Tea plantations in Ella

So far, our route has followed the west coast heading south. But today we take a sharp left turn and head for the highlands. First stop is Ella, home to many tea plantations. The town is also known for its hotels preparing delicious homemade dishes. Local transportation is incredibly cheap. From Matara, which is quite close to Mirissa, to Ella, a bus ticket costs just Rs 36. That's a distance of 4-5 hours. It's no faster to take an a\c bus, as the local bus drivers make every effort to keep their foot on the gas at all times. Ella is further up in the hills, so it's a bit cooler. Until today they've had rain for several days, but we're lucky as the sun is out. In general, we have chosen a good route as Sri Lanka has been hit by an unusual amount of rain. Fortunately, it's starting to subside. The closer we get to the affected areas, the more it looks like the rain is easing off. We have met tourists who have had non-stop rain and seen large mudslides. We took a tuk tuk to a tea factory where you can see tea plantations, tea production and taste tea. Round trip costs 500 rs. Unfortunately, it turned out that today is a Tamil holiday, so the factory was closed. It is mainly Tamils who work on tea plantations. Women work in the field collecting tea leaves and the men work processing the tea leaves. A woman can collect approximately 18 kg in an 8-hour working day. The wage is Rs 295 per day. The factory was closed, but we were allowed to taste their tea anyway. They only make black tea here in 3 flavors. We bought a pack consisting of all 3 flavors. When buying tea, it is important to check the tea leaves properly. They must not be chopped to pieces and they must not be dried out or they will lose their natural oils. They must be packed in metal cans or in bags where neither air nor light can penetrate. Otherwise the leaves will dry out too quickly. We went down to see their tea plantations, although no one was working. Instead, we found a small village where the workers live. They were all smiles when they saw us and waved to us. We walked up to them. They all came out of their houses to look at us. The children crowded around us to get their picture taken so they could see themselves afterwards. I guess they weren't used to having visitors :o) We were looking forward to dinner, which we had ordered at our hotel - rice & curry with vegetables and fish. It was good but far from the best food we've had on this trip. Lonely Planet says that you quickly become part of the family at this hotel. The 3 siblings who own the hotel are very talkative. They stand and talk all the time - even when we were eating. If they didn't say anything, they still stood and looked at us. Maybe it means that you are part of the family...