Hi everyone,

Welcome to this last blog about Sri Lanka. “Last blog?” I hear you say, “weren’t you coming back in June?”. Unfortunately, we had to make a very last-minute decision to return to the Netherlands. With the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in SL, travel restrictions were beginning to dictate what we could and could not do. Long story short, we are currently writing this blog from the comfort of Warnsveld, home. Exactly how and why this came to be, you can read at the end of this blog. But let’s not let this information distract us from the fact that we had some more amazing adventures after writing our last blog.

As teased in the previous blog, we traveled to Delhousie to climb Adam’s Peak from there. We decided to leave our bikes behind at the hotel in Nuwara Eliya and to take the bus, as recommended by the Lonely Planet and did not regret it. Even though the total distance was only around 70 km, the ride took around 3 hours, including two transfers. Luckily, the stunning nature and endless tea-hills kept us entertained for the ride. One of our transfers was in Hatton, where everyone seemed to have forgotten about Corona, were it not for the masks. This buzzing town made us look at each other and say “this is the kind of SL I was expecting”. Super lively, bright colours, shops selling all sorts of things, and busy restaurants. After reaching Delhousie, we had a lovely lunch, walked around a bit, and then an early dinner (still full from lunch). We started our journey to the summit of Adam’s at 2:00 under a beautiful clear sky full of stars.

When we were about halfway, we realised that we would likely be done at 4:30, which is an hour before sunrise. To compensate, we slowed down the pace and spent some more time stargazing and enjoying the view of the lit-up trail behind us. Upon reaching the top, we viewed the “sacred footprint of Buddha”, a fairly large golden plaque with all sorts of symbols and decorations. Waiting for sunrise was not nearly as cold as on Fuji, but still chilly enough for us to seek cover. The sunrise that followed was beautiful and produced shades of purple, pink, and blue in combinations that one rarely gets to enjoy. The descent was, of course, even quicker. With shaky legs, we made our way down the 5200 steps and we were very glad that we climbed at night; the 7 AM sun was enough to make us sweat… Our travels back to Nuwara Eliya were not as smooth, as the bus we wanted to take never showed up, but it was easy going nonetheless!

The next day, we hopped on our bikes again and touched 2000 meters while climbing out of the valley of Nuwara. After that, we relaxed while winding down the mountains, grinding away our brakes once again. We visited a Damro tea factory, another waterfall, and SL’s longest road tunnel (225m). A pretty relaxed ride with some stunning views! Unfortunately, our accommodation in Pusselawa was very dirty and way too expensive (9 euros) for what it was. So we decided to have lunch somewhere and then move on to a better place! The lunch location was great! We sat in a small lunchroom together with many locals and enjoyed some of the cheapest food we had in SL (about 2 USD meals). Completely refueled we cycled onwards and ended up staying the night at a lovely place a few kilometers down the road. Since everything was closed, we had dinner in the same place where we had lunch!

After racing down the valley some more in the early hours, we went to the Botanical gardens of Kandy. This beautiful garden was established in the mid 19th century and hosts a vast variety of species. Besides flora, there were also all sorts of interesting animals, such as monkeys, very many bats, oxes, mongeese, and insects. Then, we headed to Kandy, which is very much a big city, quite a contrast after all the small coastal towns and highland villages! We coordinated with two Swiss sisters whom we met in our second quarantine hotel and stayed at the same hostel. It was great to see them again and hear stories of what they’ve been doing in SL. It was really fun to hang out and explore the city together, it also makes for a nice change of pace.

In Kandy, we visited the Temple of the Sacred Tooth relic, which allegedly contains an actual tooth of Buddah. This giant complex contains several Buddhist and Hindu temples, but also a church. It is considered to be the holiest place in SL! Before entering, all of our documents (passports, PCR tests, visa) were extensively checked. We were the second group of tourists to visit the temple that day, whereas this place is usually absolutely packed. Another exclusive visit to a beautiful location because of Corona… This really is the upside to traveling in Corona times. On our final night in Kandy, we had pizza from a real wood-oven, which was so good! Even though local cuisine is gorgeous, we did crave a little western food haha.

On our 13th cycling day, we left the hill country behind and started our journey towards Sigiriya. We left around 6:45, since we knew that it would be very warm again. Our initial plan was to ride about 40 km and see how we were feeling. We decided to go a little bit further, but (as you can see) that became quite a bit further. We wanted to stay somewhere South of Dambulla, after visiting an ancient temple and the most central point of SL. Unfortunately, the temple was closed and we were left standing at the gate. We decided that we would call it a day and try to find accommodation for the night. This was about 45 km in. However, as the whole area was in lockdown because of Covid, we weren't able to stay anywhere... Place after place denied us and we were told to move more North. We decided to get some lunch and continue towards Sigiriya. Well, that was easier said than done.. our lunch was a cream bun with some chocolate which we bought from a local shop (even the supermarket was closed). After this "lunch", we were happy with the clouds and even when a tropical downpour started we welcomed it with open arms after changing our shoes for flip-flops. In the revitalising coolness of the rain we cycled towards Sigiriya. We were glad to finally see the big fortress appear from between the clouds. Our host was officially closed, but after seeing us soaked on our bicycles, he "couldn't say no'' to us. Lucky us! The place was beautiful and he even wanted to make some food for us.

On the morning of the 11th of May, we heard that travel between provinces is officially not allowed anymore. Since that severely limits what we can do, it would mean that our travels would come to a halt. What’s more, travel between districts was also going to be restricted soon. The Swiss sisters decided to make a run for it and fly home the day after. And so did others who were staying in their hostel. When we heard that the Emirates airline announced that they stopped flying to SL, we were starting to feel worried. Travel restrictions between districts, lockdowns, no more flights, increasing number of cases… The choice was: stay in one place and try to entertain ourselves, or try to make it home while we can. We decided the latter option would be better, since it could be months before the next opportunity to go home presents itself.

So on the 11th, we climbed Sigiriya, a giant rock on an otherwise relatively flat piece of SL. We enjoyed private (again) viewings of ancient paintings, stunning views, and beautiful ancient gardens. After lunch we drove to Colombo for our final night in SL.

Such a strange feeling to spend weeks cycling around, with three more weeks to come and to suddenly decide to rush towards the airport. Our bicycle boxes were still an hour south of Colombo, in our first quarantine hotel. Luckily, we did manage to make some friends and arrange for the boxes to be dropped off in the hotel that we would stay in in Colombo. So on the 12th, we first got our tests done, then packed our bikes (significantly faster than the first time around), and spent the rest of the day exploring the city, swimming, and chilling. Our flight home was smooth, the second flight was nearly empty, allowing us to sleep on 4 chairs each! From the plane we had beautiful views of the neatly organised fields on a clear day. Oh Nederland… Although we were not planning on being home already, it does feel good to be back.

To you, Sri Lanka, we would like to say: “We’ll be back”.