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Tuesday 19th November 2024

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I woke up today acutely aware that we fly home 2 weeks today, and that I don't feel ready to go home just yet. We have had such a wonderful time out here, and this 2 months is simply flying by. Arriving just over 6 weeks ago seems like a lifetime ago, as we have done so much since then, but flying home so soon is a bit of a shack to the system, although the comforting thought for me is that I will be back in Sri Lanka in January 2025 for another 2 months. It was back into school today, which was great in many ways. Valerie was tasked with checking lesson planning, an extremely useful thing to be asked to do, but pretty tedious after the first couple of hours of it. I was much luckier, as I had a 2-hour meeting with Ravi, the Managing Director, to support him with the strategic planning for the school. I must admit I was in my element there, and I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with him on this task, with more sessions to follow. Agatha and Tharika appeared in our office in the
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Monday 18th November 2024

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We had a leisurely final breakfast at Erica's, and our driver, Rajitha, then arrived to take us back to Kurunegala, but not before a beautiful stop at Galle Fort on the way. We left Erica's shortly after 08:30 and arrived in Galle Fort just before 10:00. It was a particularly special thing to do, as it was a new experience for both of us, because in all my trips to Sri Lanka, I had always intended to go to, but never quite made it as far as, the wonderful historical place that is Galle Fort. We were quite enchanted by Galle Fort, as it was a fortified little enclave, much of which has survived - to the extent that you can walk right around the walls, which we did, and then through the lovely little streets, which we also did. Unfortunately, the little streets, gorgeous as they are, are now almost exclusively a tourist shopping area, but they are charming nevertheless, and we enjoyed having a little browse around the various shops. I was also struck by the wildlife we encountere
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Sunday 17th November 2024

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Our relaxing weekend continued today, although we both skipped breakfast, as we ate and drank far too much last night (which was completely self-inflicted, so no complaints there, as it was a wonderful meal!). I felt so full this morning that I couldn't possibly have faced breakfast, and just stuck to a few cups of coffee. Erica went off to mass in Tangalle with Shanthi, one of the two ladies who works for her, and didn't get back until after 10:30. As soon as Erica returned, we rushed off to Realene's house, as she had invited us for coffee and her version of mince pies, although we had already had sufficient coffee by then, so we went straight onto white wine! I love Raelene's home, as she is an artist, and her beautiful paintings are hung all over the place. Her house is also situated more in the jungle, so her garden is very interesting, and she deliberately attracts all sorts of local birds and small creatures. The five of us (including Raelene's friend Bonnie)
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Saturday 16th November 2024

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Today was largely a day of rest towards the end of our 10-night break away from Kurunegala, with the first 5 days being 'working' days in the Hill Country, followed by 5 'rest' days in Ella and at Erica's beautiful home by Rekawa Beach. We were still up quite early, but then had a very leisurely breakfast, before relaxing at Erica's. I took advantage of the time to sort out my photos, and to catch up at last on this blog and my diary. We had an amazing lunch at Erica's, and for me this was simply down to the fact that she had some extra mature Cheddar cheese stored in her freezer (brought over from the UK), and was kind enough to share it with us at lunchtime. It's pretty impossible to get decent cheese here in Sri Lanka, and we hadn't tasted Cheddar cheese since we left the UK more than 6 weeks ago, so it seemed to me to be the most delicious Cheddar cheese that I had ever tasted in my life. We had a bit of a siesta after lunch, and then had a brief
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Friday 15th September 2024

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After a lovely 2-night stay in Ella, we left this morning, but not before we visited one last very popular tourist attraction - Ella Waterfalls itself. Although the waterfalls are very impressive, it was probably my least favourite thing to do, as we saw them from the main road, with a big crowd of people milling around, and lots of stall holders and other tradespeople walking around trying to sell you things, so we didn't stay very long there in the end. We journeyed south to stay with Erica, a good friend that I have made through Tim and Liz Westbrook. We stopped at a little roadside shop on the way, where we enjoyed an egg hopper, and some buffalo curd and trickle (we would call it treacle). The journey was much shorter than we anticipated and we got to Erica's before 14:00, which was great, as we could begin a restful stay with her, after a week of fairly intensive travelling round the Hill Country. We had delicious banana cake and tea on our arrival, and later dined on spa
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Thursday 14th September 2024

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We set off at 05:00 this morning to climb Little Adam's Peak to watch the sunrise, and it was another highlight of our 2-month visit to Sri Lanka. It was a truly magical experience shared with many young folk doing the same thing, including our driver Nilanga, and his wife, Radha, neither of whom had climbed it before. Although it wasn't the most spectacular of sunrises, it was still an amazing experience to see such beautiful views as the dawn broke. We were back at Felicity Inn for breakfast at 08:30. I say breakfast, but it was more like a feast, and we certainly didn't need any more to eat until dinner later on. Our next stop on today's itinerary was Halpewatte Tea Factory, which I loved, even though it was my third visit here, and Valerie was fascinated by it - not least because Siva, our Tour Guide, was a hugely entertaining character, with a vast knowledge of tea production in Sri Lanka. From Halpewatte, we journeyed on to the Nine Arches Bridge, parking as close
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