December 26

I have been busy making new plans with Wade Campbell, the Director of Borderlands - a Sri Lankan and Nepalese Adventure Travel Company. www.discoverborderlands.com Wade has pledged his company's support and this has provided the impetus for another round of preparatory meetings with local sponsors and media groups. I am viewing the problems I am facing as obstacles which I will slowly overcome. We will attempt to begin the circumnavigation from Colombo in the next month.

I have visited the LTTE headquarters in order to meet officials at the Peace Secretariat and arrange safe passage through areas they control and discuss the use of camera equipment.

Local sponsors are currently considering what parts of the expedition they will be able to support, and what form their sponsorship will take.

Today has been a very somber day across Sri Lanka. As a Buddhist and Hindu culture the Sri Lankan people have chosen to mark the anniversary of the Tsunami with restraint. Small ceremonies of remembrance and periods of silence have taken place across the country. You cannot fail to admire the resilience of the Sri Lankan people. Over 20 years of civil war and the devastation of last years Tsunami have left scars but still, when I nod or smile at anyone here from Kilinochchi to Unawatuna, from Jaffna to Colombo, I am always greeted with a smile.