Where does the time go?!

Wow, it's been a month since we got back from Sri Lanka...hard to believe!  And I haven't posted one blog. 

Basically our month stacked up something like this...

Snowy trail runs, one of my favorites. 

Ice covered trees in the mountains in the early morning. 

We said goodbye to our temp-cat Fritz. He went back to live with his perma-fam in their new house. 

And speaking of chickens, the ladies are loving the green grass and open dirt. Nap time below. 

And of course we've been skiing/snowboarding a good bit. March was insanely good to the mountains this year. One week I swear it snowed nonstop. 

It's starting to turn warmer here. I'm crossing my fingers we don't get our annual tree killer cold snap, but it's been nice to switch back to dirt trail runs and even mountain biking. Wahoo!  Happy Spring everyone!

 

It's almost time.

Tomorrow, we start the long journey home. Boo, hiss. We will spend one night in Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital city, then a day and night in Bangkok, probably hopping the train to go into the city to have a look around. 

We've been relaxing here and it's been wonderful. We've had great local food, and have gotten lots of sun and water playtime. There is a kayak, which has been nice. 

Also, there are 5+ house dogs and one kitty. Since we love dogs, we are giving them lots of attention, and the cat is pretty cute too, so she's been getting leftover seafood from us at dinner. Last night, there was dog playtime and then sunset time. Their names are Girlie (my fav), Trinkle, Strawberry (a boy), Tarzan and Blackie. Oh, and Spotty, but she isn't quite part of the pack, but wants to be. 

There are big dogs from the army base a bit down the beach that start brawls, mostly at night. They take turns keeping watch. Trinkle is on duty below. 

Blackie got a huge gash in her paw from fighting the day we arrived. We alerted the owner and she got four stitches at the vet!  There are also chickens and roosters here, so we are serenaded all day by the two roosters. Needless to say, we like it here. It's comfortable, quiet, small and perfect. 

We did some exploring today and took two broken down bikes around the dirt roads along the coast. Lots of fishing boats and agriculture.  We plan to take them out again tomorrow and head the other way. 

And we saw two dead and burned snakes. We aren't sure if it's just the way they kill them or if it's superstition. Sri Lankans are very superstitious. 

We caught these guys net fishing along the coast. I didn't see them catching much. 

Sun and sand.

Not much to report here. We're still on the west coast, relaxing on the beach. After moving around the country, it feels good to have nothing better to do than decide if we want lunch and if we're going to take the bikes out for a spin. Oh, or if we want a massage(yes, of course). We have one more day here, then we go to the capital city for a day before flying out to Bangkok, staying for a day and night, then back across the pond to the US.  

We were going to snorkel or dive here, but their best reef is about an hour and a half boat ride, one way, so we'd be sitting in a boat for longer than we'd be snorkeling. Not worth it. Instead I think we will snag the bikes and go into the fishing village and have a look around. The small hotel on the beach is very quiet. Only about 10 guests total are here and it's a family style place. Small and intimate. Perfect. 

Today, we went out dolphin watching. Now, I am not what you'd consider a "dolphin person", but they were pretty cool. This time of year, they travel in pods of hundreds off the coast. And we saw hundreds. I do have a new found respect for those photographers that manage to snag a picture of that perfect dolphin, bounding out of the water. We were in the middle of so many and got only two good photos, both taken by Tom. One is below. 

However, they raced alongside the boat many times and we captured these, quite nice I think. 

And four at once. 

Us in the boat...

And now I'll return to sitting in my chair, under the palapa, looking at this. 

Elephants, temples then beach.

After spending 3 days in Habarana, in the center of the area that's been dubbed the "cultural triangle" of Sri Lanka, we found our way to Kalpitiya, on the west coast of the country, known for its kite surfing, dolphins and reefs. 

Yesterday, we saw Polonnaruwa, an ancient city that is now in ruins, but previously was the center of power for the ruling King starting in the year 1070.  It is a huge site and it took us a few hours to walk through everything. We took a tuk tuk from our hotel about an hour east.  Tuk Turks are great for cooling off in between hot ruins!  Below are some pictures from our visit. 

A toque macaque hangs out in a tree (and that's not all that's hanging out). There is a huge population of these critters there and we came back to the tuk tuk once to find two shaking it down, looking for things to steal. I guess this is quite common. 

The art of carrying things on your head is still going strong here. Next time we go camping, I'm going to ask Tom to bring back the firewood this way. 

Many offerings are left inside the ruins. 

Impressive halls. The guard is here to make sure all shoes and hats are removed before entering. Many of the temple ruins are considered religious sites and these must be taken off out of respect. 

