Day Seventeen: Rainforests and rivers, or how to fall into a creek safely!

Today's activity involved a walk in a rainforest (although the exact length was unknown) so I thought I should start off as refreshed as possible. An early morning swim watched by a male peacock jumping from rooftop to tree and back again was an interesting way to start the day. The peacocks are endemic to Sri Lanka and you see them everywhere. They seem to be equally hated - they are noisy! - and loved.

With Jenny still unwell and Anne not sure about walking a distance, it left Jan, Kerryn and I to forge on. Armed with our backpacks stuffed with everything we needed to survive in a tropical rainforest - sunscreen, insect repellent, bathers, sarongs, water bottles, lipstick (?) etc we jumped in the van and headed for Kanneliya Rainforest. It has been delegated as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. 

It took us about an hour to get there with Chandana 'supervising' us and Udaya, the wonder driver, at the wheel. Chananda and Udaya were a little vague about the distance we were walking: it could take two hours or it might take one hour and ten minutes (?!).

We were introduced to our guide, Latta , who lives in a local village. There's a project to use local villagers for guiding and tourist-related activities. She had a wealth of knowledge about the plants, trees and animals. 

As we set off there was a brief discussion about wearing leech socks but we promised to stick to the paths and not get lost in the leaf litter this time!

The road was wide and easy walking, slowly uphill through dense rainforest with lush lower, middle and upper storeys of vegetation.

Latta explained the use of many of the plants used in ayurvedic medicine for their special properties, known since ancient times.

Although it was overcast it was still very hot, and the humidity was well above 97%! Just think about that: it was stifling! We drank a lot and perspired even more, and it wasn't long before our clothes were soaked through with perspiration as we trudged on.

After a short while we came upon a sign saying 'Bat Cave' so Jan and I decided to climb down the steep steps as they looked rock solid.After we managed to clamber to the bottom without mishap, we realised that the cave was a short tunnel which required us to bend over to climb through it. The only wildlife we saw were some tiny fish in pools of water which were difficult to avoid in the semi-dark. So the score was Bats - 0, fish - lots, and wet feet - 2.

The tunnel was only a few metres long and then led to some more steep steps to reach the road again. We trudged on until we came to a sign saying: Waterfall 300 metres. Then we realised there were two more waterfalls to see! After a brief consultation - it took a nanosecond ! -we agreed that one would be enough! When we told Latta she said that's what Chandana had told her too. Good decision!

The trail down to the waterfall was well-made broad tiered steps, until we got close to the waterfall. Then we had to hone our rock-hopping skills and carefully manoeuvre ourselves on to the flat rocks at the base of the waterfall (ignoring the leaf litter!). 

Dripping with perspiration and in need of water we perched on the rocks to admire the waterfall. The rainfall here is 4,000 to 5,000mm rain per year and I'm sure if you came in the rainy season the falls would be stunning. There was still water running over the rocks from some height so it was a lovely sight and we really needed a rest! 

After a few lollies to give us a surge in energy we climbed back up the steps - slowly - and headed back down the road.

At one point there was a wooden pipe with water pouring out of it protruding from the bank at the side of the road. Latta assured us that it was pure mountain water and safe for us to drink. Jan and I were happy to drink and splash the cold water on our faces. It tasted sweet, clean and pure.

A few times Latta stopped us to see some of the wildlife: a couple of thin bright green snakes (non-venomous!) and some lizards and a frog that looked like a leaf. We spent a lot of time saying "What is it?" or "Where is it?" as their camouflage was impressive. I don't think our wildlife-spotting skills are up to much! See if you can see any wildlife in these photos!

At one point a troupe of purple-faced leaf monkeys came swinging through the vines and trees next to the road. They have chunky bodies, very long tails and are purple grey in colour. They seemed quite inquisitive about us rather than being fearful.

After about two hours (and 5 kilometres!) Chandana and Udaya appeared as they thought something had happened as we were so slow! Notice that they didn't bother to accompany us! Honestly it's all very well for younger guys to estimate the time it will take us to do things, but they don't take into account the infirmities of old age!!

They were muttering about a surprise for us so we went with the flow and changed into our bathers at a local villagers house.

Then we wandered down a road for a few hundred metres to be met with a wonderful sight: a beautiful creek bubbling with clear water and a few metres from the edge a table set for lunch in the creek! An array of earthenware pots, and banana leaves to eat from, were set out on the table.

The water was cool and clean, with some small fish swimming lazily around, so we lazed around cooling off with them. The water was waist height so we could really get cool.

