ENP - the first day, Monday 11th

Entering the ENP office this morning, I saw the light that was the joyous spirit of Lek, sitting at her desk amidst the happy chaos of all the new volunteers getting registered, excited to be starting this adventure. I knew then that I had made the right choice to come here.
The drive from Chiang Mai was about 90 minutes with a refreshment stop before we left the main highway and started to wind our way up the narrowing rural roads.

The first glimpse of the valley that ENP calls home sent shivers up my spine, the view across the flat grassland to the river and elephants, yes,elephants, our first sighting was absolutely dreamlike. It was like waking from a dream and finding that it was real. We had an orientation from Volunteer Coordinator 'Can' and then an opportunity to feed lunch to the elephants before we ate - and thank you Detlef for buying 'Mae Do' her lunch ..... this photo is for you! Our buffet was delicious and so much food, so much choice, all vegetarian ... Pumpkin Curry .... I could dine on that alone for a week!

We toured the sanctuary and were assigned rooms. After a visit to the dog sanctuary and a briefing from Stef, we had time to settle before heading down to the river. Being so close to these beautiful animals felt prehistoric, gentle giants ambling there way down to the water. It's difficult to put into words what this day has been, beyond all my expectations.

This evening we had a welcome ceremony conducted by a Shaman form the local village with the women elders who tied a bracelet on everyone's wrist - a special keepsake of a magical day.