Not Quite At The Top ...

.... of the Rock Fortress in yesterday's blip. These lion's feet guard the entrance to the last 100 or so steps to the very top where in 500ad the then King of Sri Lanka had his palace. Originally the steps took you through a lion's mouth cathedral into the roch, but this has been lost I the mists of time and replaced with a more prosaic iron staircase. The fellow tourists rather spoil the effect but they do give it a sense of scale.

However, it was easy to imagine the awe and wonder this place must have inspired in the humble traveller 1500 years ago who had made his way through thick jungle to reach the foot of the rock before making the lung-busting climb to this point, through water gardens, statues carved in solid rock and ornate paintings in the plaster covered caves that lined the way up. It was like something out of a Rider Haggard novel.

On our return we collapsed into the hotel pool for a couple of hours before setting off on a bone-jangling jeep safari through aforementioned jungle to enjoy sightings of elephants.

Many thanks for all the comments and stars again yesterday.

Off to Kandy tomorrow. Next week should be more relaxing with time to catch up.