This morning we were taken out to go on a trip to a local village in the forest. We started out by being driven in a tuk tuk to a local lake. All of the lakes in Sri Lanka are man-made, collecting water in the monsoon season and preserving it for the dry times. We got into a double canoe with a platform between them and were rowed across the lake. Along the way we were shown many different types of birds - eagles, stork, kingfisher and many more. Our boatman made both Peter and I a special hat from the lotus leaf. Mine had a purple flower on the top.
We arrived at a hut where we were met by a lady who was busily cooking for us. Around the hut is a small parcel of land that she and her husband farm - beans, chilli, aubergine, tomatoes, pumpkin and rice. Being on the edge of the forest, they have a platform to keep a look out for elephants. She cooked naan for us and showed us how to get the flesh from the coconut and make a sambal from coconut, chilli, onions and lime. I removed some chilli before she ground it all together - lucky I did as it was hot enough for us the way it was. We also ate a number of small sweets that had been prepared for new year. We finished off with some herbal tea.
After a short ride back in the boat we were collected by a bullock wagon to take us back to meet our car. I felt a bit sorry for the two bullocks that had to pull us fat westerners along.
We returned to the hotel for a few hours - a dip in the pool and some relaxing there as well.
This afternoon we headed out to Lion Rock but it started to rain when we got there so we've postponed our climb until tomorrow. On the way there we had to stop as two wild elephants were crossing the road, great to see. We're now back in our lovely resort and will eat in one of the restaurants here tonight as we are not close to anything else.