the highest peak is only 1699 meters it is quite rough nature and very remote.

The first night a old lady in a abandoned village let me camp in her garden. She cooked for me and took me into her house. It was hard to communicate but none the less I got to experience some real good Croatian hospitality. From there I walked into the national park and stayed at mountain huts most of the time. There are some nice trails trough the nature especially in the northern part is a famous track that leads southwards for 50 kilometers while staying on a constant height of 1500 meters (only small up and downs). The nature is so amazing, it feels seriously like being a Hobbit in Lord of the Rings sometimes I walked for two days without meeting anyone. There are wolfs and bears, but sadly I didn't meet any. It was also tough on the body as I had to carry always a lot of water and food. But often I met people in the huts where I stayed the night that took good care of me. Especially one group of cavers that I met in the last hut I stayed, called Stap, became good friends. They cooked Gulaš and shared their wine, tobacco and conversations with me. We had so much fun that I decided I'd to go with them to visit a unexplored cave. I didn't have any equipment so I couldn't go down with them but it was so interesting to hear and see what they are doing up there. There are still many unexplored caves here in Croatia and thus many adventures not experienced yet. There are many amazing sights up there in the Velebit, but I'll wait to tell more about it until I have an opportunity to upload pictures so you can see and feel with me

After being in the mountains for more than a week it felt good being in civilization again, but the way from Starigrad to Zadar was saddening too as I got to see and hear many things about the recent war. For two days I walked along one mine field after the other and people in the small towns told me how their houses got destroyed. It was a hard time for everyone here and I don't think there are any unscarred hearts here on the cost. Everyone remembers something painful of the war.

Now I'm in Zadar and take a break for one day in a Youth Hostel. Zadar is a recommendable little city full of Croatian life.