Sri Lanka By Water (and some gems)

 

One of the reasons I have wanted to go to Sri Lanka with the kids is to take them to the turtle sanctuaries. It is really cool to see the way several groups have worked to protect the turtles that lay eggs on the island nation. For the little Muggles, this is one of the highlights of the trip! 

There are several different sanctuaries to choose from. Some seem more legit than others. The one we went to had several turtles that they have rehabilitated after accidents with fishing nets or motorboats. They also collect eggs that have been laid and release the hatchlings back into the ocean exponentially increasing the survival rate of the turtles. 

This guy was in heaven holding a baby turtle. Turtles have been his favorite animals for years. He was so excited to see the turtles and then to hold one! 

They move the eggs from the sand and protect them until it is time for them to hatch and return to the sea. 

We then went on a water safari. It was the next highlight of the trip. We saw land monitor lizards, water monitor lizards (way bigger species), two different kinds of monkeys, fish, birds, and many other wildlife. 

At one stop we fed some monkeys bananas. This may have been the favorite part of the entire trip for all of us. It was fun to see the whole family of monkeys come to see what we had and then to take the small banana pieces from us. At one point they were even willing to sit on the Muggles' laps to take some. Lucky Dragon tried to pet one of the monkeys and it swatted his hand away. We all laughed. 

We hiked up to an island that has a family who sell cinnamon. We were able to watch the way they harvest the cinnamon. Lady Hiva is convinced her dad grew the plant in the yard, they just did not know what it was! 

Water Monitor lizard! It was huge! 

Grinding cinnamon bark to make cinnamon. 

Land Monitor lizard. Still big--maybe 3 feet long..but nowhere near as big as the water lizard. 

These sticks are the stands for the iconic pole fishermen. It was fun to see them along the shore waiting for their catch to come in. 

Of course if you go to Sri Lanka you need to do some gems and jewels shopping! Lady Hiva has never been a big jewelry person. But when I went to Sri Lanka earlier in the year I purchased her some pretty gems. Ever since then she has been hoping to go back. We did! It was so much fun to go as a family. 

All of us had fun going into the different shops and comparing prices etc. We ended up buying at the same place I bought from last time in Colombo. They are honest and open about prices and willing to answer all of our questions. 

We let the two Muggles choose a few pieces for themselves. Of course our yellow lover chose a yellow stone and had it put into a ring. It is a HUGE stone. He was so happy!

The guy below is making the pieces after a gem is chosen. 

Below are sapphire stones raw. Sri Lanka is known for their sapphires. They make the best stones into gems and the others they send then to Thailand to make "treated" or "lab" stones. It is the same materials, but it is just melted down and reformed. We were going to all natural stones.