Location: Dambulla
A cooler greener environment at this hotel and a calm start to the day although the large contingent of locals on a business retreat where out on the oval at 6 am for their 2 hours of pre breakfast exercise. Not so much activity from our group and as well as the normal parade of tummy upsets, the "Dancing Queens" were carrying sore feet as well as sore heads. Mind you, we did get very warm welcome from the staff this morning, who had been thoroughly entertained last night.
This was in fact a declared "rest day" on the itinerary with two optional activities offered to fill in the blanks if required.
Perhaps we had been a little over zealous in our commitment to to the optional extras. Quite a few opted out of the morning activity. Lots of reasons: @Maureen still recovering, @Jill with a head cold, @Bev and @Chris for massages and facials and @Raylene and @Ken for some pool time and @Gitta and @Abbey just took some chill time.
Needless to say, there was plenty of room on the bus.
TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
A. Polonnaruwa Kingdom Historical Site
Took nearly an hour and a half to drive to the location of the this expansive archaeological site that was a tumbled mix of Palace and granite emples of the King of the second kingdom. It was a hop on hop off affair and involved viewing and walking.
- museum stop provided an overview of what we were going to see - reconstructions of the temple's and palaces, pottery, weaponry, counsel and mediconal tools.
- King's place stop enabled us to walk through the rooms of the palace gaining access through the thick rock walls - only the ground floor remained - the top 7 wooden levels had long since disappeared. As a treat in the heat of the day @Nila produced an iceblock - the group pounced on them!
- the citadel stop showcased the Lion's guarding the walkways and the moonstones at the entrances for wiping the feet
- the Sacred Quadrangle stop featured the hexagogonal temple and all ladies had to have shoulders and knees covered. Men needed long trousers and it was shoes and hats off for everyone. Getting a closer look at an ever increasing number of Buddhas and an introduction to the moonstones (basically, a heavily decorated stone mat for wiping your feet 😳)
- made the next stop a stroll to look over the water reservoir which in fact was a series of 5 dames created to capture the all important rain water and provide irrigation for the crops - plenty of evidence collected of the eartbern ware drainage and water movement systems and evidence from variety of coins found that this Kingdom was involved in international trade
- visited the circular stupa which rises q50 feet and has circumference of 600 feet! It was massive. The base is solid, but the top towers hold the relics of "enlightened ones." @ Mac got caught out her - the time on the bus between stops was very short. It was stinking hot and because the temple visit were over he could move to his "shorts phase. Unfortunately, only managed to get one leg off so had to do the stupa walk as if he were auditioning fir Taylor Swift's Reputation era!
Our smaller group punctuated the day woth a lunch stop - not another buffet (I sat this one out completely) before rejoining the rest of the group for an afternoon safari.
B. Minneriya National Park
The group was enthisiastic about this visit and we arrived to the dust filled and Jeep filled carpark ready for the challenge. Had a little touch of deja vu about it - similar setup of a convoy of vehicles going off road in search of wildlife.
A little different from our African experience - a much smaller "park size" and an endless number of vehicles. At some stages it felt like we were back in Delhi battling the crowds.
The Asian elephant is also different in appearance from its African counterpart - much smaller, smaller ears, only a small percentage of the males actually have tusks andthe trunk has just one finger at the end of the snout.
Spotting the first herd
But the safari did deliver. We tracked varying sized herds as they made their afternoon trek to the water course. There was plenty of "elephant action" - walking, bellowing,tears flapping, spurting water, thrashing grass in preparation for eating and even a couple of males flexing their muscles in combat. Of course, the protective mothers herded the adorable babies in the right direction, nudging them to keep up. When three jackals appeared on the plainland, the herd circled and provided cover for all the babies.
We were dutifully bumped along rutted tracks, our driver @Sasha was determined to get us good views amd as a bonus, got to see some deer, peacocks and monkeys. @Mac kept asking g "Where are my giraffes?" but didn't draw much of a laugh.
Mothers were extremly protective
It was a dusty hot afternoon and we were glad to be back on the bus and heading to the comfort AND clean clothes delivery of the Camelia and even bigger bonus, it was still light.
Another night of sensible selections at the bar and restaurant and had a little time to rethink the luggage as we head off for a few one night stands. Going higher tomorrow.
Weather: 33 sticky heat - and it was at its maximum early in the day
Steps: 10352
Health Check: Hoping that rest day would benefit the sickies - not really getting a full complement. We continue to rely on Gastrostop.
Running the gauntlet - trying a dessert
Accommodation: Camellia Resort and Spa - got to enjoy it this afternoon in the light of day
Straight from the itinerary:
Today is yours to enjoy at leisure. Alternatively, join one or both of the following optional tours: Optional Activity: Morning Polonnaruwa City Tour
Today is yours to enjoy at leisure. Alternatively, join one or both of the optional tours
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