Mirissa

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As if we could not be relaxed enough, we jumped on the train to Mirissa. The trains are so bumpy we almost felt sick. It was packed and incredibly hot. There was no respite from the heat despite the windows being open and fans on the ceiling down the isles. Plenty of hawkers selling everything from mandarins to fried prawns paraded up and down the isles.

Mirissa is just along from Unawatuna which was devastated by the tsunami. This area was not affected so badly but it is sad to see that they have continued to build right on the water’s edge, which while beautiful will spell another disaster if something similar happens again.

We stayed at Palm Villa - it is literally on the beach and the most beautiful stretch of coast. It truly is paradise and there is hardly anyone here. The water is clear and warm and the sand is golden. On our first day at about 4.30pm it poured with rain ferociously. It lasted for a few hours with thunder and lightning. We just sat on our veranda drinking a pot of Sri Lankan tea, enjoying the storm.

Every day before breakfast we went for a swim while the water was perfectly calm. It is one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen and definitely the only beach we have been to where you can relax on the beach with a pot of tea. It was independence day while we were in Mirissa which meant BBQs of freshly caught seafood along the beach and happy hour for most of the night, sipping a beer with the high tide lapping close to the table while watching the sunset was truly magical.

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