The next part of the surprise was G&Ts served to us in the creek by Udaya with his pants rolled up, but still getting wet. They were small glasses and he had been generous with the gin, not leaving much space for tonic water or ice. He topped us up with more gin and ice, so by this stage, (and probably being dehydrated from the walking!) we were quite tipsy! We managed to get to the table, just wearing our bathers in the heat, and enjoyed the choice traditional dishes prepared by the villager whose house we had changed in. I was seated at the end of the table at right angles to the creek.

The food was simple and delicious: a beautiful mushroom dish, chicken curry, dahl, sambal, rice, pappadams etc.

Now I'm not sure there was a relationship between the gin and what happened next, but it was quite spectacular! We ate from banana leaf plates with our fingers as that's the traditional way to eat Sri Lankan food. I popped a piece of pappadam into my mouth and thought I would just lean slightly towards the right to wash my hand.

I apparently did a sort of cartwheel (according to Kerryn) when my chair overbalanced and suddenly I found myself under the water (it was only two feet deep!) choking on a mouthful of pappadam and clutching a very soggy paper serviette. 

The response was not rapid: Jan and Kerryn were jammed into their seats along the bank edge of the table.....and were too paralysed by laughter to move. I managed to get my head out of the water to see Chandana looking concerned for about a second before he too started to laugh, as did Udaya! I laughed so hard I couldn't actually stand up for a couple of minutes! 

We just got the giggles completely and couldn't stop. Apparently the villagers heard the noise and there was quite an audience by the time we retraced our steps and headed for home.

Mind you, our foolishness didn't stop there! Jan needed an ATM so we pulled up in a quiet country town where there was only one person at the ATM. The sight of two white westerners dressed in bathers sarongs and thongs was a bit unusual I'll admit, but suddenly we turned around and there was a queue of about a dozen people, most with big smiles on their faces. Apparently the following day was Poya Day, which is a full moon celebration, when no alcohol is sold. So we timed our visit to the ATM just as everyone was finishing work and getting money to buy their alcohol. We were a bit embarrassed! 

This is a photo Kerryn took of us having altercations with the ATM machine before the masses arrived! How ridiculous we looked!

I was hoping to find a Post Office to finally post some postcards. I decided I should put on my sweat-soaked clothes over my bathers so I wouldn't look quite so odd, although it felt disgusting. Udaya found a PO in a small isolated country town  and off I went clutching my postcards. The PO lady found the right stamps and then gave me a lid filled with glue to stick them on! So Udaya and I returned to the van, mission accomplished but with gluey fingers! Very odd as I'm sure the stamps did have adhesive on them.

Finally we arrived back at Why House and I had to repeat the story of my spectacular fall endlessly!

Zoe was keen to go and see the sea turtles and the sunset at Turtle Beach so after a bit of a rest we changed into dry bathers and clothes (!) and headed for the Beach, a short walk away. The tuk tuk drivers assume we can't walk anywhere so we have perfected saying "No thank you" in very firm voices!

I was feeling a little waterlogged by this point but the sea had few waves and it was quite delightful bobbing around.

And there were turtles everywhere and they are enormous. They're very tame as there are seaweed sellers who can provide you with fresh seaweed to feed them. We didn't feed them but they swam very close looking for food. As you can see from the photos they were large. We saw two different species : green sea turtles with smooth green shells and brown hornbill turtles with beak-like mouths. One of the turtles nipped a woman who was teasing it with seaweed: thoroughly deserved as far as I could see!

We headed for the Beach Bar and had drinks:  a lime and soda only! The sunset was lovely but we were just as entertained by the size of the bikinis worn by some of the young hip customers: there was not a lot left to the imagination (as my mother would say!). Some of the bather choices were startling: or am I just getting old?! Mind you I'm sure I never wore bikinis as skimpy in my youth!

We walked home in the dark trying to avoid speeding tuk tuks.

As it was Zoe's last night she had cajoled James, who does the reservations at Why House, to sort out a quiz - such a British thing to do.

I was completely underwhelmed after an exhausting and hysterical day I have to admit! My brain was beyond working well. Not surprisingly those who hadn't been with us during that day did better than us!

Dinner was again delightful: Sri Lankan food accompanied by a huge cottage pie - A favourite of James. Rather an interesting combination but another example of Henrietta being a wonderful hostess.

After every dinner at Why House we finished with a selection of three fabulous desserts - rich French chocolate tart, sticky toffee pudding, coconut creme caramel tart. Every night we had the same desserts and were given a spoon to try all three. Perfect!

I was glad to collapse into bed with a tired body and mind after a very busy day!

Your weary but happy correspondent

Dianne