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Published: June 25th 2017
Stan biking the lake
This was the start of our day. Getting on our bicycles and discovering what we could.I'd like to say I came away from my hike up Adam's Peak unscathed, but I cannot tell a lie. I have to admit to walking just a tad bit more slowly for the next couple of days, and could not persuade my body to consider another mountain climb so soon, so we altered the plan to visit Sigirya, Sri Lanka's version of Australia's Ayer's Rock, and came instead to Polonnaruwa. Our mission here was twofold: to search for elephants, and to visit the ancient city ruins.
On day one, we set up a safari, but it was not going to start until 2 p.m., so we took off on our bicycles in the morning to see the sights around us and engage in more Sri Lanka local culture. While biking along a lake minutes away from our guest house, we witnessed people swimming, fishing, doing laundry, tending cows, and all sorts of daily business, and always, when we passed by, we were met with waves, greetings, and smiles. And we miraculously survived sharing the narrow little two lane shoulder less highway with the buses, trucks, tuk tuks, and mopeds, like all the other cyclists. The secret to this is,
Sri Lankan Family Photo
We met this family along the way, and they were very pleased to have their photo taken. The lady washing clothes in the background, and the cows passing by, only added to the richness of the moment. of course, that no one here travels much over 50km per hour, and it just works.
By two bells we were all pumped to get on the road and start looking for elephants in the jungle. What a treat it was to have our safari jeep pull up and realize that it was a vintage 1961 GreenWilley's Jeep, almost identical to Stan's 1952 Willey's, except this one had a good paint job and actual solid floorboards that did not have holes large enough to allow you to see the ground passing below you. And there was another similarity: we had a minor fuel leak and had to stop for a line repair while en route, but that only set us back about a half hour, and just made the adventure more interesting, as we got to witness first hand the ingenuity of Sri Lankan roadside vehicle repair.
Unlike the Yala Park safari, where we saw a large and diverse range of animals, our mission this time was only to find elephants in the wild. Anything over a dozen would have been acceptable. As it turned out, before the day was over we spotted somewhere between twenty five and
Laundry time
Laundry time in Sri Lanka does not mean sitting around a laundromat. Swimming while doing laundry was totally acceptable, and yes, there is that smile and wave again. thirty wild elephants. The elephant spotting experience was entirely rewarding in itself, but standing up in the jeep, top down, and cruising down the highway in full convertible mode was in itself worth the price of the safari. We kept the top off and stood up for the full ninety minute ride back, even though it was dark and the elephants were long gone. Travelling like this would of course be totally illegal at home, and if we had gotten in an accident we surely would have been tossed out to meet a quick end, but damn it was a good time!
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Susan
non-member comment
No need to convince me of the joys of being top down! What fun.