GOING THROUGH HELL!! (NOT LITERALLY)

Nakon našeg odmora na Dugom otoku, ispred nas je bio još veliki dio ljeta. Nekoliko dana nakon što smo se vratili doma dobili smo poziv od Andreove mame, koja je u tom trenutku bila na ljetovanju u Crikvenici. Rekla nam je da u apartmanu imaju slobodnog prostora i pozvala nas da dođemo na par dana dolje. Naravno da smo rekli ''DA'' jos jednom, ovaj put plaćenom, odmoru! Spakirali smo se i krenuli no usput smo se zaustavili na jednom mjestu koje smo rekli da ćemo posjetiti još dok smo bili na Dugom otoku. Sjećate se Anteta i njegove knjižnice? Pa, upravo tamo dobili smo inspiraciju za svoju sljedeću avanturu! Bilo je to jednog lijepog sunčanog dana kada smo se u prolazu, privučeni glazbom koja je dopirala iz knjižnice, zaustavili da prisjednemo na jednu od fotelja koje su bile ispred. Tada smo uočili knjigu koja nam je odmah svojim naslovom privukla pozornost. Otvorili smo ''Prirodne ljepote Hrvatske'' i počeli listati. Naišli smo na jednu predivnu sliku koja je prikazivala ''Vražji prolaz''. Naziv je zanimljiv, zar ne? Pa, tada smo odlučili istražiti to mjesto i sliku, koju smo gledali, pretvoriti u stvarnost.
S obzirom da smo prema moru išli kroz Gorski kotar, gdje se Vražji prolaz i nalazio, naravno da nismo mogli propustiti priliku da si ovo ljeto učinimo još uzbudljivijim. Došli smo u grad Skrad te naišli na drvena tabla koja je ukazivala na izletište Zeleni vir u sklopu kojega se nalazio Vražji prolaz. Počeli smo slijediti znakove koji su nas na kraju doveli do užasno zavojitih, strmih, ali i uskih cestica. Stoga ukoliko se odlučite posjetiti ovo mjesto, najpoželjnije je da vozač ima par godina iskustva iza sebe. Nakon vrludanja po zavojitim cesticama počeli smo sumnjati da smo se izgubili, no u tom trenutku pred nama se ukazalo nešto što je naličilo na izletište. Samo izletište zove se Zeleni vir i to je zaštićeni krajolik. On se sastoji od 2 atrakcije koje možete pogledati. Desni put, kojim smo mi išli, vodi do Vražjeg prolaza, dok lijevi put vodi do vodopada koji se zove Zeleni vir. Pred sobom smo vidjeli par kuća, most i potok koji se valjao po kamenju ispod mosta. Zaustavili smo se uz cestu, uzeli sve potrebne stvari i počeli sa avanturom. Znali smo da se ulaz plača no nama nije bilo do plaćanja. Tada smo skovali plan. Ponašat ćemo se kao da smo došli malo vidjeti ulaz i kao da se premišljamo hoćemo li ili nećemo ući. Uz to, ponašali smo se kao talijanski turisti. Prošli smo blagajnu i polako odmicali sve dublje i dublje svako malo se osvrčući hoće li netko poletjeti za nama. Nikomu ni traga ni glasa. BINGO! Ušli smo i počeli istraživati. Uskoro smo se uvjerili da ovo doista je jedan od najljepših prizora u Hrvatskoj.

**Vražji prolaz je kanjon dugačak 800 m. Mnogi ga smatraju jednim od najljepših prizora u Hrvatskoj. Među stijenama, koje dosežu do 100 m visine, teče gorski potok Jasle, koji je milenijima oblikovao kamen zbog čega je na kraju nastao ovaj prekrasan kanjon. Nad kanjonom nalaze se drveni mostići koji vas prate diljem kanjona. No, nemojte misliti da ćete se izvući tako lako. Na mjestima gdje nema mostića, put je malo teži, no tu su planinarske žice u stijenama koje vam pomažu da se pridržite. Vražji prolaz je prije bio znan i kao Vražja provalija,a pjesnici su ga opisivali kao Danteov put u pakao. Na kraju Vražjeg prolaza nalazi se špilja zvana Muževa hižica, u koju se, prema narodnoj predaji, skrivalo lokalno stanovništvo za vrijeme najezdi Turaka 1525. Naziv je navodno dobila po muškarcu koji je predvodio grupu ljudi koja se ovdje skrivala. Špilja je dugačka 200 m, bogata sigama. Na kraju špilje, nalazi se jezerce koje još nije do kraja istraženo. Za istraživanje špilje biti će vam potrebna svjetiljka. Ulaz u prolaz naplaćuje se 15 kn, a ruta nije zahtjevna, pa je čak pogodna i za djecu.



