My legs are still a bit tired from the climb to Sigiriya. Sigiriya is a giant rock that ascends 370 meters. Diane and I now wish we would have counted the steps but there were so many I'm sure we would have lost count. Just know if it were part of our Monday night Tir Na Nog run club - we definitely earned our beer! I chose to stop looking as to how the iron steps were engineered to the side of the rock and focus on the view.
Sigiriya is a collection of ancient gardens,, caves, water gardens, frescas and ruins. Once thought to be be a King's fortress, scholars now believe it was a monastery. The view was spectacular, enough to keep us on top lingering even though the sun was in full force. The entire journey took about three hours. Not too bad, however long story short we didnt have water. We were grateful for the water cistern that was available half way up. While it's recommended you only drink bottled water here, we were so thirsty we decided to chance it. (it's been 24 hours so I think we're fine.)
The plan after Sigiriya was to head to our hotel - Kandalama Hotel, freshen up, grab lunch, then head to the Buddhist temples. However, finding our hotel proved a bit more difficult than we planned. With the hike and the sun wiping us out we decided to take full advantage of the hotel and boy are we glad!
The KAndalama hotel is the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in. I would imagine it rivals some of the very best in the States. The hotel is built into the rock and is remenicent of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the way that it uses nature. This hotel was designed by Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa and was the first certified Green hotel. Every view from this hotel was stunning. To help appreciate the views, the hotel's staff offered impeccable service so we were just able to relax. And relax we did.
To care for our wearied bones after our long hike, we spent some time in the hotel's infinity pools and watched the monkeys play. Yes- I said monkeys and by play I mean watching monkeys run across the yard, chasing each other, scurrying up the side of the hotel walls! I have never been to a hotel where the staff tells each guest - the monkeys will come up to your balcony but they wont harm you. Be sure to lock your balcony door because they know how to slide it open. They will ransack your room! Apparently this happens on average once a day.
We ended our day with a wonderful massage in the spa and dinner. Diane took anither dip in the pool and I crashed. The next morning we had tea on our deck - no monkeys - followed by a lovely breakfast. We headed out for a day of elephants and tea!
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