Exploring a small section of the central Dalmatian coast of Croatia over the past few weeks has provoked some conflicting impressions of the country. Stunningly beautiful, markedly different from Italy, France and Spain, unpredictable in many ways, we haven't yet attained a comfortable feeling about Croatia. Although most everyone speaks English, the Croatian language is completely unintelligible to us, making it difficult to penetrate beyond the most superficial impressions to get a deeper understanding of what makes the place tick. Surprisingly, cruising Croatia is more expensive than any other place we've been in Europe so far. Following years of a devastating civil war, we are sympathetic to the desire to make up for lost revenue, but some of the methods employed for raising cash definitely rub us the wrong way.

The dockside entertainment watching the charter boat swap on Friday in Split was only slightly more entertaining than the fearless firefighting spectacle we witnessed in Starigrad. Burning just the other side of the mountain, a brush fire threatened to descend upon the city. Luckily, the helicopters and planes managed to get the blaze under control before it encroached upon the city and its inhabitants. It seemed a small incident, yet after reading the recent news full of devastating fires in Greece and other parts of Croatia, we knew it could turn dangerous at a moment's notice.

We were anxious to do a little exploring and took the opportunity to move north with a strong southerly sirocco on Thursday. We wound up sailing all the way to the entrance of the Krka River in time to complete the 10 mile trip up the river to the Krka National Park before nightfall. Featuring waterfalls, intricate water-powered mills, and winding wooded paths, the park provided a lovely departure from our normal cruising environment. The brackish water of the river reminded us of our home waters of the Chesapeake.

Making the most of our day exploring, and the almost forgotten sensation of walking through a densely wooded forest, we also enjoyed a dip in the waters at the base of the falls.

We watched a couple of daredevils, obviously locals who knew the lay of land well, dive from the top of the lowest falls into the waters below, wishing we could do the same.

We also had some unexpected surprises that left a bit of a bad taste in our mouths. Knowing in advance that the entrance to the park wasn't cheap, we paid the daily fee of $16 per person without complaint. Actually, the price is slightly reduced for the kids so it totaled $58 for the day for the four of us. Naturally, our first stop inside the park grounds was the bathrooms. Plastered on the wall, a sign proclaimed the fee for using the restroom: 4 kuna each, or about 80 cents. This was not some nice old lady sitting outside the bathroom, offering paper towels and toilet paper in exchange for a small tip. I hate to sound cheap, but give me a break. It felt like a real slap in the face. "We know we can get away with this because you have to use the bathrooms so we are going to squeeze every last dime out of you that we can." I am sure that I would not have noticed it if they had charged an extra buck for the entry fee but there was no way to avoid the unpleasant feeling of being fleeced now.

Along the same lines, Croatia is the only country we have ever heard of that charges boats to anchor. Friends of ours pulled into the nearest harbor after surviving (unscathed) a nasty isolated thunderstorm with sustained winds between 50 and 60 knots. At about 8pm, when it was too dark for them to do anything about it, a boat pulled up and demanded payment for anchoring there: $32 for a 43 foot monohull. They managed to negotiate a reduction in the price by promising to send an email to the officials complaining about the fee. The harbormaster wasn't happy about it either because "nobody comes here anymore." Upon entering the country, we happily paid our $350 for a yearly cruising permit. If you pull into a marina or tie up to a mooring ball you expect to pay a fee, but anchoring along normal coastline, not within national park grounds or protected areas, should not cost you a dime.

Anxious to overcome some of these negative feelings, we are keeping an open mind. The country emerged from a devastating civil war only 15 years ago. The agony of those years is certainly still a huge influence on the attitudes and feelings of everyone. Tourism is a wonderful source of income, but it will not continue to thrive unless officials take a more long term perspective.

After three nights at anchor (free of charge) outside the park, we took off down the river to the town of Sibenik. The cathedral was reputed to be worth the visit. Not finding an anchorage close enough for the dinghy ride into town, we decided to pull up alongside the seawall directly beneath the cathedral. We weren't sure what to expect from the harbormaster but were pleasantly surprised and are happily tied up for $50 a night, with a free wi-fi signal to boot. It is an unpleasant feeling to always be wary of the "gotcha" around every corner. It isn't always there and you can wind up feeling like a real jerk.

The weather forecasts are calling for a bora to hit the area starting the next afternoon. This is the Adriatic's version of the mistral, a strong and unpredictable northerly wind that can be quite powerful. We wanted to spend a little time in the Kornati National Park before returning to Split, but it will have to wait. Looking at the weather - and given the fact the our current location is relatively safe in the bora, we'll be able to get on and off the boat easily, and the town is beautiful with lots of places to explore - we decided to stay put until the wind dies down.

We'll take the opportunity over the next few days to learn a little more about our current country of residence. After all, ignorance is the root of all evil. There is so much that we are enjoying about Croatia that it seems worth the effort to come to terms with the more challenging aspects of being here. The culture, food and even the stature of the people are quite different from what we have experienced so far, despite the relatively small distances we have traveled to get here. Western Europe was an easier adjustment than Croatia. Can we figure it out in the next few weeks before we leave?

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