Day Thirteen: On the road again: Galle, here we come!

I started the day with a swim all by myself in the infinity pool. The early morning light was dim and the mountains shone. Because I was on my own I could enjoy the birdcalls of many of the birds who thrive here. Suddenly a troupe of macaque monkeys ran through the trees next to the pool, swinging on vines and jumping deftly from branch to branch looking for fruit. In the distance I could see one monkey with a very long tail and a chunky body sitting quietly in a tree looking out over the view. He was different to the macaques and turned out to be a purple-faced leaf monkey well-known for their beefy shape. The only other animal I saw was a giant squirrel which is about the size of a brush-tailed possum with an equally fluffy long tail. They move so fast they're difficult to see.

After delicious egg hoppers for breakfast it was time to farewell Lucy and her staff, who had made our stay so memorable. Living Heritage is a stunning place as it is so remote and jungle-bound. There's always something refreshing and revitalising about being immersed in nature. We were treated so well and reluctant to leave the quiet beauty.

As we slowly made our way down the mountains we were again struck by the number of gum trees planted on the slopes. Last time we visited we were told that they helped the soil erosion as, in some places, landslides were common because of the steep mountainsides. Apparently they grow quickly in this cooler environment, and are also used as a source of wood for building and firewood.

After starting our climb down the mountains we stopped to see another of Sid's 'gems'. It was the Buduruwagala Raja Maha Buddhist temple and archaeological site near Wellawaya. The Brits had uncovered the beautiful stone reliefs of Buddha after they were completely covered in jungle. 

Created in the 10th Century they showed the five Avatars of Buddha : yes! Avatars! And the words have a similar meaning. The explanation is that during his life, 2,700 years ago, Buddha experimented with five Avatars- roles or tenets or beliefs - in order to establish which of these to pursue. Eventually he emerged as the Supreme Buddha we saw venerated in most temples.

  One of the Avatars was that he did not eat food for six years (!), as he thought not eating would bring enlightenment: he gave it up fortunately! Of the characters one was his wife from one of the Avatars ( seen in the photo above). There was still some of the white plaster and orange paint from the original carvings, which was startling considering their age and the climate.

The tallest Buddha is 16metres tall and is the tallest standing Buddha in Sri Lanka. The challenge of creating something so large must have been daunting all of those centuries ago?!

Clearly, for current day Buddhists, they portray significant ancient history about the enlightenment of Buddha, so they must have created great excitement when they were uncovered.

They were very majestic and moving, due to the simplicity and quality of the sculpting. 

And then it was time to move on to something more current and  alive: the pygmy elephants of the Udawalawe National Park. They are endemic to Sri Lanka and although the name suggests they may be significantly smaller than Asian elephants, they are only about six inches smaller on average. A lot smaller than African elephants! 

We climbed aboard a troop carrier with forward facing seats so we all had a great view. There was a mysterious esky thrown in at the last moment too.

As we were driven around the flat riverside, there were plenty of elephants of all shapes and sizes completely unperturbed about all of these vehicles getting too close. Feeding them is banned so we were in no danger, and we watched quietly as they dug up the grass with their feet and hooverd it into their mouths with their trunks.

We saw lone elephants and family groups including a couple of babies. They have distinct markings and body shapes compared to other elephants: pale markings on the trunks and ears, and quite pronounced ridges on their backs. After a while of moving slowly around admiring them, we stopped on a secluded rock shelf for a drink. When the esky was opened it contained the essentials for making G&Ts: fabulous! Obviously word is getting around about us!

However drinking alcohol in a National Park is not allowed so we didn't make a lot of noise.

NB. Udaya, the driver was not drinking G&Ts!

In addition to the elephants there was also lots of birds including brightly-coloured bee-eaters - the bronze bee-eaters had a beautiful shiny sheen to their wings as they flew away.

And lots of waterbirds slowly sloshing through the shallows.

A very delightful way to spend a few hours!

The elephants lived in a beautiful grassland peppered with swamps on the shores of a lake surrounded by mountains. I'm sure they appreciate such a lovely environment!

 

Then we were back on track to Galle at the southern tip of Sri Lanka. This time we were on a modern Highway and as it grew dark we finally made it to Galle (the sack of snacks and listening to the equivalent of 104.3 Golden Oldies helped to pass the time!).

 Our destination was the Why House: a superb hotel set up by Henrietta, an Englishwoman who is a friend of Jennys. She made us feel very welcome and we thoroughly enjoyed a quiet cocktail in the open air restaurant when we arrived.

Then it was time to farewell Sid ( as he'd had enough of us by this time!) No, not really. It was very sad as he had really helped us to understand the highs and the lows of Sri Lankan life and particularly the challenges of the North. I'm not sure I'll ever look at a Temple in the same way again! He shrugged off our thanks and left with Udaya, who lives not far from Galle and was actually going to have a couple of days rest from us too.

After we had sorted out rooms, which were spacious, beautifully appointed and comfortable, we enjoyed some Sri Lankan food for dinner.

It had been a busy day so we were happy to unpack and test out our beds!

Your happy and contented correspondent

Dianne