Walk to Indian Ocean

One of my tour mates, Eddie, had found the pathway from our hotel to the Indian Ocean. He led a group of us on it.

Wild Boar

A family of wild boars were just off the pathway next to someone’s cabin. They must have thought we were harmless as they just kept doing what they had been doing––eating the vegetation.

Tsunami Shelter

A tsunami shelter was on the pathway. If you hear the tsunami siren go off, you run and then shelter here. The tsunami in 2005 came in at 20 feet (6.1 m) high. Hopefully, this structure is tall enough. The tsunami reminders were a bit disconcerting.

Indian Ocean

The beach on the beautiful Indian Ocean. We were the only people on the beach and had it to ourselves except for some fishermen.

Fishermen

Further along the beach were these fishermen buildings. My group spent a long time talking to the fishermen.

Gray Langurs

Back at our hotel, this group of gray langur monkeys with black faces were enjoying lounging on the lounge chairs by the pool of our hotel.

I have put my photos of our walk to the Indian Ocean and of our hotel on a slideshow. Go to http://www.peggysphotos.com/yala–beach/    (Slide Shows, Asia–2, Sri Lanka, “Yala Beach”).

Yala National Park

In the afternoon, we took a safari in Yala National Park. Yala National Park is the second largest national park in Sri Lanka––378 square miles (979 sq. km.). It is known for its elephants, leopards––one of the highest leopard populations in the world, and aquatic birds.

Safari Trucks

We were in safari trucks and were following this one through the park.

Water Buffalos

We saw many water buffalos in the park.

Crocodiles

We also made quite a number of crocodile sightings.

Spotted Deer

We also saw a number of spotted deer.

Little Green Bee Eater

There are 215 bird species in Yala National Park. To see this beautiful Little Green Bee Eater was quite a treat.

Painted Stork

We also saw a number of painted storks.

Elephant Sighting

What we didn’t see at the Yala National Park were many elephants. This is the only one that I spotted. We also didn’t see any leopards. Still an enjoyable safari for what we did see.

My Tour Group

A group photo was taken at Yala National Park. I am in a safari truck taking the photo.

I have put my photos of Yala National Park on a slideshow. Go tohttp://www.peggysphotos.com/yala–national–park/  (Slide Shows, Asia–2, Sri Lanka, “Yala National Park”).