Remember how I said the last twenty-five countries or so were all one's I either had big plans for, or couldn't find recipes for? Well, Sri Lanka was the 'Big Plans'. I was hoping to go do the African Elephant Enrichment at Busch Gardens for this one, since Sri Lanka is known for it's Elephants. But, that never happened either. (Between the dogs and the layoff things are not going as planned to start 2018).
But, it's just time to bite the bullet and get these countries done.
So here we are in Sri Lanka, the 'Teardrop of India'.
As an island country, it's no surprise Sri Lanka is known for its bendy palm trees, fresh coconuts, sunkissed beaches, and the warm breeze off the Indian Ocean.
Our landmark isn't so much a landmark as a method of fishing unique to the island of Sri Lanka. Stilt Fishing looks ancient, but it is more of a recent tradition. The fishermen sit on a crossbar called a petta tied to a vertical pole and driven into the sand a few yards offshore. From this high position, the fisherman casts his line and waits for fish to come along.
The practice started around WWII, when food shortages and overcrowded fishing spots prompted some clever fisherman to come up with the idea. The catch is pretty meager, and the practice has become less popular since the 2004 tsunami. But, it has become somewhat of a tourist attraction.
Tourists also enjoy visiting the jungles of Sri Lanka. The Uda Walawe National Park is home to wild buffalo, sambar deer, leopards, and Tamil Tigers. But it is best for elephant watching, rivaling even the most famous East African National Parks.
Elephants are all over Sri Lanka. The Minneriya National Park is home to the largest elephant migration in the world. Known as the 'gathering', each year over 7,000 wild Asian elephants arrive at the muddy reservoir for a much deserved drink.
Sri Lanka's landscape is breathtaking. The most notoriously beautiful spot is called World's End, and is a sheer rock cliff with a 4,000 foot vertical drop.
Adam's Peak shoots out from the ground at an impressive height of 7,359 feet. It's a holy mountain for Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. At the top, there is a rock formation known as Sri Pada which is believed to be the footprint of Buddha, Shiva, and Adam.
Sri Lanka is a primarily Buddhist country, with about 70% of Sri Lankan's practicing Buddhism. There are more temples, and monumental religious sculptures than you can count. Buddhist stupas, ruined kingdoms and lofty lookouts dot the country.
But what really put Sri Lanka on the map is the spice trade, specifically cinnamon. Sri Lanka gave the world cinnamon, and the island has been trading it since at least 2000 BC.
Also, Sri Lanka has one of my favorite flags. It's often called 'The Lion Flag'.
The boys made their Sri Lanka postcards.
Calib's featured the elephants, and a guy falling off 'World's End'. Apparently in 2015, a Dutch guy on his honeymoon became the first person to survive the drop after he fell taking a picture (they think a tree broke his fall).
Peyton's featured a guy in the mountains with toilet paper, because you should always carry toilet paper with you in Sri Lanka- because public restrooms don't have any (some houses don't either)!
Hayden's featured the stilt fishing.
So, for Sri Lanka I wanted to make hoppers, which is like cooking a crepe (or even an egg) in what amounts to a tiny wok, so you get a bowl shaped food. But, as much as I tried I couldn't find a hopper cooking pan, so I settled for doubling up on this tiny country and just having it as a dessert with Turkmenistan day.
So we had Sri Lankan Love Cake, pictured in it's full cake form, and in it's slice form with Turkmenistan dinner.
This one earned four spoons up.
Calib was actually the one who didn't really enjoy it. To be fair, it was a little over done, so if you're doing this one, don't cook it as long as the recipe suggests. But the flavor was good (though simple), and it was still pretty soft.
Since Sri Lanka is known as the 'tear drop of India', so the boys thought it appropriate to color it in blue.
That's 185 down, 11 to go!
Next Up: Zambia
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