Speaking of elephants, we saw several along the road as we drove thru Minneriya National Park—our first in Asia. -S 🇱🇰
Don’t be a douchenozzle and pay to ride an elephant. Just don’t. -S 🇱🇰
I’ve noticed some of these “foreigners only” toilet facilities here in Sri Lanka.
They seem to be around touristy areas, where foreigners pay a higher fee. The (controversial) idea is that Western visitors might have higher expectations of hygiene than what is often found in public toilets. -S 🇱🇰
There was a live band at our hotel bar last night, which is always fun to enjoy while overseas. There are usually plenty of American songs being played, but the lyrics sometimes come out as sounds rather than actual words. I find it so endearing. This group did much better than most. -S 🇱🇰
Final Zoom Call of Our Adventure
Singapore will mark the end of our Indian Ocean part of this 100-day Adventure, so we have decided to host the last Zoom call of our adventure there on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025 at 6:00 pm Phoenix time (8:00 pm EST) (it will be 9 am on 2/1 for us!).
So bring your favorite weekend happy hour-ish beverages and jump on and say hi. We are missing everyone and would love to see your faces and hear your voices 😁
Tell us how you’re surviving these days!
Zoom call info
Here’s the link: https://zoom.us/j/93145557981
Our post-zoom itinerary
We will still have 3 weeks in Australia and a week in French Polynesia after that.
I think we’re both excited to have our own vehicle—a campervan—for the last fortnight-ish in Australia. We haven’t driven since November!
After we’re home
We encourage you to connect with us—perhaps over a beverage, perhaps at our favorite brewery, Wren Südhalle—when we return to hear about our adventures, including those in Australia and Tahiti/Bora Bora!
Or schedule a private Zoom with us if you’re not in the Phoenix area. We’d love some one-on-one time!
Sri Lankan art? 🤷♀️ -J 🇱🇰
The view from our hotel window in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is of the Lotus Tower—South Asia’s tallest self-supported structure (1,168 feet). During the day the Lotus flower is purple. But at night, it changes color! -J 🇱🇰
We arrived in Sri Lanka today in the early morning hours following an overnight flight. After a refreshing nap, we headed to an Irish Pub (per our quest to visit one in 32 different countries) for our requisite Guinness and also to grab lunch. This is an Irish Pub in our 18th country! -J 🇱🇰
The rest of our time in the Seychelles
After a day of lounging at the (nice) hotel, we were ready to explore Mahe island. We booked a private day tour, which brought us around to a number of island attractions. Because we had recently visited tea plantations, spice farms, rum distilleries, and local craft & food markets, we cut out a number of “standard” stops.
Nonetheless, we enjoyed the day, which we spent visiting a number of classic boulder-strewn beaches, scenic driving the island, touring Victoria (perhaps the world’s smallest capital city?), hiking to a waterfall, and—most of all—learning about the island, its people, and its history.
One of the unexpectedly fun stops was at a local perfumery that utilizes the famed coco de mer nut. Famed because it’s only found on Seychelles, grows on an endangered tree, is the largest nut in the world, and the only nut that lacks both oil and sugar. Also, it looks like a booty 🍑
We got a chance to hike a short trail to a waterfall, which was a great little break during our day tour. I was surprised how mountainous the island was (see below for some aerial shots on the flight in), as well as how lush and rainforesty it felt.
The trail to the waterfall
Love the dense jungle here
Sauzier Falls
Here are some of those shots as we flew in, that shows some of the mountainous terrain:
Lunch was right on the water, though we happened to arrive at low tide.
And here’s a shot of one of the (dredged) island development, from a high viewpoint
We spent much of the third day back in the pool, waiting for our evening flight. Our resort had a shower for late departees, which we made good use of before heading to the airport.
All in all, it was a successful and enjoyable visit. We generally saw what we wanted to, and feel good about marking off the country. But it’s probably not a place that would draw us back for a second visit, even as beautiful as it can clearly be. There’s just so much else out there to see, and beyond the honeymoon-focused resorts, it feels very similar to a number of tropical islands we’ve visited. -S 🇸🇨
X marks the spot.
We spent much of yesterday relaxing in the pool, and despite several sunscreen applications throughout the day, we still managed to get burned. It’s been an especially rough day for Jen. -S 🇸🇨
We spent yesterday enjoying the pool and view from our hotel in the Seychelles. -J 🇸🇨
The apparent centerpiece of our room here in the Seychelles is the shower. As in, it’s literally in the middle of the room. 🤷♂️ (don’t ask about the weird window installed in the toilet room so you can make immediate direct eye contact with anyone who hears a plop). -S 🇸🇨
Whew boy! That’s the third increasingly worrisome flight in a row. This time we had to abort our landing less than 1000ft from touch down.
Adventure in the southern part of Mauritius
Our second day in Mauritius found us exploring the southern part of the island. -J 🇲🇺
First stop was the Black Gorges National Park and Biosphere Reserve.
Next, a Hindu temple with two prominent statues.
Then our favorite part, La Vallee Des Couleurs (23 Colored Earth) Nature Park.
We also visited a tea plantation in the morning (with a tea tasting), had a nice seaside lunch, and visited a rum plantation in the afternoon (with rum tasting).
At the end of our first day tour in Mauritius, we walked around and enjoyed a Botanical Garden that also served as a refuge for giant tortoises . ~J 🇲🇺
I found another fun Umbrella Street in Port Louis, Mauritius. -J 🇲🇺
Slavery and Indentured Servitude in Mauritius
When the Dutch colonized Mauritius in 1638, they began a long history of slavery and slavery-related practices on the island; kidnapping people from East Africa and bringing them to the island against their will. The French continued the practices when they took possession of the island in 1715. Slaves were primarily used to grow and harvest sugarcane, but they were also used to build the buildings in what is now Port Louis. The British captured Mauritius from the French in 1810 and abolished slavery in 1835.
Mauritius is still coming to grips with its slavery past and making restitution to the families of former slaves (as is the United States). There is a new little museum dedicated to showing the country’s slave past and working with various families and NGOs to gather artifacts, information, and documents regarding slavery and those involved (both masters and former slave families) and help the country move forward. We visited and they are working on a more permanent exhibit, and hopefully this interesting place continues to expand.
Once the British abolished slavery, they pivoted to a system of indentured servitude that lasted until 1910. Importantly, Mauritius was the birthplace of indentured servitude. While technically free people, the conditions for the workers were still harsh and the contracts still favored the plantation owners, but sometimes this life might have been better than they would have had back home. During this period, almost 2 million individuals came to Mauritius as indentured servants, mostly from India. The majority of Mauritians today are decedents from this Indian population.
The administrative buildings where many indentured servants first set foot in Mauritius and were processed for 2-3 days before being directed to their respective plantations is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. -J 🇲🇺
📷 I think this trip has really inspired Jen to get into photography a bit more seriously. She’s been really loving her new camera and clearly enjoys taking photos with it. -S 🇲🇺
This bird has some pretty great eyelashes.
After a month of mass produced African lagers, we finally had a chance to visit a local craft brewery. Crafty Dee’s, here in Dar es Salaam, is Tanzania’s first craft brewery, and one of Africa’s most awarded too. The beer was a welcomed improvement, and the food was delicious. 🍻 -S🇹🇿
