A journey into the heart of Nature

 The one thing I hate most is awaking early in the morning. It was 3.45am when I was forced to wake up by my mom. I felt like being murdered, however, the feeling soothed out as soon as I remembered the wonderful plan ahead. Thus I jumped out of bed and started getting ready for the adventurous journey which was to be commenced a few hours sooner.

 I was to wait for them at the Thelwatta junction in Negombo. I made a phone call to know where they were at the moment and since they hadn’t departed from their location, I waited a few minutes more. Then all of a sudden a call came saying that they have entered the Colombo-Katunayaka expressway. I rushed to our vehicle, and along with mum and dad, started heading to the destination where I was supposed to be picked by them. Well, I was late, so I let them collect the others and finally came face to face with their vehicle. As the door opened, I was greeted by them, my good old university friends – the organizer Anas, Rukshi, Thamali and Yasiru whom I met after a long time since graduation! There were two new friends too – Chathuri and Chrishan. It was quiet a reunion! Since everything was good to go, the adventurous journey commenced at 5.30am from Negombo.

 There was so much to talk. We were heading to Weyangoda in order to pick up Rusiru, our last passenger and dear friend to join our little gang. Through the minuscule beam of the rising sunlight, we saw that the paddy fields which passed beside us were covered with the morning mist. Most of the environment was dark. Finally Rusiru also got into the vehicle. Now the journey officially commenced.

 Yasiru drove us through the winding roads from Kegalle, Mawanalla and Peradeniya to Kandy. The cities were being kissed by the first morning sun rays peeking through the clouds. As the sun became brighter, the cities became more crowdy. We drove for about 3 hours and reached Kadugannawa, where we stopped for breakfast. After everyone was stuffed up, the journey started again on the Kandy-Mahiyanganaya road. We passed Digana and Theldeniya where we stopped again to buy some hot "roti" along with a delicious paste made of chilly (kochchi). It was so spicy that no one could avoid tears coming from their eyes. But the taste was heavenly!

 We reached Hunnasgiriya by 12.30 noon. Since everybody was tired from the long drive, we decided to get out of the vehicle, observe the beautiful environment and take some snapshots. Thus everybody got out to feel the breath of Mother Nature. We were surrounded by sky high mountains which wore caps of mist and clouds. Silence dominated all around us. All that sound of vehicles honking, mobile phones ringing, motors grinding and factories working was faded away by the music of leaves moving due to a gentle breeze which was heard once in a while. The nasty odor of petrol and gasoline, of sweat and swamps was replaced by the fragrance of plants, trees and soil. Few couples of yellow colored butterflies roamed freely. If only I could exchange life with that little creature for a while!

   We spent some time till we were fully satisfied. We made some phone calls to our homes, since the network coverage was said to be unavailable afterwards. The journey proceeded again while the songs sung by us dominated the atmosphere. After driving for about an hour, we stopped at a boutique. Plain tea was ordered along with pieces of juggerry – the perfect combination for the moment.

 The clock showed 4pm when we reached to our destination where travelling by vehicle was possible – “Meemure”. The rest of the journey was to travel on foot into the heart of the jungle. Our vehicle was parked at a place where the house owners were friends with our organizer. Anas has travelled to Meemure several times before, thus we felt very confident about this trip as well as our security. After a few minutes of resting, everybody was good to go with all the stuff packed in travelling kits. Everything from clothes, tents, ropes, lanterns, cooker, BBQ grill up to candles and match boxes had to be carried by ourselves into the forest. Thus each and every one had several Kg s of weight on their shoulders.

 The road was a bit steep and upwards, thus the walk was tiresome. However the adventure ahead tempted us to move our feet forward ignoring the tiredness. We traveled for about 3Km along the road through the Meemure village. At some places I couldn’t help thinking how on earth these people lived in such lands so far from other villages, with so few facilities! The roads were so narrow that it was very difficult for two vehicles to pass by. We experienced this inconvenience throughout the drive from Hunnasgiriya to Meemure. Small houses were located here and there at the bottom of steep mountains. Almost every home had their own Trishaw; otherwise it would be very difficult travelling up and down these steep roads. Despite all of the difficulties, and lack of so called facilities, we saw the innocent smiles and immeasurable courage of the hardworking people. The little children played by running up and down the steep roads. They didn’t need video games or other complicated toys to play with. They had Mother Nature’s offerings and blessings. Crops were grown on fields -“liyadi”- cut on mountains. They represented a green carpet laid covering the valleys. When several white cranes descended from the blue skies to this greenish crop grown area, the sight was mind blowing!

  We rested for a couple of minutes under some shady trees, admiring the sceneries for a lifetime. One of the Knuckles’ mountains stood majestically before us. “That’s the forest we are going to camp in” said the organizer. The mountain was covered with trees of the forest. The boundary of the village was seen a few feet ahead. Afterwards we entered the forest of the Knuckles Mountain.

