Ella Rock

Finding myself in Paradise I was thinking on the roots of good karma in the third morning. I felt that #yamas lead me to unexpected miracles I would have never even dream about. It is more complex of course... Wanna know secrets? Advaita vedānta recommended ;)

There are ups and downs, but #yogis are responsible to protect core values in any circumstances or environment. Inner peace balances the experiences - so in hard times practice, or #sādhanā is firmly there, while good times we receive the #grace of connecting deeper with fulfilling natural sources or realised people- which is a more joyful work, and the time to advance society with positivity, described as #pāramitās in the #Yogasūtra.

The weather looked a bit rainy, but basic weather in the mountains it is, good to go. I went to the train station as that is the starting point of this trip.

The train can come any time, but as it comes slowly, and horns, everyone can move away from it’s way (well, those whod are the bridge that time, better to speed up). When I asked two local people when will it come, they just waved at me with a smile - It’s ok, it is not coming yet, half an hour. Half an hour is a unit time measure, it means a short time in Sri Lanka, which can mean anything from half an hour to four hours :D at least they mean 30 minutes, but it can be late anyway.. So I was just taking the rhythm of the transoms cheered up by this beautiful scenery with large amounts of oxygen.

Ella is one of the most touristy places in Sri Lanka, and just in one day I witnessed a girl with a broken wrist; a bunch of locals hitting the grass with rods to search for a lost mobil (later couples on Instagram hanging out of the train kissing. So. Much. Funn. -.- Facepalm.) It would be better if tourists could behave, did not show negative example to local kids or others.. Asian people are cute and helpful, but they have better things to do than pempering adult-infants. Unfortunately, locals are becoming affected by tourism and panty movies. Only a few of them understand how much more fortunate are they - living in the middle of a forest country, in pure lush nature: in paradise.

The journey to Ella Rock, which is within the area of Ravanaella Sanctuary, is quite adventorous, as one can follow the railway track up until Kitalella waterfall, where there is a well signed tourist path. Which I did not take. So what happened?

Two men and a small kid came explaining three different ways to get through the river. "Don't take the one with the bamboo, and don't take the one with something-something, go until you see the path." But seriously. How to see the path, how it should look, if there are dosens of paths around?

I was hooked by one of the self-appointed guides together with a British couple and two more people who also trusted him. We needed to get through, and we had no idea... so yeah, its bamboo here.. So we became exactly the Diverted Ones: those exceptionals who saw the waterfall from a completely unusal angle...

... who performed the impossible to climb on a 10 cm wide muddy and slippery road lacking any stable ground under our feet ...

... and who climbed this giant rock wet after the rain in Celeste Barber style... Understandably we were reluctant to pay for this self-appointed guide who obviously fooled us by the time we saw this tea plantation. Getting through these lush green getty plants felt like Garfield in the frontgardens - Tulips! Daisies! Bluebells! Roses... aarrgghh.. Simply it was not for tourists. Good lesson to check everything online before...

So I was already adrenalined out.. yet the real climbing started only now in the 60% humidity. The whole mountain turned into Sleepy Hollow, total darkness daytime. Under the motto of interconnectedness as we climbed together with amazing Sri Lankan people, slowly I learned many names, and who is who - sisters, brothers, friends, classmates. Thy were young, witty, cute and helpful. Asian people are really the best!

They took it quite easy, stepping up slowly in flip-flops... not kidding. So even if it was steep - they hardly cared or worried about it. We had to stop each ten minutes, later in each five... anybody coming down repeated the same, it would be only ten minutes, but the first ten minute had been passed more than an hour ago :D

Here are the lovely Sri Lankan heroes and heroines I met :) we had not much of a view from the top, but definitely it was a real adventure for such a timeless creature as me... We were posing around on the cliffs of course.

I was bit chill frozen through the cold winds and fog, and of course all my clothes wet from the climbing. Like in a tale, there was an old couple on the top preparing coffee boiling water on open-air fire. They were really sweet, put a mug in each climber's hand.

The Irish gentleman of the third pic became my travel mate on the way home, we had a nice conversation backwards. (Buddhika also called me over the phone if I am alright, that was really sweet of him) We stopped to drink coffee with Thomas in a small jungle road restaurant (last pic). It was nice to rest watching supersmall cute birds singing in high pitch sounds. They were like tiny pixies between the leaves.

My happiness of Nature couldn't last long - two men came speaking German. They started to smoke junk cigarettes. In one of the most beautiful place on Earth.

Koyaanisqatsi.