Farewell Sri Lanka

Well, I will be leaving Sri Lanka in a little more than 12 hours. Cannot quite believe that the trip is over. It has been indescribeable... although I have done my best to describe it here. I have done lots of work, made great friends, and seen things I never, ever, imagined seeing. This children's librarian from little old Guelph has finally seen a bit of the world. What a gift. Now before I get too sappy I will share a few more photos from the trip back to Colombo from Batticaloa. The pictures say more than my words...

Elephant Crossing
Not far from Habarana traffic stopped... there was a wild elephant in the middle of the road! And we think that moose are dangerous driving hazards... we passed him, and he definitely didn't seem to be in a rush to go anywhere. I also saw a number of elephants in the brush along the side of the road as we were driving. Loved it!

Hindu Temple in Matale
We stopped at this amazing temple so our driver (I feel bad calling him that, but I don't know how to spell his name) could worship before the end of the day. It was spectacular. It was so high I couldn't get a good picture of it.



Sunset in Kandy
We stopped overnight in Kandy on the way back from Batticaloa. The driving is slow and we were not to be on the roads after dark (see photo above for one good reason why! ;-)). Kandy is quite impressive. We only had a short time there, but we managed to see some traditional Kandyan dancers and tour the Buddhist Temple of the Tooth... a very famous landmark. It was fascinating and full of tourists and worshippers. It just so happened that we were there on the 9th anniversay of the bombing of the Temple (by the LTTE). This picture is taken just outside the Temple looking out over the lake and into the surrounding hills. Just beautiful.

So I guess that is it. All that awaits me now is the long journey home to the snow and ice. Ugh. I will let you all know when I am safely home again. Thanks to everyone for the comments to my blog and the emails... I have really enjoyed hearing your responses, and to hearing from old friends. Thanks so much!

Hope to see you all soon.
Luv,
LR