Sigiriya - ancient fortress and palace

    From the white road signs announcing "elephant crossings" we knew we were stepping into the thickest jungle. Roads were now narrowing into single-tracks that two cars sometimes had to carefully maneuver to pass each other. Once, an older man driving a tuk-tuk turned ice cream truck got so close that our van's side mirror got tweaked and we heard a scraping sound as he passed the rear of the van. There was no road rage. Our driver simply got out, inspected the minor damage and told the other man, "forget it - just go!"
    We watched as a young elephant stood in a tiny stream and trumpeted water on his head. What a majestic and beautiful animal!
    In the cooler afternoon, we began our ascent of the Sigiriya fortress and palace. Sitting atop a natural geologic formation, an early Sri Lankan king long ago chose the spot for a palace and evidently his workers hopped to it and planned a small city up top, complete with bathing pools, buildings, murals of beautiful women on walls, and spectacular views of the land all around. They had aqueducts feeding water fountains in the lush gardens and a moat filled with crocodiles. 

    For us, the climb from the entrance halfway up where two giant lion paws lead the way to the summit at 660 feet was treacherous and nerve-wracking. We clung onto sturdy steel stairways and railings and wondered how the kings and their entourages managed... Did they climb, all sweaty and rubber-knees or were they carried, and if so, which would be more frightening?

    The view was spectacular and we stayed at the top as long as we could, enjoying strong gusting winds and bracing for the descent.

    Later that evening, we learned that our son had taken this awesome location to ask the love of his life to marry him! We toasted to them at dinner and were thrilled to have yet another wonderful memory to add to this trip.