Friday 15th November 2024

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 spaghetti bolognese, followed by cheesecake - culinary delights from western cuisine that seemed almost refreshingly familiar after weeks of Sri Lankan food. Having said that, we have both loved the Sri Lankan diet, enjoying pretty much everything that we have eaten, as long as it isn't overly spicy. We tend to eat a lot less meat out here, which is probably very good for us.

Erica lives in a beautiful home on Rekawa beach, with the nearest small town being Ranna, around 4km away. She has the most gorgeous house, with a lovely swimming pool, in a delightful garden that backs on to the Indian Ocean. Indeed, she has a key that you use to unlock the gate at the end of her garden, and you are immediately out on the beach, with the beautiful Indian Ocean right in front of you. It's hard to imagine a more wonderful place to enjoy a weekend's rest.

I have just included a few photos today from our rather brief stop at Ella Waterfalls, and our stop for a bit of lunch at the roadside cafe. 








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