Thursday 14th November 2024

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 as we could get to it, before taking a lovely walk through the jungle to get there. It was another great experience, especially when a train arrived and actually stopped on the bridge. As we walked back through the jungle afterwards, we encountered a troupe of monkeys on the path, which was just a little intimidating, but they scattered as we walked safely past them.

We arrived back at Felicity Inn in the nick of time, as there was a torrential downpour 15 minutes later, so we rested up before taking Nilanga and Radha out for dinner at a wonderful restaurant named 'Chill Cafe', where the atmosphere was delightful, and the food was exceptional. We had crammed a lot into the day (from an incredibly early start, of course), and we were well ready for a good night's sleep at the end of it, knowing that we could sleep in a bit in the morning.

There were an unbelievable number of photos today, so I have tried to pick out just a few of the best to give you a glimpse of what a wonderful day it has been.