SL 14 The Carnival Is Over. Day 38

After the luxury of a sleep in and a lazy breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and waited for the driver. Plans for the day were subject to the vagaries of the current political climate - no stranger to this after the Athens riots of a previous trip, today we found ourselves affected by a protest march from Kandy to Colombo that threatened to choke the streets. And so it was - as soon as we left the hotel we immediatelynwere caught up in gridlock that eventually improved to a very slow crawl. We gained 2 km in an hour. Then fortunately our path took us away from the march, and we could proceed to our destination. We had been told we were all going to a gem museum : Kandy is the sapphire centre of Sri Lanka and  is  renowned for its gems. Instead the four of us found ourselves being given a private viewing at one of Kandy's premier jewellery centres, with a short film on the mining techniques used ( still very much by hand in the remote locations), a look at the precious and semi precious types of stones unearthed, a tour of the cutting and polishing room, and finally - while Dave and I sat back and watched the cricket on a TV - Carmel and Justine were given a private viewing of the jewellery pieces. Trays of stuff came out and went back in, but eventually they both found something they liked and left with a shiny memento of the trip.

Then we had a final lunch together in a restaurant on another of Kandy's hills ; and then a tour of the Temple of the Tooth - quite relevant for dentists but actually the most sacred Bhuddist site in Sri Lanka containing a relic of Buddha. Then we bid farewells, as David and Justine will stay on for another week, but Carmel and I must return home.
So we say goodbye to this beautiful country with its amazing sights and wildlife and a surprise around every corner ( normally a tuktuk on the wrong side of the road). People here have always responded so warmly to a smile despite their hardships, and they all have a fierce pride in their country that they are keen to share. It has been a fantastic holiday destination.
So thank you for reading the blog, and we hope you enjoyed sharing our adventures. Now we head home to plan the next trip....