January 3, 2011

We are on the east coast of Sri Lanka—Tamil and Muslim country.

We left Colombo, the lone city in Sri Lanka, on the second of January in the early morning and took a nine-hour train ride with our friend Anna, who lives here. Along the way we found out more about the country and its political underbelly. It’s not a pretty story it’s rather disturbing, actually.  And unless you read up, have relatives or friends to tell you what has happened here, not much gives the conflict away.  I won’t go into it here, suffice to say that like all conflicts, it’s sad, bloody and senseless…it has no good or bad guys but extreme guys on all sides who have called the shots.

This is monsoon time and so its been raining quite a bit. I have heard about monsoon for years and always wondered what it was like to be in a place that’s raining non-stop. Well…(grin) it’s wet.  The up side is that the countryside is lusciously verdant in all the glorious hues of green one could imagine. The downside is, its mosquito haven and they found me. My whole face has been swollen I look beat up.

Jan. 4^th

Barb, Anna and my swollen face, all went to one of Sri Lanka’s more famous antiquities located in Polonnaruwa to see the stone Buddha.  They were breathtaking. About a thousand years old they are carved from one stone that must be about 40 feet high and 200 feet long. As we sat there admiring the carvings we encountered an older gentle man who explained to us some of the meanings in the postures.  This slight man with tight chocolate colored skin seemed to embody his faith. The love and devotion emanating from him were lovely and touching, it was humbling to be in his presence.

This country feels of contradictions. It’s beautiful and yet incredibly tough. Its people can be soft and sweet but have sharp edges.  I have not been here long, nor do I pretend to know much about it, but I have a feeling that to get into it is not for the feint of heart.

January 5^th 2011

Tomorrow I go to the yoga retreat in the southwest part of the Island.  I am looking forward to doing some yoga as my back has been in pain since I’ve left. Between the planes, trains and automobiles it’s feeling a little too squished.

January 6^th

The way back to the west coast is just stunning.  Rain forests and jungle mixed with rice paddies and small very pointed mountains, is how I can describe it.

Along the way the school kids in starched white uniforms amaze me. I can’t figure out how they stay so neat and pressed in such humid weather.

This country is not a doggie haven…in fact I’d call it doggie hell. They are everywhere, in the middle of the roads they lie pathetically, unkempt, flea bitten and tick ridden.  Most of the time I look away it feels too hopeless. I keep wondering how I’ll fare in India.

Lots of check points but we are stopped only once. I think this is about the only thing that overtly signals that there was trouble here.

Jan 7^th

I am in a little piece of yoga haven. This place is adorable. Simple yet cozy, overlooking the Indian Ocean with lots of tropical plants, birds and yoga practitioners from all over the glob. I was introduced to acroyoga today and if you don’t know what it looks like…google it. Some of the moves I saw were outstanding. I will try a bit tomorrow and will hopefully be around to try it again. (grin)

On a more personal note, it has been interesting to watch me acclimatize to travelling and begin the decompression process. For me at least, it is very different from going on a vacation for a couple of weeks or even a month. Entering a country I am not familiar with, after a long flight, I think is disorienting at the best of time but to not have a time table… woo, let me say I have been amused and anxious watching myself try to relax into 3ed world time table.  Once the nine and a half hour jet lag eased up I began to be ‘here’ a little more but truthfully I am nowhere near the flow yet.

More pictures and more to say…in the next couple of days..dinner is waiting…