MonDay, 4th february 2019
This morning we had our breakfast at 8am as Indika would be picking us up at 8.45 to start our 3 hour road trip to Sigiriya where our main goal is to climb the rock boulder on which one of the Singalese kings built his palace and landscaped gardens back in the 5th century AD. However the rain was our game breaker today plus the fact that today was a National Holiday – Independence Day – hence no way we wanted to climb some 1,500 steps hewn into the rock wall…..
But we had enough on our agenda for today. In Habarna, we would be going on a traditional Sri Lankan boat trip on the lake close by and then visit typical farming home followed by a ride on a bullock drawn cart still used by the villagers in this settlement and finally a safari trip in the National Park to spot some wild elephants.
On the trip, we stopped for some refreshment and this time we had fresh fruit juices – pineapple for me and papaya for Gerry and that would keep us going for a few hours. When we arrived close to Sigiriya we diverted to Habarna where we could book the various activities.
Our first activity was to take a boat trip on the waterlilly filled placid lake. Luckily for us it had stopped raining and the sun came out for a little while. Together with Indika, we were paddled across the lake till we came to the shoreside where authentic farmer’s mud brick shacks stood. We made our way between the puddles to one of these homes where we were greeted friendily by the family, a brother and sister and the sister’s friend. The shack comprised two rooms onto one side with seating along the side and a woven palm roof while on the other side there was the kitchen with fires going on – no electricity, only oil lamps. We were greeted with herbal tea and then were shown how to make rice and coconut chappatis. Both Gerry and I tried grinding rice to flour and shredding coconut after the lady of the manor had broken open a coconut and we drank the coconut water.
After our walk around the village, it was time to get into our safari Jeep and head towards the National Park for our elephant drive. Luckily it was dry again so we could stand on the back side of our Jeep and observe the elephants. This is so great! There were different herds just minding their own business and munching away at the tall grass. We were not the only ones driving in Safari jeeps – but everyone so quiet as we observed and shot pictures. Our ranger was very quick in spotting wild birds as well including eagles, hawks, peacocks and bee eating birds.
By the time we headed back on foot it was time to have a lunch break and Indika took us to a typical Sri Lankan restaurant where we had rice and curry. The couple who ran this restaurant were so humble and pleasant especially as we could see that they had prepared the lunch with great love and pride and served with a sincere smile. And that at only 700 rupees per person (€15,oo) and it included fresh fruit juices and a plate of fruit and buffalo yoghurt with honey.
With our bellies full, I only wanted to have a siesta – I was glad that we had done our Safari before lunch as otherwise we would have our full stomachs jostled all around!!
Indika, then drove us to our next overnight destination which was only 45 minutes away. We drove deep into the thick forest on a one lane road. On the side of the road there was shock wired spanned most of the way – this was to ward off elephants from crossing onto the road – well I wouldn’t want to be out and about at night.
In no time we arrived at the Thick Forest – our overnight stay was to be in a tree house! By then it had started raining again and but from our verandah we could see the great rock of Sigiriya and we could see a long row of people still climbing towards the top of the plateau! We are hoping that tomorrow would be a dry morning so we can go on this expedition early in the morning……..
Anyway once we had checked in, the owner brought us some tea on our verandah – oh it felt so colonial! We tried to catch up with our social media but because the Forest was between the great big rock and the mountain, there was quite some interference with the reception!
Well we had asked Indika to book us an Aryuveda massage for the evening and he came to collect us at 6pm. While I have been on Aryuveda treatment in Kerala, India as well as in Holland, it was Gerry’s first experience. He behaved well and actually quite enjoyed it.
By the time we got back to our tree house it was ever so dark and Indika had to drive so slowly just in case we ran into an elephant…….. we decided not to shower in the evening so that the oils could continue doing their healing work overnight……
Tomorrow we will try again to climb the rock of Sigiriya- let’s hope the rains will stop!
