I know, I know....

Most of you readers (if there were any to begin with!) have probably long forgotten about this blog. It's true- the job has been neglected. As we enter our final month in Lebanon, it seemed about time to get up a few more posts. Primarily, I want to post some pictures from our trip to Sri Lanka since so many people have been curious about that adventure. Perhaps I'll fill in some blanks over the next few weeks, but for now....here's SRI LANKA!!!

After a seemingly endless journey of travel (after the 10+ hours in planes and airports, we had a 7 hour car ride), we arrived at the beautiful beach town of Unawatuna on the Southern Coast of the Island. It was dark when we arrived, but we woke up on the beach!

Although we had many offers to take a boat ride, we opted to play in the waves, eat fresh sea food...


and walk on the beach.
Apparently, Unawatuna's beach has been receeding ever since the 2004 Tsunami. That disaster devasted much of the Sri Lankan coast. The people were- and still are- greatly affected. We spoke with a few locals who confessed that they constantly wonder when another tsunami is going to come.

We took a tuk-tuk to our net destination, Mirissa Beach, and stopped along the way to see the famous pole fisherman. Well, that's what we thought...somehow, without my knowledge, I agreed to be dressed up like a pole fisherman, carried out onto the sea and plopped onto one of the poles! I guess you could say it was a fun (or funny) experience, though not exactly what we had in mind!

Our next abode  was tucked behind the beach in the jungle. It was one of the less glamorous places we've stayed, but at a  mere $7 a night who can complain?

  

 Traveling in the off season meant we had some rainy beach days...

 but even with the clouds and drear, this place was still heavenly.

Who can resist the smell of jungle flowers?

Moving on...deeper into the jungle. We headed to a place called Yala National Park for a jungle safari. The most exciting moments were the massive python which we saw the night before, and the leopards that we saw in the jungle. However, those cats move too quickly to be photographed, so you'll have to take our word that they're awesome! And enjoy a few shots of wildlife...