Seeing an opportunity for a weekend trip away from the mission office, we decided to take it. Sunil and his family were talking about going to Sri Lanka for a week. We decided to join them for 3 days.
After working in the mission office all day Monday through Wednesday, we left to take a late flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka. This was a weekend, packed with many people to meet and places to visit and see.
Our first hotel was in Negombo - we arrived late the night before and departed early to start our island drive. We were on a tight schedule with Sunil's family. Looks inviting but we didn't swim.
I created an itinerary of our little trip just for fun.
In the van for a few hours going south.
In our safari jeep.
Driving into the park. This park is the natural habitat to many animals. This was not made or created, no walls or fences, no animals purchased or brought here, just natural.
Some kind of monkey in the tree.
This elephant started walking toward us. We stopped and were quiet and he just walked right by.
Bath time.
A bunny rabbit?
What's that running on the road?
Do you see anything up in that tree??
It's a sleeping leopard. He didn't wake up. We were impressed that no one tried to wake up the leopard.
Just beautiful.
Saw these elephant in the distance.
BEES - Very cool...from a distance
Crocodiles. No fences around here. This is where they really live, and it's not even inside the park reserve.
Next stop Katargama
In the morning we met up with Sunil's old friend, a fisherman shown below with his son and nephew. They met just before the 2004 Tsunami that killed 35,000 people. They showed us their old house that was never repaired after the tsunami hit. We talked with the nephew who will never forget running from the tsunami as a young boy.
A hotel in the background next door that was under construction during the tsunami was left vacant and never completed.
We then went to the famous Blow hole.
While we were all watching the ocean blow hole, the fisherman and his family planned a special lunch for us. They didn't tell us until we were ready to go.
When we arrived at his house his granddaughter danced for us.
The lunch included local foods including some fresh Seer fish which was wonderful.
We had a great time with them. We did have to modify our schedule and skip an item or two.
On our way to Galle we saw a family of monkeys cross the road in front of us. They climbed up some wires and then on to a house.
A fun little stop at Induruwa Sea Turtle Conservation Project.
We enjoyed some good fruit called Mangostin from a man who was selling it in Galle.
The next morning we stopped at an interesting Buddhist place in Colombo.
Before we arrived at the Pinnawala Elephant orphanage we stopped to ride an elephant.
They said that the large seats or chairs aren't allowed in Sri Lanka because it hurts the elephant's back.
I guess a little pain from sitting bare back is worth it to save their backs.
The elephant orphanage has 84 elephants.
Near closing time, a heavy rainfall hit suddenly, all the tourists left. But we quickly grabbed our umbrellas out of the vehicle and went inside a shop to look for something. We were just about to leave the shop when the elephants paraded right in front of us on the shopping street. We decided to add a little Jungle book music to one and Dumbo music to the other.
Time for a nice walk along the beach before church.
We met some really nice people at church. Perhaps we'll write a story about them and their experiences.
Of course, our favorite part of these trips are the people we share them with and the people we meet. We truly have been blessed and our lives enriched by the wonderful people we met in Sri Lanka. We were generously given a ride to the airport by some members.
After working in the mission office all day Monday through Wednesday, we left to take a late flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka. This was a weekend, packed with many people to meet and places to visit and see.
I created an itinerary of our little trip just for fun.
In the van for a few hours going south.
 |
| Sister Martin playing Uno card game in the van with Sunil's son. |
Stopping for a little Sri Lankan style lunch before our mini safari at Yala National Park. Sister Martin only had a mango smoothie. See the empty glass?
In our safari jeep.
Driving into the park. This park is the natural habitat to many animals. This was not made or created, no walls or fences, no animals purchased or brought here, just natural.
Some kind of monkey in the tree.
This elephant started walking toward us. We stopped and were quiet and he just walked right by.
Bath time.
 |
| Water Buffalo. He likes the water. |
A bunny rabbit?
What's that running on the road?
We saw a lot of wart hogs.
Do you see anything up in that tree??
It's a sleeping leopard. He didn't wake up. We were impressed that no one tried to wake up the leopard.
Just beautiful.
Saw these elephant in the distance.
BEES - Very cool...from a distance
Took this picture of us leaving the park. That's the entrance/exit in the background. What a great experience.
But wait, all at once our driver pulled over. We saw some water swirling around in this pond.
Crocodiles. No fences around here. This is where they really live, and it's not even inside the park reserve.
Next stop Katargama
In the morning we met up with Sunil's old friend, a fisherman shown below with his son and nephew. They met just before the 2004 Tsunami that killed 35,000 people. They showed us their old house that was never repaired after the tsunami hit. We talked with the nephew who will never forget running from the tsunami as a young boy.
A hotel in the background next door that was under construction during the tsunami was left vacant and never completed.
We then went to the famous Blow hole.
While we were all watching the ocean blow hole, the fisherman and his family planned a special lunch for us. They didn't tell us until we were ready to go.
When we arrived at his house his granddaughter danced for us.
The lunch included local foods including some fresh Seer fish which was wonderful.
We had a great time with them. We did have to modify our schedule and skip an item or two.
On our way to Galle we saw a family of monkeys cross the road in front of us. They climbed up some wires and then on to a house.
A fun little stop at Induruwa Sea Turtle Conservation Project.
We enjoyed some good fruit called Mangostin from a man who was selling it in Galle.
The next morning we stopped at an interesting Buddhist place in Colombo.
Before we arrived at the Pinnawala Elephant orphanage we stopped to ride an elephant.
They said that the large seats or chairs aren't allowed in Sri Lanka because it hurts the elephant's back.
The elephant orphanage has 84 elephants.
Near closing time, a heavy rainfall hit suddenly, all the tourists left. But we quickly grabbed our umbrellas out of the vehicle and went inside a shop to look for something. We were just about to leave the shop when the elephants paraded right in front of us on the shopping street. We decided to add a little Jungle book music to one and Dumbo music to the other.
They served some authentic Sri Lankan food after conference; rice, dal and very small dried fishes.
One of the members shared a story that was in the Liahona magazine worth reading.
Brought some Smoke / CO detectors for the missionary apartments in Sri Lanka that we gave him. These are great. They come with a 10 year sealed battery.
Of course, our favorite part of these trips are the people we share them with and the people we meet. We truly have been blessed and our lives enriched by the wonderful people we met in Sri Lanka. We were generously given a ride to the airport by some members.
