There was a black car parked outside the villa when we went out to find breakfast. When we returned it was still there but this time accompanied by our driver.
We drove eastwards along the ocean front, stopping once to pay to take the photo of some fishermen who earned their living by perching on poles above the water and dipping their fishing lines in it in a desultory manner. Still, hard work in the blazing sun.
The land became more agricultural, with many rice paddy fields, and then drier as we progressed eastwards.
The driver arranged for a safari into Yala national park, home to the greatest concentration of leopards in the world. We had lunch and transferred vehicles in Tissa. The safari vehicles are pickups with raised seating over the load area. This gives the visitor an excellent view of the wildlife, and allows the wildlife to see if the visitor looks tasty.
The roads in the park are rutted and potholed. An unsteady and constantly rearranging procession of safari vehicles wallows and lurches aWeing, stopping when any animal appears, which is surprisingly frequently.
We saw multitudinous birds, probably the commonest were peacocks and peahens. The prettiest were junglefowl, bee-eaters and cat-fishers. The rest consisted of sea eagles, green pigeons, cormorants, huge storks, green parrots, spoonbills, pelicans, various undistinguished waders, ibis, brahminy kites and kingfishers.
We saw quite a few beautiful elephants brousing the foliage. One trundled across the road in front of us but had disappeared into the jungle by the time we reached the place. There were also herds of water buffalo, spotted deer and wild pigs. We watched a family of Sri Lankan white monkeys lope elegantly across the ground from one tree to another with the babies clutching their mother's tummies.
Lone mongooses and an iguana ferretted amongst the undergrowth. We saw a huge elk like antelope sitting in a pond whilst nearby on the bank a 6 metre freshwater crocodile lay sunbathing.
The view over a lake covered in lotus flowers to enormous smooth rocks beyond was entrancing.
It was a memorable safari even if no leopards were spotted. The sun was setting as we left, weaving our way through herds of cattle on the road, and it was quite dark by the time we rejoined our driver at Tissa.
The road climbed increasingly steeply up to Ella and it was very slow going. We reached the White House where we were to stay at 9 pm, eleven hours after starting. Luckily the AK Restaurant just round the corner was still serving spicy pasta dishes, and we retired well full of spaghetti.
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