Our arrival in Wasgamuwa

View from our porch, Wasgamuwa, Sri Lanka. Photo courtesy Phil Buccellato

Becky, Lacey, and Jon. Rishikesh, India. Photo courtesy Phil Buccellato

We flew into Columbo at 2 am after a week in India. Our brief travels in India proved to be as much of a culture shock as any of us had read about... it was loud, hot, crowded, and chaotic, yet there was this remarkable magic to the way people live amongst each other in so much noise and disorder. Experiencing this phenomenon there is an unforgettable reality check.

SLWCS employee, Sampath. Photo courtesy Phil Buccellato

Sri Lanka was an oasis from the moment we left the airport. We were greeted by our very smiley and warm driver, Sampath, and after a few hours of sleep in Colombo, we departed for Wasgamuwa in the big cozy white SLWCS van. Six hours and a lot of dirt roads later we arrived at an utter paradise. The area of Wasgamuwa sits at the foot of an elegant mountain range, and this time of year (the start of the dry season) it is lush and green and water holes (tanks) are full. The heat is mild (relative to India, or NYC this summer) and there is fresh breeze in the mornings and evenings. The people here are friendly, sincere, and they seem to live in a beautiful harmony with their land. So far, it is one of the most wonderful places I've ever visited, and we can not wait to meet the kids and get to know the community more closely.

Our cottage; the walls are made from elephant dung! Photo courtesy Phil Buccellato

Beautiful day to hike over the rock. Photo courtesy Phil Buccellato

Lunch at the SLWCS field house. Mmmm.. Photo courtesy Phil Buccellato

Wasgamuwa road at sunset. Photo courtesy Phil Buccellato