Day Seven

Sunday, October 22, 2017


Again we spent the day at the Kumbuk River Resort, except today instead of spending most of the day out exploring, the resort. We got up early to walk to the near by ancient temple of Dematamal Viharaya,  
 After we got back for the temple we packed a lunch and set out to
take a tractor ride to the near-by suspension bridge. It was so beautiful
the only reason any of us climbed down was to get to the get to our next activity in time, and hopefully this one was going to match the awesomeness of the Suspension bridge. The water was a ten minute walk for the forest. We got to the edge of the water and gasped because the water was so clear. The lakes back home are nothing compared to the water hear. We haven't even stared the activity and we were already falling in love with the whole idea of this adventure. We waited at this dock near the side  of the water and waited for a few minutes so the kind staff at the resort could find use a big enough paruwa, this is what Sri Lankan's call this type of raft. We all climbed into the paruwa and headed out to the island in the middle of the lake. This took a lot more energy because the weight of all of use being on their and the extreme weight of the paruwa. Once we got to the island we all had to help pull the paruwa onto the shore so it won't float away. We all medically jumped in to the cool, refreshing water. We stayed in the water for about half an hour slashing around, racing, just having a great time. But we could stay in their forever although we wanted to, we had to save time tot go fishing. This type of fishing was with a net and a long string coming off of it. We had to hold the net out with both of our hands and our teeth. So when you saw a fish you would through the net an quickly pull the string the trap anything you might have caught in the net. it got easier once you got the hang of it, well at least for some people. Camille just couldn't catch anything, as hard as she tried she just couldn't do it, unlike Brenna who was on fire, catching fish after fish, that Luck of the Irish.
To top the whole day off we slipped into the local mud bath, luckily when we got their wasn't many people because we took up the space. At first we were a bit skeptical, but once Keeley went in, all of use were like why not theirs no harm done. It was just what the doctor ordered. Imagine a hot tub but soft mud, it was just what all of use needed to top use a long tiring day.

Dematamal Viharaya - History: according to the legend, this temple played an important role in southern Sri Lankan history. When we got there, their was no on around for miles. The temple it self looked really old and full of the past. We walked right in. When we stepped inside we were consumed by the tons of painted on the wall and faded statues of people dancing. We quickly learned that this temple was worshiped by busiest worshipers. We also learned from some of the local people that the history of the temple goes back to the 3rd or 2nd century BC. According to folklore, it is the place which provided safety to Prince Saddhatissa, who was attempting to flee after losing the fight with his elder brother, Prince Dutugamunu.  We didn't really understand what that had to do with anything g or if it was significant to the Sri Lankan history because the people didn't really elaborate.

Suspension Bridge - Natural Environment: When we saw it we all were so surprised how high up in the air the bridge was. Four of use were excited, but Madison who scared of heights felt differently about the whole adventure. She was going to sit out of this one but we couldn't let  her it wouldn't be the same without her. So we convince her to give it a chance, and if she really didn't like it she could go back down. Once we got up in their it was the most beautiful sights we had ever seen. Their was so many colors everywhere, the birds floated around on the branches , the light streamed thought the thick wall of the canopy. It was so beautiful, we never wanted to go back on the ground.

Weather: Today's weather was nice and warm. It was a little humid but it was supposed to rain again tonight. The humidity made us not want to do as much but we had to push through. The cool water air helped as did going inside the temple. But on the suspension bridge you could feel the water in the air. Yet everyone still took their time and enjoyed the view. The moist air helped us enjoy our mud bath even more.

Hotel: Tonight we stayed in the tree loft.