Bowls of oil and incense burning on a makeshift altar outside a stupa. I snapped this picture right before we realized we were standing in a fire ant colony, without shoes, of course. Ouch, we both got stings. 

Foot wash stations.  

So many prayer flags exist in this country, where 80% of the population is Buddhist. 

We also took a very short "safari" to a closeby national park to see Asian elephants. I put safari in quotes because if you've ever been on a real African Safari, this is a bit laughable to be marketed as one. But it was nice to get out and ride in a jeep and enjoy the scenery and wind. We found a few elephants inside the park, including this family, complete with three babies of different ages, a mom and dad. 

But after we left the park, we found this group alongside the road. 

Including this guy with cool ears. 

We had a great stay in Habarana at Mutu Village. I highly recommend it, very friendly and helpful owner. We have five nights left in Sri Lanka, and four of those will be spent in Kalpitiya, at a nice little beach resort with about 6 rooms, a pool, a good bit of beach on the Indian Ocean, and COLD beverages. Oh, and ice for Tom. He's been jonsing for it since we arrived and very few places have it. We hope to see Dolphins, maybe blue whales, do some snorkeling or diving on their reef and maybe some kite surfing. 

It faces west, so there are sure to be spectacular sunsets as well. Ahhhh....  Happy leap day!

Trains and temples.

We've left the hill country and headed north, into the cultural triangle area of Sri Lanka, along the way we've traveled by train (our favorite), taxi and tuk tuk. We've seen several Buddhist temples, one enormous rock (that we had to climb), and found our way to Habarana, a small village smack dab in the center of many cultural sites.  It's also elephant territory and we will be taking a short safari tomorrow to try to spot some Asian elephants. Here are some pictures from our travels the last few days. 

Our beautiful train ride from Ella to Hatton (where we stayed two nights to climb Sri Pada). 

Tea plantations, as far as the eye can see. 

Small villages dot the horizon. 

Women workers in rice fields. 

Carrying vegetables, alongside the train. 

Snacks on the train, roasted peanuts with chili salt and mint leaves. Yummy!!

Women tea pickers. 

And now the temples. 

Cave temples near Kandy. The flower smell in here was so strong. People bring petals and lay them in front of the Buddha. The ceilings are covered in beautiful paintings. 

Buddhist monk statues. These were actually very cool. 

Where we are headed to climb, Pindurangala Rock. This sits 1km away from the much more famous Sigiriya Rock, but that costs $30 each to climb, and this one cost about 36 cents. Less people and no staircase winding around the edge, we were sold as soon as we heard about it. 

Headed up to Pidurangala Temple on top of the rock.  The steps give way to a trail, then to large boulders to scramble up/over/down. Nothing too technical, but fun.  

The reclining Buddha on the way up. 

The views from the top were amazing. Out of the hill country, it is flatter here. 

We found a dog on top, of course. She posed for a picture with us. The more famous Sigiriya rock is in the background. You can't see it but there are a solid stream of people winding around the outside staircase. There were about 6 people on this rock and plenty of room to sit down in solitude and enjoy the breeze and the view. 

Tom trying his hand at tuk tuk driving. Thank you, Sarath. 

And Tom buying some cold beer at the "liquor store". He's in the back, the only blonde in sight. 

Sri Pada

The alarm went off at 2:45am. We were up, dressed and out of the room in 15 minutes. After a short walk to the town, then through town, we found the paved path to begin the climb up Sri Pada or Adams Peak.  We are joined by hundreds of other climbers tonight, most making a pilgrimage to the peak for religious reasons.  

This photo was taken the previous night from our balcony, the lighted path can be seen to the summit. 

Our whole climb will be completed before sunrise. Most start the trek between 1am and 3am, depending on fitness level and if seeing the sunrise on top is part of the plan. This peak is the 5th highest in Sri Lanka, topping out above 7300ft and claims to hold a footprint in the rock. Depending on your religion, this could be the footprint of Adam, Shiva or Buddha himself. The climbing path is actually all lit, and most is paved with steps of varying height. 

As we begin to ascend, we are pretty much alone on the path, most of the others joining us tonight have already started. We get our legs warmed up on the more shallow stuff in preparation for what is to come.  As we walk, we pass closed up shops that line the path near the bottom, they will be open later to catch those as they descend. 

As the shops start to space out, we begin to encounter the locals and pilgrims - they are all ages, some too young to walk, carried by parents, and others almost too old to walk, but everyone is still climbing, most are barefoot or wearing the thinnest of flip-flops. It is humbling to be there, in our running/hiking shoes with backpacks and cold weather gear, when most have only a sweater and wear saris or sarongs. 

