Falling in love

Well it is official. I am in love. Who would have thought, I would need to travel to Sri Lanka for it to happen. It hit me like a tonne of bricks. Doesn't seem to matter that it was with an elephant.

We went to an elephant orphanage a couple of days ago. There are about 80 elephants in the orphanage and I have never seen anything like it before. I have never been on safari and seen elephants in the wild. The most I have ever seen is when there are 5 or 6 of them in the zoo. Well this was like seeing them in the wild. All 80 of them (babies and all) were washing, drinking and playing in a gorgeous river. Some of them were close to the shore, so with the handler present, you could touch one of them. So I jumped to it immediately. I got to touch a 7 year old male...and a little baby. But it was the 7 year old that stole my heart. I put my hand on his trunk and started talking to him. I leaned forward and put my forehead on his and I kept talking...and I could hear his breathing change. I swear he was listening to me. I just kept talking...no idea what I was saying really. But I pushed my forehead into his, kind of nudging him...and he pushed back. I laughed and kept talking...and before I knew it he took his trunk, wrapped it around me like he was giving me a hug. It was wonderful. A completely thrilling experience. I felt so lucky to be able to have a moment like that with such a beautiful and powerful animal.

So now, I am totally in love with him. I will probably never see him again...but he stole my heart. sigh...

We are back in Colombo. Mom leaves day after next...and the city is nothing at all like it was when we were here 3 weeks ago. It is a huge holiday in Sri Lanka...similar to New Years for us. So many people have left the city (seems like all people to be honest) and have travelled home to their villages to be with their families. So there is little for us to do over the next day or so. It doesn't help that Colombo is as hot as the surface of the sun right now, so walking outside is a slow torture. I am sure mom is sad to be leaving, but looking forward to cooking herself a meal that doesn't consist of rice and curry, driving on a smooth road without bumps, bends and where people actually stay in 'lanes', something that does not exist here at all.

More photos

Trying to post some photos again

A Photo from Sri lanka

High in the hills of Ella

We drove 6 hours yesterday from the beaches of Tangalle to the hills of Ella. On our way out of Tangalle, we stopped at the build site where Deb and I will be building houses. It was pretty wonderful to see and I think mom was pretty happy she got to see what we will be doing here. They have 5 houses completed already and they are quite nice. Now that I have seen it, I am anxious to get back there and help.

THANKS again to all my wonderful friends who donated money to this...I will post photos when I can.

Just finished another wonderful meal high in the hills. One thing is certain, the food here is great. Deb, mom and I are both going to come back 50 lbs heavier...with all the spicy food and then the cold beer that is required to wash it all down :)

We went for a gorgeous hike through the tea plantations and up the hills to small Adams peak. The view from the top was just gorgeous. Every direction you looked in was stunning. Rice paddies, water falls, people working in the tea plantations. My camera didn't know which way to point first.

You can tell it is off season right now here in Sri Lanka. Everywhere we go it is so quiet. WE are not complaining because it means everywhere we go we are usually the only ones, so no fighting crowds, but it also means we are getting wonderful service.

Our next stop in Nuwara Eliya where we are going to do the pilgrimage up to Adams Peak. It entails leaving at 2:30 in the morning and climbing over 5200 steps to the tops. It should take us about 4 hours to get to the top, but the views are supposed to be worth it. I am sure the next day all of our legs will be like jello and we won't do a whole lot of anything.

I was hoping to see some elephants yesterday, but they eluded us....

chris