 The journey became tougher and much more dangerous. Everybody took care of themselves and each others as well. We had to climb from rock to rock. There were places where we had to cling on creepers and climb upwards. Waterfalls of various sizes were on either side of our footpath. Once, we were on a path where tall trees and rocks were on our right hand side while a river flew at a shallow path on our left hand side. The foot path which we were travelling was narrow, thus we had to walk one after another. The most disgusting situation was when leeches hung on our feet. Apart from preventing from falling into a hell, we had to be aware of those creatures as well. However, since it was not raining, we didn’t meet much of them. Next, we had to walk through a stream filled with water up to our ankle. “If it rained even a bit the water would be up to your knee!” said our organizer reminding his past experiences. We traveled for about 2km and came to an ideal spot for camping. It was about 6 o’clock and everybody rather had a rest. But there was no time to spare since darkness was approaching rapidly. We had to set up our tents and build a bonfire quickly. The campsite we selected was a small land space surrounded by trees and bushes. A few rocks downwards, there was a stream where clear water floated from rock to rock.

 First of all the ground was cleared and arranged in order to set up the tents. While the boys did this, we girls went here and there close by to collect firewood for the bonfire. The riverbed could be seen clearly through the water. I bet we would never be able to use such clean water at home.

 Two tents were set up. A large polythene carpet was laid on the ground and all our travelling bags were kept on it. Another large carpet was raised above our heads and the four corners of it were tied to the nearby trees, forming a temporary ceiling above us. An electric lamp was lightened. The bonfire was also enlightened, thus perfect lighting was there all around the campsite. While Anas started preparing for the BBQ, Thamali and Rukshi cooked the noodles. Chathuri and me, we went over to the stream and started preparing vegetables for the noodles.

 Finally the noodles were ready. Some green and red apples were cut into pieces and laid separately. Another plate was filled with slices of cucumber. The BBQ was looking and smelling delicious. The atmosphere tickled our taste buds. Dinner was laid on a mat which was laid on the ground between the two tents. Afterwards, we all went to the river to wash ourselves.

 The time was around 8pm and we were in the middle of a forest on the mountainside of the country. So I think you could imagine how freezing the water would be at that moment. Our bodies under the water felt numb. Our lips shivered. Teeth clenched with each other. But after several minutes the tiredness amazingly vanished away. We did not spent a lot of time in the cold water. Soon we were ready for a bonne appetite! Usually every other time was “selfie time”, but at this moment, hunger was stronger. Everybody made sure that at least half of their bellies were full before posing for a photograph.

 The starry night guaranteed that we need not to worry about any rain pour. The water flowing while hitting from rock to rock, the songs of crickets and other night creatures and the gentle hum of the wind were the only sounds that broke the silence. We listened to them as much as we could until we thought that we had recorded the noise in our minds and kept it safe somewhere in our heart, so that we could listen to it some other time, maybe when we needed a break in that busy life in the city.

Time was flying and we were becoming sleepy. The girls and boys went to their separate tents to have a good night’s sleep. However, another hour or two might have passed away when we finally fell asleep, cuddled in to Mother Nature’s chest.

 As the first couple of sun rays hit the forest ground, we woke up yawning lazily. The environment was cold but fresh. Dew drops danced on the leaves of the trees and shone like crystals in the sunlight. A set of birds chirped “Good Morning”. The river flowed making the same sound as on the last night. We longed to sleep more, but our organizer prohibited us to do so. Thus one by one we lazily got out from the tent, washed ourselves and started preparing breakfast.

 The menu included Manioc with a special “lunumiris” which was made of chopped pieces of onion mixed with chili paste. While the Manioc was being prepared, Chrishan and Rusiru made plain tea for all. Finally the breakfast was ready, including boiled Manioc along with our innovative “lunumiris” and some apples. It was served on top of a flat rock by the river. Everybody enjoyed a very happy meal.

 Next came the time for a photo-shoot where everybody posed by hanging on gigantic creepers. This resembled a few shots in the Sinhala movie named “Sooriya Arana”. The actual location used for shooting the movie was situated a few miles upwards the river. Due to lack of time we could not visit that part of the forest. After the photo-shoot everything was packed and we all got ready to have some fun in the river. We traveled a bit upwards the river, looking for an ideal and a safe spot for a bath. We didn’t need to go for long since we found a place where there was a small waterfall and the water flowing from it was so clear that we could see our own feet touching the river bed.

 The experience was unbelievable as well as unforgettable. The white waters from the fall hit our bodies so hard that we felt like being massaged at a spa. We laughed and cried out loud with joy. Every second we spent there was once in a lifetime experience. So we made sure to absorb the best of it. We lost track of time. How many hours we spent there, we didn’t know, nor did we care. But finally it was time to go. We sadly came back to our tents and got dressed for the journey back to the village.

 We carried our bags and every other equipment brought with us. We made sure that the only thing we left behind was our footprints. The same obstacles we faced on our way in to the forest awaited us. We climbed up and down from rock to rock, walked through narrow footpaths and followed one after another through small streams. The leaches didn’t frighten us anymore. Finally we slowly came towards the border of the village. Another several kilometers laid ahead us to walk. Since the lovely breeze and the mind relaxing sound of the forest was not here anymore, everybody started to feel exhausted during the walk. However Ysiru and Chathuri were able to move rapidly and come back to take us by the vehicle.

 We reached the place where the vehicle was parked the previous night, rested for a while, then bayed goodbye to our organizer’s friends and started our journey back home. As we drove out from Meemure, we started singing again. But this time our songs felt somewhat sad and gloomy. Yesterday seemed like a lovely dream. We didn’t want to leave such a heaven on earth!

But it had to be like this. Our vehicle slowly passed Hunnasgiriya, driving us back in to the noisy world…

note : photo courtesy goes to Rukshika and Rusiru.