Sri Lanka is WAY more relaxed than India. Less car horns, less garbage in the streets and streams. Even the dogs "bow wooo" rather than bark. Danielle and I were interested in coming here to experience its abundant and diverse nature and wildlife. The 150 year old royal botanical gardens in Kandy were full of beautiful specimens, like the multi-colored and massive Burmese bamboo (above). But we wanted more, so we signed up for a 5 day trek across the Knuckles Range, a rarely visited and very rugged area that is home to many endemic species of plant and animal found nowhere else on the planet. There are only a handful of guides that know the area. I'm taking copious notes of all of our adventures, but what follows is a very brief account.
Day 1: With our guide Amal, we climbed in the pouring rain up through cinnamon, cardamom and tea plantations. Nice birding. Into the foothills rainforest, over rushing whitewater, then higher to a comfortable camp manned by a local planter and talented cook, Dickson, and his assistant Nero. 17 km. That night, we traded Beatles and campfire songs for their Singhalese songs and drumming.
Day 2: We did an out-and-back to the summit of the Knuckles Range, climbing up through more tea, bamboo forest, dwarf forest (rocky soil) and eventually cloud forest -- that lived up to its name. No sign of the leopard that left the scat, but plenty of leeches! They move like inchworms, only faster. Stand still for a couple of minutes and they find your feet and lower legs. They aren't difficult to remove with a bit of salt, but the chemicals they employ lead to prolonged bleeding. Later, the clouds did clear enough to show us what we had climbed (the tall peak behind me in the photo below). A strenuous 18 km day.
Day 3: Began a very, very long, joint-aching descent of the other side of the range. Due to fading light, we took a short-cut, barely keeping up with a barefoot old woman carrying a massive Jak fruit on her head. Then we got lost crossing rice paddies in an absolutely downpour. Soon after we discovered a major bridge was out from recent flooding. Thankfully an old man helped us make a safe crossing. Finally, we made it to our homestay on a family-run pepper plantation in the tiny village of Meemure. This is a traditional village still known for its daring treacle harvesters (nectar from the flowers of 'fish-tail palms'; used like honey and fermented into 'local champaigne'). Meemure only received electricity in 1999, and our hosts cracked open their new tv and dvd player the day we arrived. A very big 24 km day. Banana flower curry and roasted jak fruit seed and off to bed on straw mats.
Day 4: Things from here on out get utterly crazy. We hiked an alternative route due to heavy rain. This involved more climbing, through the darkest jungle I've ever seen. I couldn't even see my socks in the dim light to check for leeches, though I knew they were in hot pursuit (seriously). The trail was essentially a very steep creek. All I can say is my wife is a badass -- excuse the language. Don't even know how many km we walked.
We finally made it to a waiting jeep, much to the amusement and bewilderment of smiling villagers. Then we tore off to visit a nearby national park known for its wild elephants. At this point I was getting very ill to my stomach from some contaminated food or water and it began to rain even harder. We did manage to see some astounding birds and a herd of elephants literally blocked our path, but shortly thereafter we got the jeep thoroughly stuck in the mud. Our rescue came three hours later, well after darkness settled in.
We finally found ourselves bumping along the road, praying not to slide into a crocodile-filled lake, and watching as a million fireflies lit up the moonless sky. Despite my misery, I couldn't help thinking that...
1. We are the toughest people I know.
2. As much as we miss the comforts of home and all the people we love... it can overwhelm the heart at times... this is amazing. And we are not done yet.
3. I'm ready for some relaxing beach time.
Day 5: Landslides blocked our direct passage home. Of course. So we had a long, jolting ride around the entire mountain range to get back to civilization. Finally back in Kandy, we scrapped all of our plans and convalesced in a hotel room with a view. This adventure taught us a lot about what we're capable of... much more than we thought. We are also very grateful to have, at many points in crossing the globe, experienced how 'normal' people live. The villagers we interacted with in the Knuckles Range are largely untouched by the negative aspects of mass tourism, and the dollars we spent (beyond the guide's expenses) went to local school and clinic supplies, and directly into the pockets of local families.
That said, it also helped us set some different priorities for the next few months. We're off to Chiang Mai, Thailand -- where Danielle will take a Thai massage course. I will do yoga every day and get lots of said massage. Sounds pretty simple and pretty great. Be well. ~M
One last temple visit... thank you Sri Lanka.
