Finally, I’m feeling a travel groove here. I feel like the food poisoning affected me more than I thought so it took a while to be back to full strength. And, I got tired of the hot and muggy weather everywhere near the beaches combined with tourist crowds.
In Galle, I went looking for good gelato. I found a great shop but felt for a moment I had suddenly been transported back to Mexico. Here’s the image on their back wall.
Yesterday morning, I jumped on an express bus with honeymooners from London and headed for the hills to Ella. There is a lot to do here! I settled into a cafe and checked on hostels while hydrating and eating. One hostel kept popping up so I moved to Cheap Sleep Ella.
New friends and I went hiking for four hours in the afternoon and then had dinner. Other new friends and I went to one of the tea farms here for a tour and lecture on the process.
Now, I’m refining my plans again. I’m intending to change train tickets (if I am able) and travel to Udewalawe National Park tomorrow and go on safari for elephants the next morning. I tried making that happen from Tangalle but couldn’t pull it together. Here’s information on the park below.
https://lanka.com/about/attractions/udawalawe-national-park/
I’m loving the cool weather, new friends, hiking and activity here. This afternoon I even found good coffee! And, while doing the tea tour, I saw a vaguely familiar face coming down the steps?? I thought it was someone I had met earlier on this trip. It wasn’t!
It was Mae and Simon from Montreal I met in Bali 5 years ago randomly re-connecting here in Ella. How awesome! We just finished lunch together. When I tell people I’ll look for them somewhere around the planet, it does really happen!
Some images from travel along the beach and up to here.
