Day 8 - Yala —> Ella

Almost everyday of this M&A adventure, the landscape and surroundings have changed. From city —> to fort —> beach /surf town —> beach / bougie —> safari and now … tea fields.

Yala kicked off early … we saddled up and out of camp by 6am for our morning safari with Yohan. Hard to beat yesterday’s outing so Mike and I packed zero expectations and actually contemplated playing hookie since we thought we saw all we would see yesterday. So glad we rally’d!

Yesterday we safari’d in Zone 5 (that’s Tiki’s area). Today we entered Zone 1 … different landscape than Zone 5. More brush and smaller trees. Lots of peacocks, crocodiles, more spotted deer but the BIG win??? A male leopard that Yohan calls Chello. Video of this guy is a must watch. He got so close! If you zoom in on his eyes … piercing! So confident and dominant. He wins!

After we returned from our safari, we put’sd around a bit at the camp before loading up Winston and waving goodbye to Leopard Trails! (Wonderful experience. Highly recommend and ask for Yohan!)

The travels between Yala and Ella were rather smooth sailing. We rolled right by Tiki … said what’s up and ✌️ … no problems for much of the trip.

I’d say Mike entered his next “level” as we got closer to Ella. Roads got a bit tighter, a bit curvy (let’s call it), a bit more steep and the sun seemed to play hide and seek, bringing some cooler air into the mix. Things were getting real! But the good news is … Mike and Winston have been training for this now for over a week. They’ve bonded, Mike knows what makes Winston tick so no problem. And it was no problem until … the roads became tiny, curvy and steep to get us to the Tea Cabins (our home for the next 2 days). Oh and did I mention it started to rain. Big. Heavy. Drops. ☔️ Videos are a must watch to catch how this adventure ends.

Spoiler alert … we and Winston made it. 💪🏼

The Tea Cabins were better than the pictures. Amazing view, plunge pool, lots of lights (Mike “loves” to play the light game and he has his work cut out for him with this place) and a quaint loft that is breathtaking. Once we got settled, took a quick dip … the real rain started. As Mike showered, I walked outside and found such peace with each raindrop and roll of thunder. Still surreal to think we are so far from home …

Early night for us, as another early morning tomorrow as we explore Ella!

P.S. We had a whole “Cribs” video for you all but it’s too long and WiFi isn’t the best here so photos it shall be. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Hugs all! M&ARead more