The shops thin out, but there are still some dotting the path randomly, with many chairs setup ready to serve hot tea and snacks, bread, sodas. We encounter the white prayer strings about halfway up, thousands of them. 

It gets colder and breezier and STEEPER as we go, we have about 3200ft to gain before the peak and the stairs get very steep near the top, almost dizzingly so. We also begin to hear a bell toll, this is the bell on the peak and it is rung by first time pilgrims. It's an encouraging sound, although in the darkness, we cannot tell how far we have to go, and the sound of bells can carry for quite a distance. 

A handrail appears just when it gets at its steepest point, and it is welcomed. Dragging yourself up a steep set of steps in the middle of the night is tough enough without anything to hold onto, so I use it, and go up, up, up. It seems endless. We eventually pass a shopkeeper that tells us 100 meters, and I honestly think he's joking (others have along the way). Despite all the effort being put forth, the mood is generally genial here. But he was actually being honest and we reach a policeman that is telling women to cover any exposed shoulders and he is also giving a warning to us about pickpockets on the peak. It is a nice warning, as I wouldn't have been aware of that here, on holy ground. We arrive at the peak 2 hours after we began. We were told that 3 hours is average and 2.5 is really good, so we're happy!

The top is packed with people, we remove our shoes, as it is considered a temple, and make our way over to ring the bell. It's a huge bell and it takes effort to pull the rope. After we both ring it, we ascend the small number of steps into the area where the footprint is sheltered. It is covered with cloth, but we pause to throw a few coins, locals kneel and pray there. Buddhists chant in a group just outside the footprint temple, it's a beautiful sound amid the throngs of people. Many have been there all night, hiking up and sleeping on top, bundled in blankets and coats, waiting on the sun.  

Buddhists chanting in a group. 

Waiting on the sunrise. 

We find a spot to stand for the sunrise, but it quickly fills beyond point of comfort up there and we seek out a better view on the steps off the peak and snap a few pictures before heading down.  It's a semi-cloudy day and it isn't as spectacular as it could be, but it is impressive because of where we are.  Descending is brutal on the knees and takes a whopping 1.5ish hours but the views are fantastic. 

Sri Pada peeking out from the path near the bottom. 

Back at the room, we shower and go breakfast. It is something we will never forget, a once in a lifetime experience, which is why we travel, and why we awake in the middle of the night to climb 5000+ stairs with a bunch of strangers. 

Our tips for the climbing Sri Pada:

1) The middle of the night trek was wonderful to experience, but if you're not into getting up at 2 or 3am, a daytime hike would be just fine, and much less crowded and enjoyable at the top. We didn't get to enjoy the temple or the view, it was lined with people. But we did get to witness more of the cultural traditions at sunrise. If you do a daytime ascent, I would wait until after 8-9am start, otherwise it'll be like uphill frogger. 

2) I had a short sleeve shirt, thick long-sleeve shirt, fleece hoody, thin gloves and thin hat. I used all of it, but I didn't use my rain jacket. My husband had a thin short sleeve, long sleeve and nice rain jacket and he was fine in that. He did have a winter hat, but no gloves; my hands tend to get cold, so gloves were nice in my opinion.  

3) Expect trash and stinkiness in a lot of areas, it's just that way.  There isn't anything romantic about a small pile of burning garbage, but that is the reality of it. 

4) We found leaving at 3am just about perfect. We also live at 6000ft and hike a lot. So, adjust your time accordingly. We saw other fit folks that also did it in around 2 hours.  Most people started at 2am, or around there.  Sunrise is about 545-630, get a location on the stair side. In fact, you could go up top, look around and then descend a bit, there are places to stand off to the side on the stairs, it's a much better, unobstructed view just below the peak. 

5) Getting here: you have 3 choices - bus, taxi or tuk tuk from Hatton. We took the train to Hatton and the Delhousie bus was loading people up just outside the station, you can't miss it. It was easy and cheap (70 rupees), but if you hate crowds, or get carsick, this may not be a good option. I do get carsick and the last two seats were last row, center. I should get a prize for not vomiting, let's just leave it at that. Fast drivers and curvy roads.  The man next to me threw up at least 3 times out the window, but everyone else seemed to be doing just fine. If you are on the bus, some hotels are just before town, if you can spot your hotel, you can pull the cord and save a walk back to it from town. Oh, one last thing, don't believe the tuk tuk drivers outside the bus station, the buses do not take 2+ hours, it was about 70-80 minutes. If you do take a tuk tuk, pay around 1200 rupees.