Sri Lanka Part II

On the way to our new villa near Kandy, we stopped at the Temple of the Tooth, where they have a tooth from the Buddha (they keep it in a shrine, and Tyler was really disappointed he couldn't see the actual tooth :)

Intricate wood etchings and paintings even on the ceilings

Will thought this piece of stone from the ancient palace of the king was really cool. 

We got lots of family pictures this trip since Grandpa was there! I was happy about that, and everyone else pretended to be :)

We love our Grandpa!

Reaching for their inner piece. We saw lots of examples of the Buddha, so they knew what to do :) Owen would get especially excited whenever he'd see one, and went around chirping "Buddha! Buddha!"

We were approached by a film crew working on some kind of short film about the temple, and they wanted some "tourists" so we happily obliged until Owen got tired of it and started yelling. And then they were done :) 

Our new villa was almost at the top of a mountain, reachable only through use of a windy, narrow dirt road. The view was absolutely stunning, and the grounds were HUGE. Once again, the food was delicious and plentiful. The kids spent lots of time exploring paths, finding wildlife, and playing with the kids who lived nearby.

Grandpa and Colby enjoying the view.

Owen found the pond immediately, and loved splashing in it.

One of the first things we did was test out our new swimming pool - yep, awesome!

"I will cast you into the sea!"

The man who managed our villa took us on a hike to see parts of the village & some nearby waterfalls.

He showed us what he grew on his land - here are cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, red pepper, and coffee beans. He also showed us cocoa trees, cotton trees, tea plants, lemon grass, avocado trees and tamarinds. I'd never seen most of that stuff growing in the wild - fascinating.

Tyler & I had a contest to see who could drink all the water in their pack first. He cheated by using his dazzling smile and persuasive manner to convince everyone else to drink from his pack instead of mine :)

He was so kind and patient with the kids, & is one of the leaders of the village & manages a giant plantation.

Owen was feeling particularly friendly & let these cute ladies hold him!

We stopped at a wood worker's house and watched him make some beautiful wooden pots.

Even though we couldn't understand each other without our guide translating, everyone responds to Colby's smile. And he shares it so willingly :)

As we hiked along the roads, we drew a lot of attention.

Hiking with our people means that a 3 km hike took us 1.5 hours. But we made it to the waterfall! Great fun was had by all.