Ainda além da Taprobana

Writing & photography: Juliana Pereira

COUNTRIES

Sri Lanka brings together all the features we were looking

for. Stunning wildlife watching. The world’s finest tea and

the happiest people in the world.

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Two farmers take some rest. Stunning

view through Ella village, on the way

up to Ella Rock (left). Right: Indian

Tamil tea picker woman working in a

tea plantation near Haputale. Up the

hill through the tea plantations,

Lipton’s Seat offers one of the best

viewing points of Sri Lanka.

A view to the word’s end

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View to Sigiriya Rock,

from Pidurangala Rock.

Once the ancient city of

gods, later forgotten and

consumed by the forests,

Sigiriya is today one of

the best preserved

examples of ancient urban

planning in the world.

A palace in the sky

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Sunrise in Adam’s Peak, Sri Lanka’s

fifth-highest peak. Buddhist stories

claim that this is the footprint of the

Buddha himself, Muslims say that the

footprint to that of Adam, who is said to

have first set foot on earth, Hindu

tradition believes it was created by

Shiva and the colonial Portuguese claim

it belonged to St Thomas. Despite all

these rival claims, Adam’s Peak remains

a place of worship and legends.

The first set foot on earth

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Red monkey female with her baby,

Ella. Monkeys can be seen

widespread in Sri Lanka’s jungle

areas and sometimes even in

small villages.

Getting into the wild

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Mawanella, Kegalle district. Many

elephant orphanages have been

established in order to prevent the

habitat loss. Sometimes is possible

to see them in the wild as this one

in Mawanella.

Elephants watching paradise

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It’s time to take it slow

Weligama Beach, South Coast.

This is the land where hippies

dance across fire during the

night, where the time goes

back in colonial townscapes

and where palm trees contrast

with golden beaches.

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s a Portuguese native, I decided to pay tribute to the

great Portuguese poet Luis de Camões, so I named this

island of Taprobana, mentioned in the poet’s

masterpiece Os Lusíadas. The Taprobana, also known

as “the island in the Indian ocean”, played once an

important role, in a time of heroic voyages and glorious

discoveries, where brave men would sail through unknown seas to spread

their faith and explore the world. The Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka six

centuries ago, and today is still possible to find their traces.

Nearly a month ago, when I was wondering about where to go, searching

reviews and comparing the best price deals, I found Sri Lanka, and for

mysterious reasons I fell an immediate click. It was like if I always knew it.

A déjà vu.

The air outside was hot and humid. A noisy variety of vehicles from blue,

green, yellow, pink and red Tuk-Tuks to bicycles, old fashioned buses and

overloaded trucks would bring diesel smells, contrasting with spices and

curry. We were now in intense Colombo, Sri Lanka’s largest city. Our plan

was to go trekking in the mountains and then down heading south, avoiding

the chaotic metropolis. But after almost 10 hours flight the idea of having a

good shower and rest sounded great so we decided to give a change to a Tuk-

Tuk? proposal and went on our first adventure, through the breathtaking

traffic of Colombo.

A

A road near

by Haputale

leds up to the

north.

Following

this road and

many others

we started

our journey

which is

presented on

the map.

Our plan was to go trekking in

the mountains and then down

heading south, avoiding the

chaotic metropolis

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There is a place called Galle Face Green which is surprisingly peaceful, a half

kilometre promenade along the coast in the business district of Colombo.

When the colours in the sky turn orange and the sea shines, families and

lovers contemplate, serene, the last sun rays. Reaching this place after the

chaos is one of the best memories I have and since this day I am convinced

the Sinhalese are the happiest people in the world.

My travel companion takes a seat. Luckily the bus is not as crowded as the

bus station. All the time there are sellers coming with mango and watermelon

fruits cut in small pieces, I take some mango which has a very pleasant, sweet

taste. Festive, local music is playing. A skinny man arrives with a piece of

paper and a pen and starts asking for the money for the tickets. Istuti, thank

you. I don’t miss the machines.

We’re now heading towards paradise.

e start hiking at 2 a.m., after charging our batteries with a

consistent meal of kothu, a dish made from a flat bread called

roti with vegetables, eggs, meat and black tea with milk

carefully prepared by the local’s owner family house where we

are staying. The fact that we don’t have hiking equipment is not

an impediment at all. We have 7,359 ft more ahead. We must

arrive before the sunrise because it is said there is a holy mountain we can

only see during sunrise time. It is said that this is a sacred footprint, where

the Buddha himself, Hindus, Muslims and Christians would have passed,

visited by the world greatest travellers as Battuta and Marco Polo and where

Adam fell to earth. Some people believe his footprint can still be found. We

don’t have too much time. So we hurry up. But the path doesn’t show us

which way is, we don’t have any maps nor torch. But soon other adventurers

W

Galle Face

Green

promenade

(left). Right: a

Sinhalese girl

smiles on a

Tuk-Tuk, the

most popular

way transport

in Colombo.

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will join us, so we only need to follow each other’s. What makes it harder to

climb is not the path itself but the 1500 steps which are very high. Sometimes

it looks like there is no end. But we must keep going. We guess we will arrive

before the time. We’re doing quite well. Yes, we did. We hear applauses. Are

the other trekkers, sat on the top of the steps, waiting for us. We still have to

wait for half an hour more for the sun to rise. It is very windy up here. One

butterfly comes to land on my travel companion’s hand. She tells me, smiling:

“Also the butterflies come here to die. Some people say that if they come to

you, do not ignore them, because they can come from your ancestors”. And

the dark sky would slowly turn bright and blue. There is a moment of silence.

