After Ella cool and wet environment we hankered for the sea again. The local bus at 6 am hurtled down the mountain as we gripped the seats like everyone else, the driver determined to overtake his friend in the bus ahead. Thankfully we got down to the plains without incident. Onward buses were scarce so we opted for a tuk tuk for the last 30 KS to Arugm Bay, back on the hot dry east coast of Sri Lanka. The guest house we selected from Tripadvisor and Lonely Planet ticked all the boxes, within minutes we were frolicking in the waves again, thankful to be cool in the 35 degrees heat.
Arugm Bay is the gateway to the eastern side of Yala National Park, a large area of barren scrub, lotus strewn waterholes, granite outcrops and of course wildlife. Birds in abundance, painted storks, ibis, bee eaters, pelicans and iridescent king fishers, plus elephants, deer, wild boar, jackals, buffalo and the elusive leopard, which we were unfortunate not to see. The roads are pretty poor, we were in 4WD jeep with elevated comfy seats and then had to hang for dear life. A side excursion to us to a Buddhist monastery, where monks have lived and meditated for 2000 yrs, amongst an ethereal landscape of massive boulders set in sparse coastal forest.
Arugm Bay is the gateway to the eastern side of Yala National Park, a large area of barren scrub, lotus strewn waterholes, granite outcrops and of course wildlife. Birds in abundance, painted storks, ibis, bee eaters, pelicans and iridescent king fishers, plus elephants, deer, wild boar, jackals, buffalo and the elusive leopard, which we were unfortunate not to see. The roads are pretty poor, we were in 4WD jeep with elevated comfy seats and then had to hang for dear life. A side excursion to us to a Buddhist monastery, where monks have lived and meditated for 2000 yrs, amongst an ethereal landscape of massive boulders set in sparse coastal forest.