Wetting my pants, mainly with laughter!

Our lady doctors driver was at our disposal for the drive down to Galle on Sunday morning and after about an hour to get onto the new highway (ironically called the Southern Expressway) we finally got some speed up for the 117 km trip south.

This highway is Sri Lanka's first ever and was opened last year, it is a toll road and cost us 500 rupees ( about $3.80) to traverse. Apparently when it was first opened there were lots of accidents because Sri Lanan drivers have never driven faster than 60km/hr prior to this given the state of the roads and had trouble taking the corners at 100km. This is the speed limit, but the “police don't mind if you do 120” and we did 140 most of the way. Not much traffic on the road at all but there is the same disregard for lanes so when we did come up behind slower traffic there was much tooting of horns to herald our arrival and make sure he didn't veer right. I found it much easier to look out the side window.

I didn't mention earlier that Russell had relapsed somewhat today and after fortunately gaining early entry to our room at about 1130, that was to be the last I heard of him til the next morning.

The room was lovely, we thought possibly the same one we had been in in 2006 and I spent the day reading out on the balcony overlooking the pool, very restful.

This is a small boutique hotel (only 12 rooms) so when you want a drink or cup of tea you just catch the 'boy's' eye and it is done 😉

A heavy evening shower reminded me that we are on the tail end of monsoon weather and the arrival of the mosquitos sent me indoors for an early night – Russell was still slumbering peacefully downstairs on the single bed.

Monday dawned sunny at first and after a careful breakfast (on Russell's part) we headed off to explore the fort again. There seemed to be much more activity than last time we were here and particularly lots more commercial activity.

We had noticed the Galle Oval looking green and well cared for when we had driven in yesterday in contrast to 2006 (two years post Tsunami) when it had still been covered in debris and the stands were partially destroyed. We were told later that day that Shane Warne had been largely instrumental in orchestrating this.

First stop was a gem store (every second shop is a gem store) where we perused pink and green sapphires amongst other things and eventually we tore ourselves away for a last visit to Barefoot. A couple of kilos later it was time to head back and deposit the shopping and relax with our books again.

We had booked a driver for later in the afternoon to visit the famous stilt fisherman, unique to Sri Lanka and indeed this particular part of Sri Lanka.

Apparently the best time to photograph is early morning or late afternoon/evening but when we arrived the poles were empty and the swell quite high.

However, as soon as we stepped from the vehicle four men sprang from a small hut and came to greet us. Expecting to photograph them, we were surprised when they asked me if I would to catch a fish and of course I said yes.

Before I knew what was happening I had a turban wrapped around my head (clearly for authenticity), was up on the shoulders of one (poor) man and we were wading out to a pole!



Safely deposited and precariously balanced, I was handed a fishing pole which one of my 'assistants' baited with bread and we waited for action. It wasn't long before I raised a small reef fish in triumph and Russell captured the moment for posterity.

The poor fish was returned for the next unsuspecting tourist!

I was then safely returned to shore amid much laughter. It was the funniest thing to happen all trip, the only thing funnier was when I saw the photographic evidence!!

Our driver had told us to bargain re price but we paid them what they asked (about $10 each) because it was well worth the laugh.

Ignoring my wet shorts (from a particularly big wave) we climbed back in the van for our next stop, the turtle hatchery.

We had visited one of these on our previous trip but it was still very interesting and and I didn't know that Sri Lanka is home to five out of seven of the world's sea turtle species. They buy eggs from locals that have been dug up at night (illegally) and then rebury them to hatch safely in the hatchery where they are kept until four days old and then released to the sea. This increases their chance of survival by 30%. The ones that they don't buy are sold on the black market for eating so they ending up buying them at a highly inflated price to save them from this fate.

Next stop was Unawatuna beach, consistently rated one of the top beaches in the world but less so since the Tsunami claimed a good portion of it. Still, it is a very popular spot and lined with restaurants and bars. We spent 'happy hour' watching the storm clouds develop on the horizon and listening to Russian tourists shriek when a wave hit them. There were dogs everywhere, digging a nest in the sand and appearing to watch the waves roll in.

After meeting our driver again, we headed back to the hotel to begin packing up for our departure the next morning and the scary task of weighing our bags! Fortunately, our first flight is with Emirates who have a healthy baggage allowance so we should be fine.

Once again, Sri Lanka has shown us its many contrasting faces but is clearly recovering from the civil war that was raging last time we were here.

We look forward to future developments on our next trip.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*