Lapamba

And wisdom must prevail. Yesterday morning I realized it would be wise to come home . Fortunately my trusty travel agent was able to find me a flight today . This virus seems to have spiralled in the last few days . It is crazy ! Heathrow this morning is very busy but Brenda , who flew Westjet out of Gatwick yesterday says that airport wasn't that busy . Know one really knows what is happening or will happen in the next while. London has been good . We were able to do a few tourist things , a boat trip on the Thames , a wander in Trafalgar Square , the Eye of London and the British Museum . Yesterday I was able to get a ticket for the matinèe performance of Come From Away ... read more

What a wonderful city ! Brenda and I arrived @3 30 pm and were happy to find our hostel is in a wondeřul .location . We are just around the corner from the St Justus Elevator a block and a half from a major square where the buses trams and hop on hop off buses depart . That distance is filled with side walk (and in door) restaurants that feature Portugese foods. I have bee eating a fair amount of fish here as well as in Sri Lanka and will miss that freshness when I get home . Our first day i remembered Susan telling me the free way to go up the elevator and avoid the 6€ fee. And up we went . What a great view of our part of the city ! . ... read more

Dammit I just lost a post ...I forgot you have to hit save periodically to protect against quirks in the WiFi. It has been quite a good so far but at times it waivers . Like now .. I was describing Ella . A backpackers haven . I seem to discover one in every country I travel . This one had the usual assortment of small restaurants , hostels , homestay and coffee shops . SRI Lankan coffee is terrible . It is in powder form and I think it is boiled as it is quite thick when poured . The sludge on the bottom of the cup is awful . I bought a small bottle of Nescafe shortly after I arrived . Nothing I would drink at home but definately preferable here.The backpackers are the ... read more

I forgot the elephants ! How could that have happened ?? Two days ago we were staying near one of the National Parks . This one is refuge for wild elephants . There are between 7-10,000 of them . During the day they are quite placid but at night they roam . The highway leading to the park is closed at night because it is considered to dangerous . You can no longer build houses in the area around the park and those who have them sleep in tree houses. Actually they are just platforms . Each year there are a human deaths , I think the number was @150 , caused by the elephants and double that number for the elephants. They are protected and the deaths are in defence, old age or illness . ... read more

I think I am ready for the tour . I have slept quite well , I am sure the melatonin has helped ,and the temperature +32 In the day and @26 at night is no longer so oppressive. Still crazy hot but I am no longer gasping . It is always a shock when I leave my room but a real treat when I return . It was wise to come earlier but 2 days would have been enough . Colombo is a big sprawling place and with the help of tuktuks I saw most of what I wanted to see. The city tour was good . Having an explanation of what things are and how they came to be is important . Religion is a big deal here . Buddhists dominate and there are many ... read more