After a day of rest and good night's sleep we decided our first plan would be to retrieve our resupply box in the town of Knin. Just before boarding the bus we run into Eva, she is another hiker we met online that is section hiking the Via Dinarica. We are excited to see her and speak about the trail. It was a relief to finally meet another hiker from the trail. The bus pulls up and we jump on. The first of three buses we will take today to Knin.
Our second bus of the day is on time leaving Zadar. We had time to grab some lunch at a grocery. The bus is slow climbing the mountain. The slow chug reminds me of our first RV, Beulah, climbing the high mountain pass outside of Denver. Our old dog Judy passed out from hypoxia close to the top and didn't wake until Golden.
We coast into Gracac and hop off at the local bus stop. Windows busted out and trash filled the office spaces. A total dump and we were the only ones there. Next door was a cafe. We had a couple hours to burn before our final bus and decided to grab an ice cream. I stood outside under the covered porch in front of the ice cream display. A woman came out and dipped our flavors. Here your one scoop is gently set on top of the cone so when the ice cream is gone, you have an empty dry cone to eat. A family was also at the cafe. They head over to the bus stop around the time we needed to go which made us feel better. 20 minutes earlier a group had crowded at the stop. A bus pulls up. We were pretty confident it was not ours, but asked to confirm there was a bus to Knin. The driver shook his head and said he didn't think so. It wasn't the family's bus either which made us feel better although they were going the opposite direction. 3:45pm came and went. No bus. It's ironic really. Here we decided to quit trying to "thru-hike" this incomplete trail, but yet we sit at a bus stop that is the trail. Even the bus or train we take to the next town is part of the trail.
There was a train we could catch at 17:30pm. We decided to wait for the bus the family was taking and ask again before leaving. 4:15pm a bus from the wrong direction pulls up. The driver gets out ask the family where they are going. Nope not the right bus. Looks at us, I say Knin. He motions us to jump on. I look at Shadow, slap my hands together, and say "Hot Damn!" He is in shock. We had mentally prepared ourselves that the bus was not coming.
Just outside of Knin there's a lady, Iva, who's boyfriend is working to start the Via Dinarica Trail. She recently moved back to Knin and is staying with her parents. She was nice enough to accept our resupply box. Without question, she and her parents opened their home to us. Feed us a nice dinner and we all sit outside enjoying the quiet evening and the crickets chirping. Iva helps translate the conversations between us and her parents. Another example of how friendly people are here. We asked about the war, Yugoslavia, the country's recovery. They asked about our presidential elections other general questions. The five of us agree that politicians and political views are not the same as citizens views. The next morning we toured Iva's father beautiful garden before heading to the train station. Next stop Split.
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