Istuti, Sri Lanka!

Why Sri Lanka you ask? Better yet, where is Sri Lanka, you ask? (No judgement)

Four months ago, sitting alone at ORD reflecting on a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by family and friends, I knew it was primetime to lock down my next big adventure. I rang up a friend to get brainstorming… 45 minutes, several intriguing Google image searches and a glass or two of wine later… we had booked flights to Sri Lanka!

I didn't know much about the country at the time except that it was said to have beautiful beaches, lots of sunshine, delicious food, and the opportunity to see elephants up close and personal. Done deal. 

I would later come to find out that Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, provides a significant portion of the world's tea supply. As was only appropriate, we spent the first part of our trip in Hapatule, tea country, at the former estate of Sir Thomas Lipton. Feeling ambitious we decided to hike to Lipton's Seat one morning - after all, our lovely host Melinda told it would be "very easy for us." Well, one wrong turn and the hike quickly went from the intended 1.5 miles to a grueling 8.5 miles at an elevation of 2,000 meters. Oofkins.

But what a journey it was. We witnessed entire villages set above the clouds. And the people (none of whom wore shoes by the way) were always so excited to see us, running from their homes to greet us.

No trip to Sri Lanka would be complete without a trip to see the elephants, so a couple days later we set out to a Master Campers (read: glamping) adjacent to Udawalwe National Park. We did two safaris, one in the evening and one in the morning... 

Final stop: the beach! We drove to Tangalle, a beautiful beach on the south cost of the island. After one night glamping we were ready to treat ourselves.