Ella

We've had a very restful time in Ella. The town is literally one street, with a couple of restaurants, a few massage places and a few local institutions (school, petrol station etc). 

Even though it's really small, you can already see the changes happening. A relatively big supermarket has been built on the edge of the main street and the few restaurants in town are offering mainly western cuisine, with very little offered in the way of Sri Lankan food. 

There is however, a very good roti shop in town. The roti's are huge and really good. We enjoyed a delicious potato roti and a coconut roti, both too big too finish. We also enjoyed a few good meals at the Dream Cafe, but the most enjoyable meals were shared around the table at our guesthouse.

Our guesthouse came with our own resident cat (don't tell Yodi!).

If you can't be with the cat you love, love the cat you're with.

Our guesthouse, The Waterfall Guesthouse is stunning. It is built into the hillside at the top of a ravine and has stunning views of the nearby waterfall. Initially there were six guests at our place, one, middle aged, toffee nosed, English couple who occasionally sniff in our direction; a newly married young, middle class, English couple who are all shiny and new and terribly, terribly excited about their year living in India. We call them Mr & Mrs Chennai, because all their sentences begin with "When we were in Chennai........"  and us. It's a bit like that old skit with the two Ronnies and John Cleese about the British class system. 

"I know my place" - YouTube

Fortunately the guest turn over is quite frequent and we 
soon had some nice new guests from Germany, Spain and 
an English, Indian family.

Waterfall Guesthouse was delightful.

The view from the guesthouse verandah.

I'm not sure why Ella is such a big stop on the tourist trail, it's nice, but unless you're really into tracking there isn't a lot to do. We had a really good massage in the town, although the further we get away from Colombo, the more expensive the massages get. 

With our host Karen and Laura, at breakfast.

We've had fun walking along the train tracks, about a fifteen minute walk into town from our guesthouse. Richie is far too delighted when the train comes and we have to leap off the tracks - I think it's a bit of a boys own adventure!

Avoiding the trains.

The train tracks are used as the main road in Ella. 

Walk the line - the only way to get around.

We eventually sucumbed to the inevitable and decided to take a hike to see the waterfall. We were accosted, picked up if you like, by a very friendly farmer who decided we needed him to show us where to go and how to get there. After quite an arduous trek up the hill and a stop off at his cousins, uncles, brothers shop to buy cokes for us and fags for him, and a few hundred rupies later, we managed to find our own way back.

Our friendly guide.

Our guides must stop, rest stop.

The Ajayi's trekking - not our natural state!

So we've really not done much in Ella, walked the tracks, had a massage, had some great roti's, made some new friends and enjoyed the view. Onwards and upwards and eastwards to Arugam Bay.......