[ENG] After our summer on Dugi otok we still had a pretty long summer ahead of us. A few days after we came back home we got a phonecall from Andrei's mom, who was, at that very moment, on a holiday in Crikvenica. She told us they had extra room for us and invited us to come over for a few days. Ofcourse we had to say yes to another, but this time, payed vacation! We packed our bags and left but along the way stopped at this place that we said we would visit when we were still on Dugi otok. Remember Ante and his library? Well, it was where we got the inspiration for our next adventure from! It was a sunny day on Dugi otok when we were passing by and,attracted by music from the library, decided we will sit down on one of the sofas in front. Then we spotted a book that immediately dragged our attention with it's title. We opened up ''Natural beauties of Croatia'' and started reading. We ran into a picture of ''Vražji prolaz'' (''Devils pass'').The name is interesting isn't it? That was when we decided we wanted to explore the place and bring that picture alive.
Considering we were going through Gorski kotar, where Devil's pass was situated, ofcourse we couldn't let the opportunity of making this summer even better escape. We came to the city of Skrad and found wooden signs of Zeleni vir where the Devil's pass was.We followed the signs that lead us to the curvy, downhill narrow roads. So, if you decide to visit this place, make sure the driver has a few years of experience behing him. After wandering through narrow streets we started to think we got lost, but then something similar to an excursion site appeared before us. The excursion site is called ''Zeleni vir'' and it's a protected area. It has two sites to see. The right way, where we went, leads to Devil's pass and the left way leads to Zeleni vir, which we still haven't gotten to exploring yet. We saw a few houses, a bridge and a stream that was rolling over the stones under the bridge. We parked by the side of the road , took necessary things and started the adventure. We knew you have to pay for an entrance ticket but we didn't feel like paying.Then we made a plan. We will act like we just want to see the entrance and that we were thinking about going in or not. AND we pretended to be italian tourists. We passed by the ticket office and slowely moved on forward deeper and deeper into the canyon, looking back from time to time to make sure nobody was chasing us. And nobody was. BINGO! We were soon certain that this really was one of the best sceneries in Croatia.

**The Devils's pass is a 800 m long canyon. It is known as one of the most beautiful sites in Croatia. Among the cliffs that are about 100 m high flows a stream called Jasle, that was shaping the rocks for milleniums. That's how Devil's pass was made. There are wooden bridges above the canyon that follow you along the way. But, don't think you've gotten away easy. It's a little bit harder to walk on places where there are no bridges but hiking ropes are here to help you hold yourself. Devil's pass was know before as Devil's chasm, and the poets used to call it Dante's way to hell. There is a cave at the end of the canyon called Muževa hižica, where, according to local legends, locals used to hide from Turks in the 1525. It was allegedly called after the man (husband) that lead the group of locals that were hiding there. The cave is 200 m long, rich with stalactites. At the end of the cave is a little lake that still hasn't been explored that much. For exploring the cave you will need a flashlight. The entrance ticket to the canyon is 15 kn, the route isn't demanding so it is also convenient for kids.

Definitivno se vračamo ovdje jer nas zanima kako Vražji prolaz izgleda zimi, sad prekriven snijegom! Vražji prolaze, do sljedećeg puta!
[ENG] We are definitively coming back because we wonder how the Devil's pass looks like during winter. Devil's pass, see you next time!

Oznake: Vražji prolaz, putovanje, Izleti u prirodu, Gorski