Kandy

Barely walking after Adam's Peak, we headed to Kandy, the second biggest city in Sri Lanka. There we visited the elephant orphanage where they take care of elephants that have been abandoned or injured in the wild. There are over 80 elephants. It was quite cool to see so many up close and being treated well. In Kandy itself we stayed in a beautiful colonial hotel and spent the day walking around the lake, shopping, and in the evening going to see some cultural dancing. It was a nice city, but we found that a couple of days there was enough.

Adam's Peak

Begrudgingly, we left Ella and headed by train to the town of Hatton. The nearest stop to Adam's Peak. The train ride was a beautiful journey through hills and tea plantations. Strangely enough almost everyone we had met in Sri Lanka ended up on our train, so it was a bit of a reunion. Once arriving in Adam's Peak we had dinner and went to bed at 7pm on hard beds, that really could have been a bit cleaner. We overslept a bit and woke at close to 2am ready to battle the seven km and over five thousand stairs needed to get to the top. It was cold, but spirits were good. It was a fairly challenging climb, but we made it with the help of some strange coffee/tea mix and a few rotis. The sunrise from the top was stunning and well worth the effort. Coming down however was a different story. My knees were shaking half way down and by the end I was using Aleks as well as a walking stick to get to the bottom. Needless to say my legs were a bit sore for the days following, but I am glad we made the effort!

Ella

After leaving Yala National Park we headed to the small mountain town of Ella. The only word that comes to mind to describe this town is glorious. The weather was perfect,warm and sunny with a cool breeze. For the first time since arriving in Sri Lanka I was not constantly repeating I'm hot. I am really hot. I am unbearably hot. Instead I was thinking this is perfect, and it really was. The views were magnificent both from our hotel and on the walks we did in the afternoon. The hills were covered in Tea Plantations and monkeys roamed freely. Having a massage there just topped of the beauty of it all. We also had a great group of people still traveling with us from Unawatuna, so in the evenings we drank beer and wine while enjoying the views. Needless to say, I was sad to leave this perfect little spot.

Yala National Park

Well, we reluctantly left Marrissa and headed to Yala National Park. We set off at 5:30 am in a 4x4 jeep in hopes of spotting a leopard. We were not as lucky as we had hoped but did see a number of animals including crocodiles, monkeys, deer, elk, water buffalo, elephants, peacocks,a mongoose, monitor lizards, and a viper. All in all a pretty cool journey through the park. We also stayed in a lovely guest house where the family cooked us an array of curries and took care of us as one of their own. Just a quick but interesting visit.

Marissa

Okay, I think we have actually landed in paradise. The beaches just seem to get prettier and more relaxed as we move down the coast. Seriously, my only worry is that a coconut might fall on my head. I just wish we had a bit more time in our newest destination. It also appears as we move down the coast that it is harder to use the internet and impossible to upload pictures, so that will have to wait for awhile. Tomorrow we leave the beach and the chilled part of our trip. We have found a group of people to travel with and are headed to Yala National Park tomorrow. With a bit of luck we will spot a leopard, Fingers crossed. So that's all until we find the next internet cafe. Hope everyone had a great New Years! Happy 2010!