Ella is quite the charming village. This morning we hiked Mount Ella (which sadly I can't show you pictures of yet), but again... take my word for it--beautiful. We walked along the railroad tracks up in the mountains. When the local woman walking ahead of us started running, that was our cue that a train was coming, so we jumped off the track for a bit--luckily we weren't to the bridge yet. After a bit a local man started following us. They're used to the tourist hiking to Mount Ella, so he intercepted us early so that he could be our guide--smart man. He led us through a farm, down to a waterfall and then up to the top of the mountain where the views were spectacular! The coolest thing about it was seeing the local people along the way though... again... it will be cooler once I have pics. We passed an elderly woman who was haling a bundle of sticks on her head, bare foot, with a machete (at least that's my guess) stuffed in the back of her skirt. Rad.
After the hike, the owner of the house called a TUK TUK (3-wheeled car) to take me into the village for a local Ayurwedayurweda (spa) treatment--I got a 1-hour message, oil-head message, and a steam bath (which is essentially a one-man sauna that you lay in with your head sticking out--sounds weird, but it was pretty sweet).
To finish up the day, we took a "cooking class", where the ladies of our house laughed at my lack of skill when it comes to shredding coconuts--good times ;)
Oh yah, and I got to take a shower today! YEAH! In fact, it was so nice I took two!
I love the daily blog!! Please keep it up! Let your friend know I really appreciate the added detail hers gives as well.
ReplyDeleteHaha... I'll let her know. Internet and time with a computer are hard to come by these days, so it's nice to have her journal as a reference!
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