Safari Adventure

I have been so excited for this day!  Today we went on a jungle safari.  

To start the day...

We had to begin our day with a bet. All 3 of us, along with our van driver, bet how long it would take the others to be ready to leave.  We should have learned from our previous bet to never bet against the driver! He won again betting over 30 minutes. From now on our plan is to let him bet first, and then we'll place our wagers!  

Matara:

On the way we stopped at an open food market in Matara. We purchased many different fruit varieties - many of which are not available in the states.  

The Blow Hole:

In Kudawella, Sri Lanka, there is a very beautiful blow hole.  You must first walk up and down some very uneven stone steps to reach the peak.  Once there, the ocean view is incredible!  I think we're getting used to having the ocean surround us!  

This picture does not do the blow hole justice, but to be fair I was trying to be present and take in all the scenery!  

The Safari:

This safari was not part of the original plan, but we girls continued to advocate for this experience!  I was determined to see some wildlife since our one request back in the states was to see some elephants!  

We excitedly hopped into the safari jeep and hadn't been out more than 15 minutes when we came across this rut in the road. 

Our driver of course drove straight into it and our jeep ended up severely tilted to the left.  The more the driver tried to get us out, the more we tilted.  I have been fairly calm, cool and collected during this trip-but this about put me over the edge.  I literally thought: "I'm going to die!" The driver asked my side to move over and I jumped into Lexie's lap!  Good news friends, we made it out in one piece and I am still living!  Hooray! But it took a while for my heart to stop beating so fast!

We saw many wild animals on this adventure.  We saw peacocks, monkeys, water buffalo, wild boar, and even the elusive leopard.  (Apparently we were very lucky-it's very rare to see one leopard and we saw two!)

And of course....we saw some elephants!  We saw many in the distance but the highlight of the day was seeing a mama elephant and her babies cross the road directly in front of us!  It was unreal!

We will never forget this day!  I'm so glad we were able to have this experience!