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Deiyandara to Warapitiya Wewa to Urubokka
Kilometers: 23 Elevation gain/loss: 631m/314m
Patchy cloud as I set out from my homestay in Deiyandara, down a tiny road that doesn't show up on Google Earth towards Warapitiya Lake. It would drizzle and then suddenly burst into gorgeous light, illuminating the green around me into a whole new shade I have yet to find the name for, and then again threaten dark and ominous.
It's a 10 kilometer walk through rice paddies, fields and tiny villages to get to Warapitiya Wewa (Lake), mostly flat or low rolling hills, and I tried to make good time covering it, as I knew after reaching the reservoir it would be mercilessly up from there on in.
As I reached the lake, the clouds cleared and suddenly the sun was fully out. I was about half way up the grueling 600meter hill from Warapitiya to Heegoda, slowed by the heat, the sun, the weight of my pack and the relentless steep climb, when a half-naked man came running up to me. As it turned out, this was the village's raving schizophrenic. Oh joy... He touched my feet and threw himself on the ground in front of me, but not in the respectful way you would do to some Himalayan yogi master, more in that "Hail! the Overlords from Planet Zorgon have descended!" kind of way. Disquieting to say the least. I skirted around him, kept going and forgot about it until suddenly he was back, coconuts in hand, smashing them to smithereens at my feet (obviously, the due tribute Overlords require!), rolling on the ground, grabbing at my legs and blathering incomprehensibly. Hel-lo! Call the white van NOW! I was rescued by about 15 local men who came running to pull him off of me, everyone explaining reassuringly that he was indeed insane. Shaken, I doubled my speed and got the Hell outta there. Sorry, no pictures of the event... I was too busy hightailing it.
As you ascend, the views into the valleys down below become increasingly impressive, and by the time you reach Hulankanda things are starting to look seriously gorgeous. By then, the hills level out enough to allow you to look up from your feet, unbend the stooped-over posture the climb has demanded, and notice what a beautiful part of the world you're in.
The views lasted only a few kilometers before, once again, the skies opened and I was hiding under the big red tarp and umbrella the remainder of the way to Urubokka. There I passed the night at the family home of a friend, and went to sleep listening to the sound of rain drumming on the roof.
Deiyandara to Warapitiya Wewa to Urubokka
Kilometers: 23 Elevation gain/loss: 631m/314m
Patchy cloud as I set out from my homestay in Deiyandara, down a tiny road that doesn't show up on Google Earth towards Warapitiya Lake. It would drizzle and then suddenly burst into gorgeous light, illuminating the green around me into a whole new shade I have yet to find the name for, and then again threaten dark and ominous.
It's a 10 kilometer walk through rice paddies, fields and tiny villages to get to Warapitiya Wewa (Lake), mostly flat or low rolling hills, and I tried to make good time covering it, as I knew after reaching the reservoir it would be mercilessly up from there on in.
As I reached the lake, the clouds cleared and suddenly the sun was fully out. I was about half way up the grueling 600meter hill from Warapitiya to Heegoda, slowed by the heat, the sun, the weight of my pack and the relentless steep climb, when a half-naked man came running up to me. As it turned out, this was the village's raving schizophrenic. Oh joy... He touched my feet and threw himself on the ground in front of me, but not in the respectful way you would do to some Himalayan yogi master, more in that "Hail! the Overlords from Planet Zorgon have descended!" kind of way. Disquieting to say the least. I skirted around him, kept going and forgot about it until suddenly he was back, coconuts in hand, smashing them to smithereens at my feet (obviously, the due tribute Overlords require!), rolling on the ground, grabbing at my legs and blathering incomprehensibly. Hel-lo! Call the white van NOW! I was rescued by about 15 local men who came running to pull him off of me, everyone explaining reassuringly that he was indeed insane. Shaken, I doubled my speed and got the Hell outta there. Sorry, no pictures of the event... I was too busy hightailing it.
As you ascend, the views into the valleys down below become increasingly impressive, and by the time you reach Hulankanda things are starting to look seriously gorgeous. By then, the hills level out enough to allow you to look up from your feet, unbend the stooped-over posture the climb has demanded, and notice what a beautiful part of the world you're in.
The views lasted only a few kilometers before, once again, the skies opened and I was hiding under the big red tarp and umbrella the remainder of the way to Urubokka. There I passed the night at the family home of a friend, and went to sleep listening to the sound of rain drumming on the roof.
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