Hundreds of eyes look at the mystic mountain. And we see a triangular

shadow racing back towards the peak, and disappearing into its base.

ur next step would take us to the end of the world: 7 km up through

the Ceylon fields till arrive to Lipton’s Seat, the highest viewing point

in Uva province, the eastern part of Haputale. It is also the place where

Thomas Lipton used be, that’s why after his death people named it the

Lipton’s Seat. I never found out why is is said this place is the world’s

end, maybe due to its no ending green fields. Somewhere there are birds singing.

Ceylon aromas are intense. There are only a few travelers on the way so mostly of

the time we are alone, only acompanied by tamil tea pickers who shily

O

We have 7,359 ft more ahead. We must

arrive before the sunrise because it is

said there is a holy mountain we can

only see during sunrise time.

Buddha

image near

Dalhousie

(left). Right:

on the way

back after

the sunrise

in Adam’s

Peak.

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s

smile when we pass. Mostly of the tea pickers are Tamils, descendants of indian

ancestors who were sent from the South of India to Sri Lanka to work in tea

plantations in the 19th century. On our way back, we are greeted and asked for some

food by a group of kids who are playing on the street. We give them some biscuits

which they accept promptly. A poorly dressed teenager invite us to her house to meet

her family. Her english is surprisingly good. We are offered some tea with milk and

asked to sit on the bed. There is no living room. The girl tells us that most of the

families in her neighborhood work in tea factories and plantations and in exchange

the companies that own the tea estates give them a house. She tells us that the girls

should follow their grandmothers, mothers and older sisters on the plantations. They

should also perform most of the domestic duties. Lunch is ready. We’re served rice

and curry that we eat with our hands. When we finish our meal, the family introduce

us to their gods. “Look. These are our goods”, the girl says. Small images of Hindu

gods and flowers are exposed on the wall in one of the rooms.

“Can we paint your faces?”, she asks us. One of the little kids apply a red powder

to our foreheads. This practice, known as bindi, is associated with the ancient

practice of offering blood sacrifices to appease the Gods. Today, is used for

decoration. It is said that it also symbolises love, and some people use it to captivate

the lover. After the ritual the girl introduce us to other families in the neighborhood.

Several attached barracks lie in the neighborhood. Some families ask to be

photographed. Sometimes the kids are shy and hide behind their mothers. We left

when the sun was already down.

Despite that the tea industry employs a large number of people, poverty is still a

major problem for most of femae Indian Tamil plantation workers. But despite this

reality, this people keep living with smiles in their faces.

After our walk

up to Lipton’s

Seat we were

welcomed by

some Indian

Tamil families

in their houses.

Mostly of the

tea pickers are

Tamil.

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uwara Eliya, Central Province. Known as the“city on the plain”,

“city of light” or “little England”, Nuwara Eliya is a wildlife

paradise. Here lies Pidrutalaga, the tallest mountain in Sri

Lanka, and the world’s finest Orange Pekoe tea.

Another target awaits us: Ella Rock, a four-hour hike through a

mix of rail track, tea plantations and stunning views. We are on

our way to Ella Rok now. Deep in the jungle, red monkey with pink faces and

curious eyes observe us while we pass. I stop to photograph them and I put a

plastic bag with bananas on the floor, which we had bought on a market

nearby. While I am distracted, a sneaky monkey gets close and steal our

bananas. We try to stop the thief but it’s too late. He would only leave the

plastic bag behind, before jumping through the jungle. We keep our walk

towards Ella Rock following a railway track.

We get into the wild. It appears there are no signs to Ella Rock, and we’re not

carrying any map. It wouldn’t take it long till we get lost. Fortunately, one of

the local farmers quickly realises that we are lost, and offers to help us find

the way to the rock. Seeming there is any other alternative, we accept the

offer. We later realise we took the right choice. The path is really tough and

there are no signs anywhere. Despite the fog that doesn’t allow us to see the

landscape, we feel glad to reach our goal.

N

It wouldn’t take it long till we get lost.

Fortunately, one of the local farmers

quickly realises that we are lost, and

offers to help us find the way to the rock

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For this reportage, I followed the GEO graphic design, a monthly travel magazine based in

France and Germany. GEO offers a wide range of topics from geography to science, history

and nature, in depth investigated reportages and award-winning photographs. GEO reports

are educational, written in the present time in fourth and first person, accompanied by

personal observations, and sometimes in second person, allowing the reader to interact with

the writer. Usually Geo reporters write about more remote destinations and stay in local

family houses, establishing interpersonal encounters.

The reason why I chose GEO: my goal when I travel is to learn as much as I can about the

culture, so usually I look for authentic experiences by staying with locals and trying to

interact to them as much as possible. Also, for me photography is essential, is the way how

I express myself, sharing with people what I see, and make them want to see, wonder, or

learn. I like GEO’s travel writing because each article is educational and always tells a story,

the photographs are beautiful and the most important, it makes me understand that there are

still unknown places to explore. As a future travel writer or photographer as I wish to be, I

hope to follow the same example.

All the photographs are of my own elaboration.