Advertisement
Published: February 10th 2024
Edit Blog Post
This trip to Sri Lanka is a return visit to a country we first came to in 2016. On that occasion we did most of the normal sights and a safari to Yala to see leopards. This time we have come in search of blue whales. We have tried previously here in Trincomalee and last year off the coast of Chile. Despite two five hour trips this time we didn't see whales of any description. So it's obviously not meant to be.
On 2
nd February, my 69
th birthday, we arrived in Colombo about 6pm at the colonial Galle Face Hotel, a birthday treat from Chris, but boy has Colombo changed. Like many debt ridden countries it has sold its soul to China and India. A massive new Chinese built port and huge skyscraper hotels have completely changed the landscape. The green in front of the hotel was being made ready for the 4
th February Independence Day parade. We opted not to have a sea view room to avoid the noise. It's not our usual style of hotel and having staff constantly fussing isn't really me, I can open the door myself! We had a quick change, a birthday espresso martini
and then a delicious evening buffet on the covered outdoor terrace. After 27 hours travelling we were ready for sleep.
The flights were with Qatar airways and the Madrid to Doha barely got 3 stars, Doha airport 2 stars and the Doha to Colombo maybe three and a half. As transit hubs go Doha needs to up its game it made me yearn for Dubai! I guess it is why so many people fly business or first class.
Saturday, after a delicious breakfast buffet , we headed to Colombo Fort railway station for tickets for our trip. I had tried and failed to book them in advance. We needed Colombo to Anuradhapura, then to Jaffna and back. First issue, maintenance work and no trains for Anuradhapura, then no reserved seat tickets left for the other journeys. We are getting too long in the tooth for 3
rd class standing carriages. We did find a taxi driver to take us to Mirissa, our next stop. Next we went to the bus station for advance tickets for the luxury bus to Anuradhapura, another major fail – only available on the day! This was all done in 30 minutes in searing 32
degrees so back to the hotel to rethink. Decided to take the taxi to Mirissa, about 75€ ,and decide on the rest of the plan at a later date.
A more successful trip to Barefoot, a shop that sells beautiful clothing, but sadly the cafe was full. I bought a beautiful deep blue top and replaced my purse that I had bought in 2016. Chris got two lightweight cotton shirts at the shop next door. An afternoon swim and then a few beers in the hotel pub with really good live music and a second night of buffet food were more than enough for us. The pub was much more our scene than the hotel bars and Nicola, the singer in the band was telling us how bad things were in Sri Lanka.
Sunday was parade day but 3 curry meals in a row were too much for me so I chilled while Chris watched the parade, complete with 21-gun salute. I had a lovely Balinese massage and chill by the pool before a chilli free meal. That was our three-night recuperation from the journey and given the 4 ½ hour time difference we really didn't feel jetlagged.
Our taxi driver turned up in a little Datsun car with one rear tyre completely bald ! It was a steady trip and we arrived in Mirissa, on the south coast, to our family run guest house. We have a lovely first floor room, bathroom and big balcony and air-con. This was a week-long stay to fit in whale watching trips. We booked our first trip for Wednesday, a 16,000 LKR ticket ( about 45 €) and a 6.15am start. The harbour luckily was only a 5 minute walk away. Mirissa is a huge bay which at the eastern end has accommodation with the busy and noisy coastal road and lots of late night venues. We were at the western end further from the road. A pair of peacocks were nested opposite together with a cacophony of other birds, a different type of noise.
One of my treats is to learn about food from local people so I signed up for a course at Mama's kitchen, a local restaurant. Chris enjoys a wet shave and head massage and that was a short tuk tuk ride away.
Our guest house was run by Ranjan and his wife and
two lovely children aged 7 and 3. We enjoyed lovingly prepared breakfasts and delicious Ceylon tea. During our week we loved being so close to the Indian Ocean, to swim, sit watching the waves, to enjoy a drink or two.
Tuesday 9am was my cooking class with Mama, just her and me in a small family kitchen behind her restaurant. It wasn't flash, it wasn't well equipped but we produced three vegetable curries, one chicken, a dhal and red rice. She was an amazing woman 57 but looked much older, divorced her drunken violent husband 20 years ago and brought up her three sons. Her house was destroyed in the 2004 Tsunami but thanks to European volunteers she built a guesthouse and restaurant and made her living. Her eldest son has diabetes and drinks too much so she has taken in his wife and children. Her middle son works in Matara and her youngest Isuru runs the business. She needs a knee replacement but its only available privately. Chris and I went back at lunchtime and enjoyed my curry. We booked our next 2 taxis through them and Chris donated his neoprene knee support to Mama.
So to Wednesday and our whale watching trip. We chose the Whale Watching Club as their reviews were good and they didn't fill the boat. The staff were lovely and we had hot tea and egg sandwich for breakfast and set off into the Indian Ocean. We first spotted a pair of copulating green turtles and some 2 hours later arrived at open water south of Dondra point. Sadly only dolphins and no sign of whales. We repeated the trip on Friday with the same results. The second trip was only 6,000LKR. The captain asked were we trying for a third time but we decided against it. We did have a lovely encounter with a pod of playful bottle nosed dolphins.
Early, 7am, Thursday morning I headed off with my camera to the harbour, to see the morning catch being landed. It was the usual chaotic scene with fish being unloaded, displayed on the ground, sold, gutted and chopped and off to local restaurants, shops etc. The huge catches of tuna, caught in nets ,were impressive but I came across people removing the small fish trapped in their nets and discarding them. The harbour water was pretty toxic with oil and fishing debris.
On our way back from both trips we have popped into a cafe run by a German girl and her Sri Lankan boyfriend. It's their first season and its a funky little place with local coffee. They want to go to Germany over the summer but they are struggling with getting a visa, apparently its very difficult for people to leave the island- unless you are off to the Middle East to work and send money back – then you just need a wedge of cash inside your passport!
We have two days left here before we head off on the next stage of the trip , exploring the history of Sri Lanka. Next stop Galle Fort, a Dutch built fortress then Anuradhapura, one of the ancient capitals. Our plans to get up to the Tamil area of Jaffna have been changed, public transport is too unpredictable, it obviously fuels the market for private cars and drivers. Our final third of the trip will be us travelling in a tuktuk, Chris driving as we head across to the west coast to explore the wildlife.
Till next time
Advertisement
Tot: 0.077s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 12; qc: 32; dbt: 0.0238s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb