Day 12

3:30 am: The alarm clock rings. We get ready with half-closed eyes, fill up our water bottles, and meet up with the other two ladies from our table at the agreed meeting point at 4 am. We board our driver's small bus and immediately fall asleep again from the winding ride in the dark. After almost an hour, the bus stops. We have arrived.

We change cars and get into a safari jeep. It takes about 20 minutes on still deserted roads to reach Yala National Park.

The next 3 hours resembled scenes from The Lion King. We saw lizards, monkeys, peacocks, parrots, crocodiles, wild boars, elephants, buffalos, and a leopard while the sun rose over the nearly 27-hectare park. It was breathtaking! Every second less sleep was more than worth it 🦎🐒🦜🐊🐘🐆

Leopards, in particular, are rarely seen. Just as we were having a small picnic on the beach and unpacking our Ayurvedic lunchboxes, our guide came to us excitedly and said that a leopard sleeping in a tree had been spotted. We quickly packed up, jumped into the jeep, and our guide sped us to the said tree. Unfortunately, we arrived too late. Only the loud sounds of birds in the forest behind it indicated the leopard's path.

About an hour later, we ended our tour and suddenly a leopard crossed our path just a few meters in front of us. No one around except us and this graceful animal. A moment that none of us will ever forget 🐆

The animals, colors, smells, and sounds in this national park were more than impressive!

Right on time for lunch, we were back at Isolabella and had a packed afternoon with various massages and a bit of yoga 💆🏻‍♀️

Since I had been having restless phases in my sleep the past few nights, the doctor recommended that I go to the pool for an hour after dinner. Done and done. The pool water was pleasantly cool, I could hear the waves of the nearby ocean, and above me was the starry sky. It couldn't be more beautiful✨