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Sorry its been so long! Writing regular blog posts with only occasional dodgy internet, and when we would much rather be out enjoying ourselves, is proving harder than we expected. But here, finally, is the last part of our amazing Sri Lankan adventure!
Arriving in Ella it was a shock to see some other tourists. Up until this point we had pretty much been the only foreigners in most places we had visited. Ella, in contrast, seemed more set up for backpackers with plenty of cute cafes and local restaurants. We finally tried some egg hoppers- crispy bowl shaped pancakes with a fried egg in the bottom. Delcious and very simple! We also drank our first alcohol of Sri Lanka - Lion Beer and an arrack cocktail (the local beer and spirit.) In the morning we woke up early in order to climb Little Adams Peak. It was a steep but not too difficult hours walk up to the view point. We were lucky it was such a clear day meaning the view from the top was absolutely breathtaking. Ella rock and waterfall were clearly visable and were surrounded by moutains which seemed to go on forever. In the evening we met up with some other backpackers and went for a delcious meal , the table was literally heaving with different types of curry and rice!
The next day was Kats Birthday! We woke early and got a taxi to Aragum Bay- a surfers beach on the east coast. On the way we spotted a herd of wild elephants on the side of the road. A very exciting start to the birthday celebrations. Arriving in Aragum Bay we checked into a hostel called the Beach Hut. We were literally staying in a hut right on the beach! After 7 weeks of travelling we were definetly ready to finally enjoy some beach time, and what better day to arrive than Kats birthday? After a lunch of delicious avocado omletes and present and card giving ( a bikini- which I had snuck away to secretly buy), we quickly jumped into the sea. As we soon discovered, however, the beautiful Aragum Bay is not really made for swimming. The waves are great for surfing but far too big for a peaceful swim - and we soon lost sunglasses and scrunchies to the ocean! In the evening the hostel put on a fish barbaque for all the guests and it was like a ready made party- with new friends, plenty of alcohol and even a hilarious rendition of Happy Birthday including confetti, cake and candles and a garland of freshly picked flowers! In the words of Kat " I couldn't have asked for a better birthday!"
We had only meant to spend a couple of days at Aragum Bay, but ended up staying a week. This was largely down to the vibe at the hostel and all the amazing people we met there! It was just too hard too leave. In the evenings we enjoyed the local nightlife and during the days we lounges on the beach and explored the local area. One day 12 of us all hired 3 tuk-tuks and drove around , discovering lots of deserted beaches. We also went on safari to the nearby national park, Kumana, where we saw tons of beautiful and colourful birds, lots of lounging water buffalo, a massive male elephant galoping right in front of our Jeep and even a very rare leopard! It was an amazing way to spend our last day with Verity and Isabel- who were sadly leaving the next morning! It was so great travelling as a four and we have really missed them since. After saying goodbye Kat and I decided it was finally time to try some surfing and booked a lesson. Kat enjoyed surfing again and I was very impressed by her skills! But I found the experience a lot harder and more painful than expected and my dream of being a natural pro surfer definetly died. I am determined to try again though, so who knows!
After a week at Aragum Bay we decided it was time to finally leave, so after a sad goodbye to all our new friends, we caught a bus further north to Trincomalee and Uppivelli beach. The bus journey turned out to be one of the worst of our journey so far- with incredibly loud screeching music and no where to rest our heads. After a horrible 8 hours, it felt like we had arrived at paradise, and we jumped straight into the sea. Uppivelli beach is incredibly beautiful and much better for swimming than Aragum Bay. We were staying at Aqua Inn, a nice hotel right on beach which even had a swimming pool. It felt like luxury. But in order to save money we were staying in the cheap rooms, which they had generously named the 'backbacker caves'- but which were really just tiny horizontal tunnels burried into the sand. It was a hilarious and hot expereince, fun for a few nights but one which we do not want to repeat! After a few days lots of our friends from Aragum Bay turned up in a rented Jeep and we all went snorkling together to the unfortunately named Pidgeon Island. The ugly name really does not do the beautiful white sand and clear blue water island justice. Whilst snorkling we saw plenty of beautifully coloured fish, turtles and even a few Blacktip Reef Sharks!
The next day we got the overnight bus back to Colombo, where we had arranged to stay with our friend Radheeka in her beautiful family home. We spent our last three days in Sri Lanka in luxury. We went on a day trip to Galle, an old Dutch fort town on the South Coast, where we enjoyed wandering the little streets and pretending to shop in the posh gem shops! Most of the architecure was from colonial times - a mix of Portugese, Dutch and British- and it really felt like we had gone back to Europe. As it was Poya (a monthly holiday on the full moon) lots of people were giving out free ice cream, whcih we of course gladly accepted. Back in Colombo we spent friday enjoying Radheeka's friends and familys company and treating ourselves to lots and lots of amazing food and drinks. Highlights included Mangosteens (our new favourite fruit), Butter Cuttlefish, Lamprays (rice, aubergine and chicken wrapped in bannana leaves), a delicious passion fruit pavlova and mojitos at the top of a very posh hotel called the Sky Lounge- with a view overlooking the sea.
We were both gutted to be leaving Sri Lanka. A month definetly wasn't enough time to explore such an amazing country, which despite being smaller than Ireland has so much to see and do! We are both determined to return one day...
Love,
Sofia xxx
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steffany Addams Place in sri lanka Eight sites of Sri Lanka have been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage, namely, the ancient city of Polonnaruwa (1982), the ancient city of Sigiriya (1982), the Golden Temple of Dambulla (1991), the old town of Galle and its fortifications (1988), the sacred city of Anuradhapura (1982), the sacred city of Kandy (1988), Sinharaja Forest Reserve (1988) and the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka (2010). http://www.adventuresrilankatours.com