After resting all day in Colombo, our batteries are charged and we're ready to hit the road and head to the jungle. Being that we were just in India a few years ago seeing cultural and city sights, we decided this trip would lean mostly to the nature and wildlife side. Rox has arranged a private guide, Jageth (we call him Jag for short), for 7 days to take us to various national parks and UNESCO sites. Our first stop is the Sinharaja Rainforest, which is just a 4 hour drive from Colombo. Those of you that have been to India or Sri Lanka know that driving can be a wild adventure in and of itself. Between dodging the dogs in the road, the constant honking, and the tuk-tuk's (little 3 wheeled vehicles) popping out of nowhere, you wouldn't be normal if you didn't find yourself closing your eyes half of the time. This time we even had a new obstacle, a huge monitor lizard, that decided to cross the road during rush hour.

We arrived at the front gate and was introduced to our guide for inside the park, Sunil . As we started our trek through the park, we could tell right away, Sunil is a serious bird watcher. He immediately starts pointing out several species of birds, endemic plants, and even found a couple of snakes! I asked him if he ever sees any owls and his face lit up like a little kid. "I know a secret spot where there are two Frog Mouthed Owls", he said. "Do you want to see them"? Without hesitation we were heading up the mountain to the "secret spot".

As you know, being out in the wilderness doesn't come without a little bit of danger. If you have followed some of our other blogs you'll remember that Rox was bit by a monkey in India, and had a tic imbedded in her stomach during our motorhome adventure last year... this time it was my turn. As we were walking to the secret spot, I felt something warm dripping down the back of my right leg. "What the heck could that be?" I thought, and turned around only to see blood. I lifted up my pants and they were soaked underneath. I knew right away I was the victim of a blood sucking leech! Now I don't mind donating blood, but only on my terms . This guy snuck up the back of my leg and took a sample without asking. Sunil looked at my wound and said he "thought" the leech had fallen off. I would usually be ok with that answer but when there is a possibility that a leech may still be in my pants, going for an even more sensitive area (if you know what I mean), I didn't want to take any chances. I lowered my drawers for a final inspection - everything seemed to be AOK.

Onward, to the secret spot, bloody leg and all. As we trekked up the hill we saw a monkey swinging from branch to branch, and birds everywhere. All of a sudden Sunil stopped and pointed down to the river. "We need to go down here", he said as he pointed to a muddy trail, deep in the jungle. "You're dreaming", Rox said. "I'll stay here and watch the flowers grow. You can show me a picture ". So Sunil and I headed down the trail and after a few minutes of bushwhacking, we came upon these two little birds sitting in a tree, which I've just learned aren't owls at all but are often mistaken for . Nevertheless, how cool! I would have never found them on my own. Well, the sun is starting to set so we head back to the van. It was a great day in the jungle, leech bite and all. Tomorrow morning we will head back to the park, this time with protectors on our legs.

We head to our hotel for showers, a game of cards and a great dinner. Rox is so tired she can barely keep her head up. Once again I am reminded how blessed we are. I am writing this in our pitch black room (they turn the generator off @ 10), I have the love of my life snoring softly next to me, and a couple of fireflies have managed to sneak in the room and are flying around with their tails aglow. Rox would freak if she were awake. Over the next few days we're doing safaris in 3 different national parks of Sri Lanka.

Thanks for taking the time to read about our adventures. So long for now.
M&R