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Published: December 31st 2013
It's New Year's Eve and we are in the opposite direction from all of the parties!
After our hiking trip and quick stop in Colombo, we returned to Weligama for a few days to unpack our backpacks, wash all our clothes, and pack up again. Our friends tried to convince us to stay on the coast until tomorrow so we could attend one of the many beach parties planned for tonight, but neither Matt nor I were interested in ringing in the new year at a noisy party.
The railway tracks only go as far south as Matara, so we hired a van and driver to take us NE toward Tissamaharama which is the closest town to Yala National Park. Driving the coastal highway we passed a lot of little beach towns that looked irresistable and decided to explore this end of the coast a little more in January. As soon as we turned and began to head inland we could feel the climate change from humid to dry, and noticed cactuses and scrubbier vegetation. When we arrived at our guesthouse we quickly stored our packs and went for a walk through the rice paddies.
Right away we
heard and saw many birds we hadn't seen before, several of which are endemic to Sri Lanka. Matt was able to name most of them since spending the last few days pouring over his new copy of
An Illustrated Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka. On a trip where every purchase is negotiated and weighed carefully, and each new item needs to be configured into our backpacks just so, only Matt would find a hard cover Bird ID book. You gotta love a guy that prizes books so much he's willing to bear the weight of them on his back every day.
The local temple blasted music through a loudspeaker and so many birds were singing, but we could still hear the wind running through and ruffling the rice. It is quiet here, which is a nice relief from the sound of horns and traffic we have found in every other town. We sat down to dinner with a couple from Lyon and a young man from Tokyo, the only other tourists out here, and had a lovely conversation about our respective countries. Our safari begins at 5:00 AM tomorrow so we're off to bed well before midnight.
Happy 2014 everyone!
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Joe Steyn
non-member comment
Happy New Year
Have a great time and enjoy your travels in the New Year, especially the safari. We are off to Bowen Island on Saturday for a swim in our new free diving suits with Peter and Linda. We will be thinking of you guys.