Mary M. Payne: March 9: Bundala Bird Sanctuary

Friday, March 31, 2017

March 9: Bundala Bird Sanctuary

Another 5 o'clock call for an early morning rush by jeep to Bundala National Park. We need to be there for the best birdwatching hours when the park opens at 6am. We eat packed breakfasts again and today there are no monkeys to steal our banana's through the window as they did yesterday.

Grey Heron, photo by Mary m Payne

We are staying now in the rustic cabins of Kirinda Beach Resort. We journeyed most of the previous day to get here in our air conditioned bus.

This new place is staffed by local people who carry the bags, sweep the dirt, clean the rooms and serve in the restaurant. The manager is the only one who speaks English and he is very accommodating. The food is excellent, the ocean is wild and the roaches are as big as lapdogs. But yes, we are on Safari and we each brought a flashlight to look where we put our feet before we venture into our open air bathrooms.

All of us have swollen feet and ankles and we all have huge beds hung with mosquito nets. Up until now, Dave and I have not been bitten. ( In fact we never get a mosquito bite or get King Kasyapa's revenge from drinking bad water while we are in Sri Lanka). But I did get a leg cramp in the night and find out that and the puffy ankles are caused by loss of salt and water from the body and too much sitting. We need salt, exercise and water to make up for the strain on the circulatory system trying to to cool the body. The "kankles" finally reduce in size before we go home. Luckily I brought a pair of velcro fitted sandals.

And, I must admit that my carcass is still creaky from sitting in a jeep all day yesterday bouncing along on the rutted, dirt roads of the national park. The guides at Yala didn't seem to take the point of stopping to listen to the sounds of nature either. They knew they had to find the leopards and elephants before the day ended, or the visitors would be disappointed.

Today's ride will be at a slower pace. The guide and driver stop the engine from time to time for us to enjoy the birdlife. So Bundala is a much calmer experience than yesterday's wild ride.