Mornings in Tea Country.

Morning is normally my favorite time of day, and it's no different in the hill country of Sri Lanka. I've been waking up earlier here, probably, in part, due to the time change...but luckily this means I get to hear the world around us start to wake each morning. I felt the need to write about it today, to capture it somehow with words before we move on from this place and it fades.

Even before daylight, the birds seem to sense it's coming and start to faintly sing, it seems earlier than at home, way before the first rays of light appear over the mountains. By 5, car horns start to sound (they're used quite a bit here, even in the countryside) and small noises of life start to seep back into the air around you.  Sri Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist country and there must be a temple closeby as the monks start to chant around 6 am each day.  It echoes up through the gap and I think this is my favorite part of awaking here. Throughout the day, you can hear chanting at different times, but there is something special about the morning chant. There is also an early train that comes by soon after 6 in Ella and we are close enough to the tracks to hear it's horn, but I think it is easily heard all the way through Ella Gap.  By this time it's light, the sun is ready to make an appearance. 

It is also pretty chilly here in the morning, but when the sun pops over the horizon, the east facing patio at our home stay lights up and it warms quickly.  By this time the rest of the world is wide awake and more noises crash in, making the small, quaint, isolated noises from earlier blend into a more constant din of civilization.

 

Today, when I came out early to collect some laundry I had hanging, I heard a scuffle to my left and looked over to find the neighbors' timid dog sleek off the couch, somewhere I'm sure he's not allowed to be.  Later, sensing I'm not a threat, he crawled back up silently and curled back up to get a few last snoozes in the morning sun.  Unfortunately the owner flat out busted him a bit later, so I'm not sure those cushions will remain out at night for awhile. Dog, you must be smarter. 

It'll be breakfast time soon, and I've quickly come to love the local tea they serve here. They have black and green tea that grows in this area, but our hosts serve a mild black tea that is truly out of this world and perfect at any time of day.  But, oh the mornings...