Columbo, Sri Lanka – March 20, 2018

Today’s tour was a private one set up on Cruise Critic.  It was a visit to the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage.  There were a few glitches along the way but the visit itself was wonderful. 

The orphanage was first set up in 1975 with five elephants.  Originally designed to attract tourists, it soon became more geared for conservation and education.  It started a breeding program with the first baby being born in 1984.

Our first problem came as we were looking for the van that was picking us up.  The operator was under the impression that there would be a shuttle between the ship and Gate #1 of the port.  There was no shuttle, so we had to figure out the way to the gate which was about a 10-minute walk.  Luckily, the van was early and waiting for us as we came through the gate.

We were all concerned about making it back to the ship in time because the orphanage was a 2.5-3 hour drive from the port.  We were supposed to take the van to the orphanage and the train back.  When the plans were originally made we were to have reserved seats.  As it turned out, we did not.  The prospect of possibly having to stand in the heat (no a/c on the train) for the two-hour train ride did not appeal to any of us so we opted to come back in the cool van.  I would have really liked to ride the train but knew I could not stand for that length of time and especially with the heat.

We arrived at 11 am and our guide bought the tickets and took us through to see the elephants.  He suggested the deck of a restaurant which had a perfect view of the elephants enjoying the water and a chance to sit and get a cold drink.  We could have had lunch there but none of us were real hungry with the heat.

At noon the elephants were hosed with water and marched up the main street, presumably for lunch.  A full-grown elephant eats about 250 kilos of food per day and drinks 150 kilos of water.  Before we left some of the elephants were taken back to the water. 

After my cold drink it was time for some shopping.  The street down to the water was lined with small shops.  I was taking a picture when a man from one of the shops told me to come in and find out how the poo paper is made.  Eating so much food there is plenty of waste and they have made it into very interesting paper.  He explained to me the entire process and I got to see some paper being made.

At 1:00 we started back to the ship.  Randy, our guide, offered to stop at one of the tea plantations but we were all ready to head back and not worry about the time. 

When we were almost back to Columbo, Randy announced that he had spoken to the management of the company and they were going to pay for a van to drive us back to the pier since his van could not go in the gates.  It is some kind of a labor union issue as to who can and cannot drive within the gates.

There were small stores on the dock by the ship so a little more shopping was in order.  I had said I was not going to do it but I fell in love with a fabric for a sari.  There are 6 meters of fabric and someday I may cut it up and make an evening wrap besides I only paid $10 for the fabric so no big loss if I never use it again.  We are having our Indian Night in the dining room tomorrow.  It was supposed to be last evening on the Gala Night but a number of people asked that it be moved to have the chance to buy the sari in Sri Lanka.

For afternoon trivia Rodney, Marilyn, and I played with 3 others who did not have a full team.  Of course, we came in second with 15 while the winning team had a perfect 19.

1)What color are cranberries before they turn red?

2)What is the animal symbol of Thailand?

3)Which creature’s name comes from the Aboriginal words for “no drink”?

4)What is the name for a group of cats?

5)Which martial art’s name means “way of the sword”?

After trivia I got a bowl of ice cream (I hadn’t had anything to eat all day) and watched sail-away.

John and Margaret did not join us tonight so there were only the four of us.  I had a salad, Chicken Tikka, and a chocolate sundae for dessert.

I skipped the show although it sounded good as I listened through the floor.

Three sea days coming up and we gain a half hour of sleep tonight.

P.S. As we were leaving the ship I got to meet John, aka Copper 10-8 from Cruise Critic.  For those who do not frequent the HAL forum, he is our go-to guy for any questions about the ships as he works security for HAL.  It was a pleasure to finally get to meet him in person.

From my deck…

the red roofed buildings are the shops

welcome dance

Street scenes…

tuk-tuks for hire

lots of shrines all over the area

vegetable delivery by tuk-tuk

need help with your cricket skills?

shrines for your home

kids get out of school around 1:30

tiny houses?

little boy getting home from school

I think this may be a country where you don't pay taxes until the structure is finished because there were many buildings where part was being used and part was unfinished

newspaper delivery

interesting wall

Elephant Orphanage…

the street down to the water

heading up to lunch

a little later I came out of the shop and there they were heading back to the water

my guide to poo paper

what elephants eat

dried dung

the process that removes smell and contaminants

making the pulp

drying and pressing

future paper on the street

Sail-away…

Lotus Tower

Trivia…

1)white

2)elephant

3)koala

4)clowder

5)kendo

Smooth sailing until next time!