Upon arriving in Ratnapura - also known as Gem City - we were greeted by Ratnapura Rotarians Prasad, Fasmia, and Anusha. We were taken to the Dheheragoda Family Gem Mine where we treated to tea - no tea was served but instead fresh juice and light snacks. After tea we were taken to visited the family's gem pit. Hi-tech its not, but it gets the job done. This particular pit is over 200 feet deep and the miners crawl up and down the pit on logs separated by I'd say about 3'. CRAZY
We then visited the Gem Museum and finally ended the day with a little gem shopping! The primary type of gem found here is sapphire - which comes in blue, ruby/pink, orange, pathmaraga (lotus color), yellow, green, brown, and white.
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