Day 27 - We conquered Adam's Peak!!!

Today has been the most incredible day!
We had set our alarms for 2am and it was surprisingly easy to get up I think we were all a little excited! We Put on our layers, packed our bags full of extra layers, biscuits and water and we set off on our pilgrimage! As it is the right season in April, the path is lit all the way to the top and there are small tea shops along the way, from the start the peak looks like absolutely miles away, seeming like an impossible task! The climb started quite gently, a nice steady incline with a few steps in between, however the steps became a lot steeper and frequent. There weren't many others climbing around us to begin with, a few other tourist couples and there were some locals coming back down. We all soon started to feel the burn in our legs, we started doing blocks of 100 steps, then 150 steps, then 200 steps with breaks in between for water and to catch our breath. It really was harder than we thought, but when you see some of the locals that are doing it you can't give up! Some of the people walking are in their 70's and 80's hobbling up with the help of their families, it was really touching to see what an event it was for families to climb to the top with all generations from young children to the elders in tow. It was very strange climbing in the pitch black, you couldn't see the surrounding landscape at all, all you could concentrate on were the steps in front of you. At one point we stopped for a break at looked up to find the peak, at first we were pointing at some lights where we thought it was but then we realised if we looked directly above us into the sky, there was the orange glow of the top... It was just ridiculously high!! Also the stars were like I have never seen them before, there were so many, it was incredible. We kept plodding on, legs were shaking and burning in pain. It was far more challenging than we thought it would be and when we reached the top it was a real achievement and we let out a big sigh of relief, we reached the peak about 5 o'clock so completed it in 2.5 hrs, quicker than expected!
At the top of Adams peak is the golden footprint of buddah and a temple, we all huddled together with our layers on, eating our biscuits to keep warm while we waited the hour untill sunrise. It was amazing how quickly it got light revealing the dramatic landscape surroundings with us at the highest point, it really was a special moment.

Then we had to start the descent..we took this at a more leisurely pace to appreciate the views and our legs were shaking with every step! We stopped for tea along the way, reached the bottom about 8.30, it was crazy that we had achieved all that before 9am. Nihal was ofcourse waiting to greet us at the bottom with a big smile and some fresh fruit juice!
We returned to our rooms with Adams peak In the distance in disbelief that a few hours ago we were at the top! We showered, re-packed and went for a well deserved breakfast! Then we were on our way again in the van, Nihal had turned the chairs into one big bed so we all lay down and tried to get some much needed sleep on the journey to kandy, Nihals home town.

Just before we reached Kandy we stopped at the Botanical Gardens for a relaxing afternoon walk, they were beautiful with all different palm trees and orchid flowers. We then picked up Nihals wife and went to watch the daily show of traditional Kandy dancing, it was very colourful and very impressive, they put on a good show and ended with some fire walking!

Finally after a VERY long day we reached our accommodation in Kandy which Nihal had organised for us, it's a guesthouse but with apartment facilities so we can make our own food which will be nice, we are staying here 3 or 4 nights and the Edinburgh students are coming to meet us for the weekend as it is Sinhalese and Tamil New Year on sunday and Monday so we can have our own little new year party! Before bed Nihal took us to get some take away dinner and dropped is back at the apartment, he then went on his way, he said he would come and see us on Sunday and bring some new year food that his wife makes, he has been brilliant, made our week of travels much more interesting, back to being independent without our 'Sri Lankan dad' organising us tomorrow!