As I mentioned in my last post, Sri Lankans love the island’s elephants. Up in the rugged hills, heavy with dense forest, they have even established an elephant orphanage in the village of Pinnawala, halfway between the capital, Colombo, and the city of Kandy.
Here, roughly one hundred elephants are raised and cared for. The village has become something of a tourist attraction because the elephants run down to the river to bathe and get washed by their mahouts, who scrub them with long-handled brushes. The elephants seem to love it.
The excitement comes from the fact that the orphanage lies on one side of the village and the river on the other. So, twice a day this huge herd of elephants comes storming through the little village on its way to the river and, an hour or two later, comes storming back toward home.
Here’s a photo of the elephants on their way down to the river. Why did I take this picture from behind them? Because, when you’re standing in the road and you see a herd of elephants running toward you, you get out of the way. Then you take your picture.