We woke up and finally got in an air conditioned car that was prearranged to take us to Wilpatu National Park where we were supposed to go on a safari.
The most crazy parts of our adventures are over. On to prearranged and more relaxed.
It was nice having a guide for a bit. He told us a bit of Sri Lankan history and more about the 30 year war. He told us about the coconuts and the people of Sri Lanka. He told us a bit about the differences between African and Asian elephants, and about the process of becoming a guide in Sri Lanka (my question of course).
As we got close to Wilpatu our guide said we wouldn't have food for the safari, so we stopped to get. I misunderstood so we got 4 apples, 2 oranges and a small watermelon. We later realized we didn't need anything.
We then stopped at the side of the road and a jeep came to pick us up and drive us to the camp we were staying in. It was 2 pm and we were supposed to start our safari at 2:30. We checked in and sat with the manager to go over what foods we'd have since he knew we had major restrictions.
Then we dropped our stuff in our tent (for us it seemed like glamping but I'm sure some people consider it roughing it - there was a bed and a side table and even a bathroom with a flushing (barely) toilet and shower!).
We went out to safari! Unfortunately our driver didn't speak English and we didn't have a guide, but it turned out fine. We drove about 12 minutes to the park and started through. We saw tons of peacocks and spotted deer. We saw all types of birds including some sort of hawk and junglefowl. We saw some orange birds, blue birds and more. We saw mongoose and a wild hare and a small deer like animal that kind of hopped. We also saw the butt of a water buffalo! Thankfully our guide seemed to know most of the animals names in English and was able to point them out to us. He also had a book of birds he showed us when there was one who's name he couldn't think of.
But that was it. Suddenly we turned back and didn't know why. It wasn't until we were back at the camp that we learned that due to the bombings the country was put on curfew starting at 6 pm, so the park closed at 5 pm.
Back at the camp the wifi didn't work, but thankfully an Israeli girl was able to get into her email and let me email our families to let them know we were safe.
We played a few games then went to dinner. They were so great to us. They gave us all whole fruits and vegetables, TONS of them, hard boiled eggs, and a brand new still in the package knife and cutting board. We cut up a nice salad and had delicious fruits for dessert. Throughout dinner there was an awesome lightning storm for us to watch and luckily no rain!
There was a bit of confusion about who was doing our morning safari, but we got it settled and set an alarm to be up at 5 and out at 5:30!
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