north and gone

back in jungle country, having left the arid north for the lush jungle coast on the east side of the island. goodbye land of the giant jesus’ and riotous temple towers expressing the entire hindu pantheon, hello stark white and/or techno buddhas and signs that advise caution - elephant crossing -
…the journey was long and arduous, with the heat and the diesel, but our trusty “tank” (a 37 yr old Land Rover jeep) held strong and we made it here to Trincomalee by sunset. stopped at this lake so dinesh could wash the jeep (with all the obsessive meticulousness of a mother cat licking her newborn kittens), and while he did so, i had a lovely yoga practice, taking inspiration for balances from an elegant white crane that was tiptoeing around the marshy edge looking for dinner.

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​...the visit yesterday to Delft Island was intriguing, if woefully short on wild ponies (i don't know what i was thinking, but the cinematic stampede of wildness-incarnate, sweeping the plains in full romantic splendor was not to be had!). the place is very enigmatic, with the pervasive lattice-work of stone fencing and random enclosures (actually made entirely from fan and brain corral!!!) and ruins of buildings from dutch & portuguese times… it’s beautiful and kind of spooky there. the boat ride was a blast, even the triple-packed-sardines experience of the return trip (i managed eventually to get out of the hold and squeeze into a little corner on the deck with dinesh and laurent, our new french friend.