National Parks of Croatia

Some of the sights that we see are majestic and awe-inspiring in an in-your-face way. The national parks of Croatia on the other hand, are the kind of place that settle a quiet blanket of beauty and serene tranquillity over you like the breath of a young infant. At first you hardly notice, but then you find yourself in transported reveries. The islands of Mljet and Lastovo were like this.

The dock at Ploce

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Old Venetian ruins in Polace

The port of Polace.

Ploce town at night

Ploce town at dawn

We'd left Prozura on Mljet and entered the National Park on the north-western end of the island. The park was declared in 1960 to protect the rare fauna and flora that exist on the island. There are many small islets surrounding Mljet that create sheltered and beautiful waterways. The water in the bays is incredibly clear and fish abound.

Amazing water clarity

Town of Govedari, port for the trip to Sante Maria cathedral

Waiting for the boat to the island

In the centre of Mljet there is an internal lake. On a small islet on the lake, there is the Cathedral of Saint Mary. This is an amazingly serene, quiet and restful place.

Approaching Sante Maria

Ferry docking at the islet cathedral

Picturesque dock

Cathedral stone work

Cathedral under renovation

Look at the inner peace in that grin!

Inside the cathedral

Cathedral stone work

Delightful waters

Tranquil place

After a few nights chilling out in Mljet, we headed over to Lastovo. This is a small archipelago of islands; the whole area is declared as a national park.

Small terrapin

Church nave

Local residents

We found a delightful anchorage in Lastovo called Jurjeva. We even had our own submarine pen, that a boat actually moored up in.

That boat is moored in a submarine pen!

Just a beautiful sheltered anchorage, all to ourselves.

Spot the fish swimming in the clouds

We need to keep progressing; Michael is arriving on the 1st of July and we will meet him in Split. But both Megan and I fell into the time-warp of the national parks of Croatia. We felt as if we never wanted to leave. However, the show must go on.... so next stop is the island of Korcula.