May 3 Out of Africa

May 3

We arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, a smaller island with a population of 22 million, off the southern coast of India, measuring 268 north to south and 139 east to west, separated from India by just 22 miles.  It is known as a Nation of smiling people.  It has 2500 years of history and Cricket is the national sport.  The British ruled the country, then called Ceylon from 1796-1948, after which it became an independent nation and changed its name to Sri Lanka.

In 2004, 6,000 people were killed by the tsunami.  At the time, no warning system was in place.  Another 5,000 people were made homeless due to the waterlogged ground and lack of clean water.  There was a devastating civil war from 1983 to 2009.  This was followed by the country defaulting on its national debt in 2022.  Despite its past problems, it is now stable and is known as a Nation of smiling people.

It is a tropical island with lush green vegetation, of which 13% is protected as national parks.  Our tour today is to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.  We visited this place two years ago, and Merry liked it so much she wanted to revisit it.  Adult Asian elephants grow to 7’ to 11’ tall. They eat 150 kg of food and drink 50 liters of water.  396 people in Sri Lanka were killed by elephants last year. 

We traveled a long two and a half hours, mostly on two-lane roads that snaked through endless small towns with little green space between.  It was interesting to see the locals going about their daily lives.  We finally arrived in Pinnawala and walked down to a restaurant that overlooks the river, where we were not disappointed to be entertained by waves of elephants from the orphanage.  Trainers accompanied them and sprayed them with water to cool them off.  This was all watched from our tables while we enjoyed an extensive buffet lunch and cold drinks.

After 1-1/2 hours, we had time to shop in the local market stalls that lined the route [Merry picked up a few special items], followed by a tour of the orphanage across the highway, before getting back on the bus, totally exhausted from the heat and humidity.  The 2-1/2-hour ride allowed us time to recover and cool down, and we arrived back at the ship as dinner service started.  Another wonderful day.

May 4, 5, 6, and 7 were seadays, heading to the Seychelles on the East coast of Africa.  Not all enjoy the seadays, but we enjoyed them, relaxing, getting educated by the guest enrichment speakers, catching up with some home matters, painting, and doing crafts.  We also crossed the equator for the third time this trip.

May 8

We arrived on the island of Seychelles, actually 115 islands, with a warm tropical climate.  The population is 100,000.  We visited the main island of Mahe, and docked at Victoria, one of the world's smallest capital cities.  We had an early excursion, meeting at 7:30am.  It’s a good job we had four seadays to rest beforehand.

Our guide gave us some local information.  The islands sit mostly just above sea level, so they are considered climate endangered, even though they do not contribute anything harmful to the planet.  The Seychelles gained independence from the British in 1976.  The island has a very African flavor.

On October 12, 1862, a massive landslide killed about 75 people and wiped out much of the city of Victoria.  It has since been stabilized and rebuilt.

Our first stop was the Seychelles National Botanical Gardens, which display the local giant tortoise, all measuring three feet from front to back of the shell.  They can live up to 250 years old.  Very interesting animals.  They also have many coco de mar trees with their unusually shaped fruit.

Our second stop was the very large indoor fruit and veggie market, and the very elaborate Hindu Temple.  The population is mostly Roman Catholic.

   

Our third stop was to spend an hour at the Berjaya Luxury Beach Resort, where we enjoyed the facilities, had a drink, and swam in their beautiful, clean, sandy beach in warm, turquoise waters.  Very refreshing.

  

Soon after arriving back at the ship, the heavens opened, cooling the air so we could enjoy lunch on the open back dining deck.  The ship's internet comes via Starlink, but for some unknown reason, it was down all day and only restarted once we were well out to sea again. (We were later told this was a rule from the island!)

 

May 9 seaday