Well, it’s not the end of the country, obviously, just my stay here in this beautiful place. Yesterday was a “free” day which consisted of my doing absolutely nothing – a leisurely breakfast, swim in the pool, some sun-bathing, a long nap, a cheesy movie on TV = perfect. And not a single photo to … Continue reading The End of Sri Lanka

We had a morning off today so I went for a long walk along the beach, passing fishermen bringing their boats back ashore after a morning of fishing, and many surfers trying to catch the small waves breaking just offshore. It’s a long sandy stretch so probably walked about 3 miles in total. Our gang … Continue reading Day 12: Mirissa

I’m pleased to say no monkeys were jumping on our tent last night, and no mozzies made it past our screen doors. In fact, it was much quieter than I hoped, I had imagined hearing elephants trumpet and a cacophony of birds keeping me awake all night but it was not to be. It was … Continue reading Day 11: Yala – Mirissa

I wasn’t sure what time our departure was scheduled today but it didn’t matter too much as the fighting dogs and revving truck engines woke my roommate and I up well before six.  At 7 o’clock breakfast I learned we weren’t leaving until 9:30a so I had time for a nice walk through town and … Continue reading Day 10: Ella – Yala

We have a full day here in Ella, the morning dedicated to hiking and the afternoon to leisure time. No one wanted to do the 1st hike of the morning, a strenuous 5 hour hike up Adam’s Peak, and only 8 of us signed up for the 2nd hike to 9 Arches Bridge. It’s a … Continue reading Day 9: Ella

Eight of us had a sunrise hike planned this morning at the Horton Plains National Park so we groggily gathered in the lobby at eye-rubbing 5am.  Obviously it was far too early for the breakfast buffet so the hotel kindly made up some bagged sandwiches & fruit for us to take with to enjoy on the … Continue reading Day 8: Nuwara Eliya – Ella

Our room last night was beautifully simple, stark white walls and tall gauzy curtains; nothing to distract from the great views from the floor to ceiling windows.  Which is how I found out that it starts to get light in Sri Lanka around 4am. And if it wasn’t the brightening sky that wakened me, it was … Continue reading Day 7: Digana – Nuwara Eliya

We had nothing scheduled this morning so half the group decided to have an easy, lazy start to the day and stay at the hotel; the rest of us went into town, 2 to wander and 4 of us for a tour and demonstration at a ‘certified’ gem & jewelers. Gemstones are Sri Lanka’s biggest … Continue reading Day 6: Kandy – Digana

On the move again, heading back south again to the cultural capital of Kandy. We stopped for a wood carving demonstration / sales pitch which, to be fair, Udi asked us first if we wanted to go to. The demonstration was rather interesting: the man showed us all the different kinds of woods they use … Continue reading Day 5: Sigiriya – Kandy

We woke to birds chirping and the sun rising – once again an early start as we had a 7:15 am departure scheduled in order to get to Sigiriya at opening time.  The heavy rain of the night before had stopped and we had partly cloudy skies for which we were actually thankful as we have 1200+steps … Continue reading Day 4: Sigiriya