I arrived at the Colombo airport in Sri Lanka late at night and met up with Peter, our tour guide, and with my group arriving from London on a separate flight two hours later. The group consisted of 12 of us, Brits and Americans, mo¬¬¬stly middle aged and seniors of very interesting backgrounds and travel experiences, a congenial group and joy to be with. We were picked up by a van and transported over four hours to Sigiriya northeast of Colombo, the first stop on our tour. We stayed two nights here at a very upscale hotel, with a magnificent view of a huge granite magma plug from an extinct volcano that¬ contains ancient ruins of an ancient Buddhist monastery dating back to 300 BC. We slept until noon the next day, recovering from the night of travel and then took a preliminary bicycle ride, some 30 km, in the afternoon circling around the Sigiriya plug. We were getting acquainted with each other and getting in shape for more rigorous bicycling the following days. Enroute, we encountered domesticated elephants on the road and a swarm of termites about two miles wide.
The next day we toured the Sigiriya ruins, climbing some 2000 steps up to the top of the mountain where we viewed frescos of the monastery. We had a magnificent view of the area from the top of the mountain We also bicycled some 50 km to Dambulla and visited five caves filled with Buddhist images, statues and sculptures of religious and historical importance, some dating back to 100 BC.
I was becoming more acquainted with my group, of varied professions, a doctor, financial officer, retired microbiologist, retired economist from the US Congressional Budget Office, a machinist, an accountant. They had many travel experiences to share, quite a few with Exodus tours, bicycle trips in other countries and trekking trips. They also an adventurous and fun-loving bunch which promised to make the trip interesting.
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