March 8, 2025
Today we are visiting SriLanka, formerly known as Ceylon. It is known for it’s Tea production. The country has a population of 23 million. The main City is Colombo with a population of approximately 600,000.
For today Carol and I decided to do different tours. She was set on seeing Elephants, but I didn’t wanna do the 2.5 hr bus ride to get there. Instead I booked to go to the neighbouring City of Negombo, a city 40km away from Colombo. The main religion in the City is mainly Catholic compared to the rest of the country which is predominantly Buddhist. Negombo has a population of approximately 140,000. It’s also known as Little Rome. The main economic sources are predominantly Tourism and Fishing. For today the bus took us to a nice hotel to spend the day on the beach. For the day we had use of the hotel facilities including the 2 swimming pools. The hotel was adjacent to this beautiful sandy beach on the Indian Ocean. I basically spent the day at the pool enjoying the sunshine and on occasion having one of the local beers called Lyon. The Hotel chef cooked us up some burgers for the lunch hour. Around noon, a dozen or more fishing boats showed up fishing near the shore. Apparently they were fishing for Prawns. Around 3PM I returned to the dock in Colombo. After I got to the ship, I awaited the arrival of Carol and her Elephant story for the day.
While Cor spent the day at the beach in Sri Lanka, I travelled in a bus for 3 hours to visit the government run Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.
It was a fabulous day spent watching these beautiful elephants in a clean and well run facility. When we first arrived the elephants were already bathing in the river accompanied by their mahouts. Elephants need to spend time in the water to help them regulate their body temperature and so that their tough skin doesn’t crack and get infected. Watching them come out of the water and walk uphill towards the orphanage was truly memorable. They walked 3 or 4 abreast along a road way that was lined by shops. We had to tuck into the entrance of shops to let the elephants and their mahouts walk past us. We could reach out and touch them. There were twin 3 year old elephants in the group and they were always protected by the adults.
After lunch by the river we walked up to the orphanage and were given a tour. Most of these elephants will have to remain in the facility. They are dependent on humans for their physical and emotional needs. They are very close to their handlers. There are about 6000 wild elephants in Sri Lanka but due to the ever growing human population in a small country it is very difficult for elephants to be safe in the wild. They get hit by trains, electrocuted by farmers trying to keep them away from their crops and often face starvation. I respect the work that this facility is offering for the well being of these magnificent creatures.
What a great day!
Cheers
Cor and Carol
buysprojects.travel.blog 
I would have gone with Carol! Those elephants are amazing.
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