Unawatuna, life on the beach!

---

Sunday 12th April - Thursday 16th April

Galle and Unawatuna

We travelled by tuk tuk, train and tuk tuk again further South to Galle and on to the delightful natural crescented sandy beach resort of Unawatuna. The train ride to Galle was much more what we had expected trains here to be like - crowded and full of hawkers selling things smell delicious but we're too scared to eat. We've been talking about Galle since we first mentioned coming to Sri Lanka and werenot disappointed with the first sight of the fort and cricket pitch within 2 minutes of arriving.

Unawatuna has also delivered exactly what we wanted. It is a real tropical paradise with the jungle coming down to the meet the beach and just a few fairly low key and a bit ramshackle houses, shops and guest houses. We have splashed out on a beach bungalow (£15 a night so a bit over budget) and have about 10m from our door to the beach. Joe and Jake have been out for an early swim every morning whilst Elliot and Nicky have slept in. The boys have enjoyed their promised days without transport and have spent many happy hours playing in the surf and sand (and bringing much of it back to our shower). The favourite game, which seemed to be endless, invovled climbing a tree, and leaping from a branch into the sand.

The food here is wonderful, the long waits at mealtimes convincing us that it couldn’t be fresher. We have sampled lots of Sri Lankan dishes whilst Jake has been delighted with the range of pizzas on offer. We had to pre order our Sri Lankan curry one night at 3pm to ensure it was prepared by 7 and boy were we glad we did! Being by the sea we felt we should also try some of the local seafood and swam half a kilometre round the bay to make a reservation for a seafood beach barbeque.

We popped in to Galle this morning to find accommodation for Friday night without the stress of rucksacks in the heat, and secured a lovely room in Fort with a balcony overlooking the Fort walls and the sea beyond. The boys enjoyed their first coca colas today - a treat for coping with the heat and being dragged sightseeing away from the beach.

The Dutch Reform Church was simple and elegant with plain white walls and beautiful hand painted glass windows. We are looking forward to exploring further on Friday. Joe feels it is a city he could live - but he may have some objections from the boys.

---

Photos

Boys in the water
We enjoy the Indian Ocean

Comments

[Katie]

Just jealous!!!
All sounds brilliant and, like my brother, has made me 'blog' for the first time. Hope trousers are still staying up, Jake. I thought there was supposed to be some work going on at sometime!! Continue to enjoy, love to all, Katie.

[Zoe Capper]

.
Well it sounds like your having a amazing time sir (even if its only due to being near a cricket pitch!), it's going to be wierd going back to school without you on monday!, I've never heard of Unawantune but all week ive been telling andy you've gone to Untanawana! Zoex

[adriana]

do you feel safe?
Hi! My name is Adriana. I'm from Portugal and I was thinking about travelling to sri lanka in later july. I started reading the warnings regarding safety, and I was a bit scared really with the terrorist bomb attaks and so many areas that it is not recommended to visit. Do you feel safe?... What's your opinion on the political situation regarding tourism?... Thank you and hope you continue to enjoy your stay.

[Joeandnicky]

Trying to work
But you would be surprised how hard it is - details in next blog! Still some of the cleaning we have had to do has felt v hard work. Glad to have you on board, Love to you and yours

[Joeandnicky]

You'd love it
Cheers Zoe, nice to know you are follwoing. Hope all ok at school - 2 and a half weeks! All the best in the exams, and have a fab prom - maye someone can post some news/pix somewhere - or send me a link to the school site if there - sorry I won't be there ATB Mr Yeates

[Joeandnicky]

Safety
Hey Adriana yes we have felt very safe and not at all threatened while here. Different people have different views on the politics and there are obviously heightened security precautions esp at buses and train stations, but no worse than London can be at times!

[Marinka]

Safety
Hello Adriana! Last year I went 4 times to Sri Lanka. I'm going there next week again for a few weeks (I'm a girl and go alone). Allso I stay in my beloved Unawatuna for a while. You can feel very safe in SL, don't worry. It's better not to travel on your own in the evening/at night but hey, that's in so many parts of the world.