19.09. - Safari and many stairs

4:50 am! And that on vacation! Stephan reluctantly turned off the alarm and got up to get ready for the safari. I needed a few more minutes and watched as he gathered his things with difficulty before, unusually for me, I stood ready to go 10 minutes later. At 5:30 am sharp, we were picked up, received our breakfast in a box, and climbed aboard the jeep. We were somewhat confused to find that our guide joined us on the ride. We set off on our way to the Badulu National Park, which is home to many different bird species. Unfortunately, the more popular Yala National Park, known for its high leopard population, was closed during this time of year. Naturally, we were very disappointed as we wouldn't see any leopards in the wild here either. But the agency had already informed us of this beforehand, so it wasn't a surprise. We arrived at the national park right after it opened, shortly after 6 am. Our driver registered us and returned with a guide equipped with a bird book and binoculars. Just at the entrance, startled peafowls crossed our path. We are familiar with these animals, especially from the Erding City Park, where we observed them during their mating season. However, here they blend much better into the environment. We were shown and named various birds, although we quickly forgot the similar-sounding long Latin names. We passed by salt lakes, observed the workers, and of course, the birds, so we didn't immediately recognize the crocodiles. There were 10-15 of them... so we would have been easy prey. We stopped at the coast and had breakfast in the completely untouched nature. We let the wind blow around us and heard the distant trumpet of an elephant.

We didn't mishear! In fact, on our way, we came across two elephants making their way through the tall grass. We happily observed the pachyderms and were thrilled by the discovery. On the way back, we saw monkeys and got to know little mongooses. The wind blew strongly in our faces, preventing us from nodding off. Luckily, we were able to rest for an hour in the loft before saying goodbye to the friendly hotel manager and getting back into our 'fridge', as we called our car. So we set off with our taciturn driver to the highlands towards Ella. Unfortunately, I can't report much about the car ride as I fell asleep quickly. Just before Ella, Stephan woke me up. We had stopped very close to the 'Ravana Waterfalls'. A bit tired, I followed the men. The waterfall was very beautiful and apparently the reason why so many tourists take pictures in front of it. Okay, I must confess, we weren't much better. We crossed the stream, climbed up the rocks, and 'click'. Back in the car, we continued to the next accommodation, and our guide asked if we wanted to visit the Ravana Cave. Hmm... Stephan had read about it in the travel guide and found it interesting, so off we went. What we didn't know was that there was only a very small road winding up to it and cars were not actually allowed up there. And of course, it had to happen. In the second curve, a speeding tuk-tuk hit us. Fortunately, it was just a scratch, but we felt very sorry for our guide, whose car is his sanctuary. Then, a small truck came towards us on the last stretch, and we had to park very close to the edge where we almost got stuck. When we finally reached the top, we climbed the stairs 'a few stairs' with a local guide who was an older, sparse man without knowledge of English. He raced up the stairs with us in a few minutes. Quite impressive! Completely sweaty, we walked the last few meters into the cave. Here, the sparse man helped me navigate in the dark cave over numerous stones to the farthest corner. I was very surprised at how much strength the little man had. Stephan stopped a little earlier. He tried to crawl with me towards the hole, which seemed to be the exit to the waterfalls. But it was too rough and tight for me. Using sign language, he showed us the wall scribbles, baby bats, and birds nesting there. Completely exhausted, we walked down the stairs again. About halfway down, we stopped at his friends' stand. From there, we had a fantastic view over Ella and the mountain landscape. We drank coconut water to replenish our strength and tried to communicate with the couple using hands and feet. They proudly showed us an article about their stand in the current SriLankan Airlines magazine. It was very beautiful there, and the effort was definitely worth it. Back at our car, we drove to the hotel. The small, skinny house manager with a mini mustache greeted us warmly and reminded us more of a black Italian. From the room, we had a breathtaking view of the valley, Ella Rock, Little Adam's Peak, and the highlands. Curious about the little town, we set off. Upon arrival in the town, we said goodbye to our guide and looked for something to eat. The small town consisted of one street lined with small shops, hotels, and restaurants. Since we were only a little hungry, we went to the nearby '360° Ella'. There, we had rotti (a different kind of wrap) and drank homemade lemonade. Delicious and refreshing! When we looked around the store and down the street, we immediately noticed the many backpackers. The place seems to be a popular destination for young people on their journey through Sri Lanka. After being refreshed, we strolled through the town, bought water, and then decided to climb the 'Little Adam's Peak'. It was only about 1.5 hours away and also doable for unfit people like us. So, off we went towards the mountain. It was a beautiful tour along tea plantations with a fantastic view of the highlands. Everything was very relaxed until the last 500 meters. Here came the stairs again! Yeah, on top of our 3000 steps, there were probably another 500. But the effort was worthwhile here as well. Once we reached the top, we could enjoy a beautiful view and took many photos. It gave us a great feeling of freedom, and you could sense that this was a sacred place. We already suspected that the sunset would be hidden by clouds again, and it was very windy, so we walked back to Ella. Along the way, we passed the luxury resort 98 and reached the town center after about 1 hour. Yes, we were quick because we were hungry and more than deserved the food. This time, we chose 'Cafe Chill', which was considered the ultimate hipster/backpacker place. Everyone wanted to be the best backpacker and dropout. However, the place wasn't exactly the cheapest. Well, it's still complaining at a high level. We ordered burgers and Caesar salad, which was average but the atmosphere was very amusing. Then we walked back up the steep hill to our hotel, quickly took a shower, and fell exhausted into bed.