¿Puedo ayudarle, señora?😃

Yesterday morning, the taxi picked me up to take me from Kandy to Nuwarya Elia. I requested a stop, but he offered to show me the Blue Fields tea plantation and a waterfall along the way. I felt like the typical tourist. Very strange. The Ambulawawa Tower, which was highly promoted, didn't impress me. Unfortunately, it was also very foggy, so the expected view wasn't there. We moved on to the waterfall, stopping briefly for photos and also being funneled through a shop. The steep terrains of the tea plantations are really beautiful to see. And everything is picked by hand, which is truly amazing. A young girl walked with me a bit into the tea plantation and showed me which leaves are used for black tea or white tea. Afterwards, we also visited the processing halls. That was quite interesting. Then I had a free tea and there was also a visit to the shop. I gave the girl a tip and went to the car. I felt like a retiree on a coffee trip 😊. The next disappointment was the accommodation, but that's sometimes how it goes.

Via Komoot, I wanted to visit a waterfall in the afternoon that was reachable on foot. After some detours, I arrived at the lower part of the waterfall. But you can also go further up. It was very steep with climbing sections, and at some point, I decided to turn back because there was no further way up. When I was at the bottom, suddenly a young man stood there and asked, ¿Puedo ayudarle, señora? He offered to show me the right way, and we went further steeply, climbing at times, all the way up. At some point, I thought, well, if he has something silly planned, it's no problem. I had all my money with me, as the accommodation wasn’t securely locked. He was really very helpful, pulled me up, placed stones in the water to help me cross better, and took lots of photos and videos. I was feeling quite uneasy but could only hope that it would turn out well. Luckily, it did, and I thanked him and gave him a tip for this adventurous tour. I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and was extremely hungry. Along the way, I met a woman who recommended me a simple rice and curry shop. It was delicious and very cheap. My stomach was also okay with it.😂 Exhausted, I went to bed around 11:30 PM, as a trip to Horton National Park was planned for the next day. Start at 6:00.

After an hour’s drive, we three went again to the circular path, which passes two viewpoints and a waterfall. The landscape reminded me a lot of New Zealand, and I am often surprised by how diverse Sri Lanka is. Large deer and even tigers 🐯 live here. Our driver showed us a video he made of a tiger. They live reclusively and seem to leave people alone. Tomorrow, I will set off on the adventurous train ride, which is said to be very beautiful. But everyone tells a different story about how to get the ticket, whether you get a seat, etc. I'm curious.