Negombo at last

Time has come to say good bye to Sri Lanka.
I had a great time here and would like to thank all the people along our way thru Sri Lanka.
We had a seriously good time here wt lots of good people who helped us and gave us a lot of tips and hints where to go and what to see... as we did not really plan much ahead. I think that is the best way of travel, to listen to the locals and not to guidebooks only, specially if u like to see some real people and not just the once that are focused on tourism and money.

So first of all thx to Mischi for the great hospitality and time here at his home in Negombo and at Kite Kuda. Has been great to see u again after so many years... it's been a while since we learned to kite in Costa Rica.
The to Disliri, Leo and Mike for the great time in Kite Kuda and the special treatment, the downwinders, the flat water lagoon sessions and good nights at the bonfire. U guys been a great help to our trip as well.
Good luck wt all ur projects and i will be back for sure ((-;
and hey... not to forget my travel mate Kathrin, has been some great travels, relaxed and slow riding bus rides, some hikes and always good choices for dinner... enough bus ride for the whole year now. I also send some special thx to Google to solve our funny question problems that came to our minds while sitting for hours in the busses. u can find some of them in the did u know sections of my last few blogs...

Off to Hong Kong tonight, to meet up wt Cabrinha and Neil to discuss the new KTA season and i got a new neardy baby waiting for me there.. (-: i'm officially Mac'ified as well as all my new toys for the water aiaaiaiiaiii... ready to test em out on Boracay!

...btw did u know that there are nearly as many different sign languages as our normal spoken one. This question came up on a random bus ride where we seen two guys talking to each other in sign language.. we ask our selfs if we would understand them if we could speak the German sign language.

sooo long and good time last forever in my memories
peace out
Stephan Read Full...

Yala national Park

Yala National Park

Next public bus ride was on the schedule for early morning from A-bay to Tissa, the most famous place to do Safaris in the Yale National park. Two bus rides and 5h later we arrived, bit sore as usual after a long bump n jump ride. Found a nice guesthouse and organized the safari for the afternoon.

We have seen a lot of different animal, first off all the biggest ones, elephants, free living not abused to work or please the tourists, just free in nature. They have about 250 elephants , 10bears and a few leopards living in the park. We haven’t spotted the leopards and bears but lots of other animals like dears, crocs, wild pigs and a uncounted numbers of birds species. 

The trip was well worth the money (4000Rs), if u ever plan to do a safari down here u gotta check out the different prices and cars they offer. If u got an old uncomfortable car it’s harder to enjoy the wildlife, when ur bum hurts wt every bump in the road… and it’s all off-road tracks! So our next stop will be in Mirissa, the beach town, just a relaxed day on the beach… but first 3h bus ride ahead…

btw... did u know what an elephant does when his bum is itching??

check out the answer...

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Arugam bay

Arugam Bay

After a good breakfast we took another bus ride from Ella to the Ravena Falls, just a 6km ride in another public bus, but it can be scary if ur driving thru the mountains, the hill on one side and big drop on the other side.

At the Falls we took a few pics from the bridge that gaps the valley over the falls, but decided that’s not enough. So we started a climb up along the steep side. First rocky, then muddy but as always good fun wt thongs. We took a dip in the pools under the fall and climbed further up to a bigger pool. We got a free water jet massage from the down pouring water, excellent and well worth the climb. 

We had to wait for another bus to pass by now, so we could get a ride to Wellawaya, but instead a truck driver offered us to take us wt em. It was a good experience instead of a crowded bus.

From Wellaway via Monoragala to Arugambay, the surfers top spots. 

We arrived late afternoon and found a good beginners spot , the waves roll along the beach which makes it easy to go back to the entry point after u catch a wave. A bit further up are some bigger waves as well. The “baby” spot is getting very crowded at sunset time, lot’s of locals and tourists paddle out and try to catch one.
We rented a motorbike the next day to see some other breaks and some country side. Krokodile and elefant rock are basically just some big rock formations wt a point break around it. Pottuvil point is the opposite direction a little bit outside of town.

And finally we got some surf… rode some waves and were all happy about it. The BBQ dinners at Beach Hut are legendary, I can recommend the food there and our tree house style accommodation was very special. This place I very relaxed and family style like.

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