JodyPoos, my best friend from university, came to visit us here in Sri Lanka and meet the elephants! We has a fantastic fun-filled week, that flew by way to fast. It was so great to see her, the last time I saw her would have been 6 months ago!
She arrived just in time for Halloween and we spent the day as mahouts!
At vet check, Jody brushed down Lakshmi’s feet, fed her her vitamin balls and nicknamed her ‘Shmee’, a name that has now stuck!
We enjoyed a good few days just chilling out, catching up and enjoying being around the elephants. It was so nice to have a little piece of home, here in our new lives.
One afternoon, we were lucky enough to find Chandana washing Rani, without anyone helping him, so we jumped in and Poo got to scrub her first elephant.
Even though I had drummed into her head that Pooja was the bestest elephant, Jody already had a soft spot for Rani.
Friday, we jumped on a train (a great experience in itself!), and headed to Nugumbo beach for the weekend. We were joined by a fantastic group of volunteers, that made our weekend!
We spent our days at the beach, sunbathing, reading, shopping, had a few fun drinking sessions, and I even got Jody in the sea for a swim!
I felt like a tourist for the weekend! One evening, we all went for a delicious Indian meal, where Poo was given some ‘confidence water’ and a new name…’Mr Dodier’!
Heading back to Kegalle, after our relaxing weekend, we decided it was time to go wild elephant spotting! A few times this summer, Wayne and I have visited Minneriya National Park, one of the best elephant spotting places in the world! But, this time of year, the elephants had moved and Kaudulla National Park was our best chance of seeing them. I was over-excited for myself, as well as for Jody, and I remembered how I felt not too long ago, the first time I saw these magnificent creatures in the wild. Kaudulla was beautiful, with incredible scenery extending as far as you could see. Then, the elephants came into sight! It was as breathtaking as the first time, and I think, for me, it always will be. These graceful giants can make your hair stand on end, they are so mysterious and enthrauling, and just have a way about them, that I don’t think will ever be understood by man. I looked at Poo, her eyes hypnertised by this sight, that I knew she would describe this scene as ‘magical’.
She said it was like going back to ‘the land before time’, and that elephants are like dinosaurs. ‘Whats a loooong neck?!’
The next day, we were up at 3:30am! Time to climb Adam’s Peak. Unfortunately for me, I had an infection on my foot, so was unable to walk, so sadly, I got to stay warm and cosy in bed, whilst Jody and Wayne got dressed and headed for the van. After hearing all about it and seeing the photos, I was very upset that I was unable to climb. But not to worry, Wayne shall just have to do it all again with me soon! Ha!
On one of our last days, Poo needed to do some shopping for gifts, so we went down the road to Pinnawala to the gift shops, where she bough many beautiful things. I will save you my opinions on Pinnawala Elephant ‘Orphanage’, but still, the sight of all of these elephants in the river, is definitely a spectacle.
The week had flown by, but I had loved every minute of having Poo here. Jody was very generous and left a big donation to MEF for the Freedom Fence, as a thank you for having her.
It was the saddest thing I have done in a long time saying goodbye to Poo. We both hate goodbyes so we did a quick ‘see you later’ then a very long ‘gay’ hug! I miss her so much, even more than before now I have seen her. I can’t wait until she either comes out to visit again or I see her at home. Thank you Poo for a wonderful week! Lots of lalalalalalalalalala xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Love, Life & Elephant Tales 