The end of the sri lanka tour ..for me

Today I bid farewell to the tour group as I am waiting here till tomorrow to be collected by the owner of the turtle sanctuary
Going with the group to Colombo would mean passing where I need to go...and then possibly having to come back....to be with the turtles 🐢
At the time of booking both the tour and separately ,the turtles i couldn't be sure that I could rely on the tour driver and guide to drop me off ....having met them ..I now know they would have...but kept to my plan for simplicity
The tour has served a purpose and I think I managed to find a way to do both my own thing and join in with others .. Some of the group would like to follow my travels and some Il send wots app pics... I'm delighted to have made friends with some of the Group and there others are people who have been in my life for the tour and that's where it stops....I'm sure that's mutual.
We had breakfast as a group, gave the tips to the driver ,magic bag moving guy ,who we never saw but our bags magically arrived at each hotel, and Mimi the tour guide.. Following a group photo ,they piled on the bus and I waved them off at the gate....felt bit strange
Another quiet day in which I was seriously grateful to be able to see Pope Francis funeral.
Never did I imagine when I changed my O2 contract to cover my travels ,that I'd be in Sri Lanka watching the Pope's funeral ,in Rome..and having to accommodate the time difference
I've learnt that the Pope and I have the same birthday...that he knew his own mind and once made up that was that . He'd listen to his advisors but not heed their views and would go places (without considering risk, )saying if you're not coming, fine, I'm going anyway ! ..i know .some might say all this about me too..clearly a 17th December thing! He also wasn't afraid to do things differently.and fought hard for the causes he believedon . ..I can relate to that R...An additional affinity comes from both my Dad and the Pope being born in Buenos Aires and mum's godson Edmund being a Jesuit ,( now in Taiwan)as Pope Francis was. A wonderful Pope may he rest in peace.

Negombo, here in Sri Lanka is very Catholic and is apparently known as Little Rome.

Returning to the restaurant this evening for dinner was odd as the huge table our group had shared was empty and apart from me there were only 10 other people for dinner.
The group have moved on to the final hotel in Colombo which is apparently a fabulous hotel as Maura was kind enough to ring me. It has robot room service but is AI generated ..unlike the cafe in Tokyo
Photos will include a few from across my time on the tour, not added as yetRead more