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Showing posts from July, 2018

Time for tea and a walk around Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka

I love tea.  There is a rare day goes by that I don't have a cuppa or two. I quickly learned that Ceylon tea is considered among the best. Ceylon?  Weren't you in Sri Lanka?  One and the same.  In 1948 Ceylon gained independence from Great Britain and in 1972 changed its name to Sri Lanka. One of the highlights of visiting Sri Lanka for me was being able to visit a tea plantation. On my G Adventures tour  we visited the Blue Field Tea Gardens just outside Nuwara Eliya.  Upon arrival we climbed up through the beautiful fields of tea - the steps were quite uneven and I was glad I had brought along my walking stick.  The view from the top was amazing... Tea leaves The hills around Nuwara Eliya are full of tea like this These ladies work from sun up to sun down and get paid for how much tea they pick.  Currently, they earn about 600 rupees a day (approximately 5 Canadian dollars) IF they pick 18kg.  If less than that they earn half.  Unfair?  You bet.  We ga

Traveling by Goat to the Western Lake District of England

That title got your attention, didn't it?  Okay, I didn't actually travel on the back of a goat...I mean the poor goat would be dead before it staggered one block wouldn't it?.  I did however travel on Mountain Goat Tours' High Adventure tour. I had done this tour on my last trip to the Lakes in 2002 and enjoyed it so much I knew I had to do it again.  Driving there is not an option for a scaredy cat like me.  Just keeping on the left side of the road would be tough enough without having to back up on the narrow roads...gives me a nervous breakdown even thinking about it.  Nope, I am a public transport kind of gal. So on Tuesday May 15th I found myself in a full 12 passenger van with a driver named Tony heading to the western part of the Lake District National Park in the North West of England. I had originally booked it for Sunday but it was canceled due to a bike event in the park which cut off several major roads - luckily I was able to rebook it for Tuesday as t