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Published: September 9th 2013
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Heading up the Madu River
Heading into the Heart of ...? Heart of Lightness: Up the Madu River to Cinnamon Island.
The Madu River empties into the Laccadive Sea about a third of the way north from Galle on the way to Colombo, a little past the touristy town of Hikkaduwa.
When we agreed with our guide's suggestion that we get in the boat, we had NO IDEA what awaited us, though with memories of Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" pounded into us in high school, I might have asked a question or two before agreeing. But it was a gorgeous day, we'd had a terrific lunch at the Lighthouse Hotel in Galle and the river trip unfolded one revelation at a time.
As Sunetra isn't a swimmer, the first priority was to secure life jackets all around. That done, no sooner had our boat left the dock than we were whizzed under the highway bridge and over to the other side of the river to view a lethargic grey monitor (lizard). OK, out comes the camera. Not as impressive as the gangs of alligators I saw a few months ago with my sisters in Florida, nor as scary as the crocodiles in Mossman Gorge, Far North Queensland, but let's
Monitor
So there are lizards here. Anything worse? go with the flow and see what else this river holds.
A short distance later, the new sights began. We saw a lad earnestly paddling toward us in a tiny boat and when he pulled up to us we saw he had a baby monkey--so cute! He let Sunetra and me have a hold of it (clucky, clucky) and it was so soft and content to sit, except it really wanted the orange plastic knob on her life jacket.
Next we passed through an arched passageway amongst the mangrove trees, the kind of "secret place" to tickle the fancy of kids (and me, I admit).
Emerging back into the main river flow, we approached a barrier across the river, which appeared to be some sort of fish trap or fish control construction and indeed, there were the fishing birds waiting on top and beyond it were several fishermen in their skinny boats with outriggers.
We couldn't tell if the fishermen were having any luck, but our next stop was awash with fish. To our amazement, it was a fish massage business. You sit on a pier, dangle your feet into a contained space of water, and
Boy paddles up on his boat
With a cute little orphan monkey. swarms of little red fish rub against your feet and nibble off the dead flesh!!! There was one fellow there experiencing it, who called out, "They seem to be focusing on my corn". He said it felt weird at first, but then it was fine. Fascinated as we were, none of us was game to have a go. And Sunetra said she wouldn't want to eat any fish that had been dining like that.
Seeing we weren't customers for fish massage, the proprietor approached us with his next attraction: a baby crocodile with a string attached to its leg, which we could hold. Why not? One can't say no to everything, after all.
The best stop of all, in my opinion, was Cinnamon Island, where we were shown how cinnamon is taken from trees. Cinnamon is one of my favourite spices--Australians puzzle at the amount I use in cooking--but how can you be an Apple Pie American without lots of cinnamon?
An elderly man met us on the beach and led us to a mature (if not senior citizen) cinnamon tree, whose bark he scraped and let us smell the powder. Mmmm, yes, memories of walking through
Martha with baby
I remember those days... the Lloyd Center in Portland transported on the aromas of the hot breakfast rolls from "Cinnibon".
Next we were seated in a little bough shelter and he began the main demonstration as Sunetra informed me how some of the cinnamon workers from India had migrated to Sri Lanka and now formed a social tier of their own.
The cinnamon man was working with young but hefty twigs. First he scraped off the outer layer and piled it on the ground in front of him. Next he scored the length of the twig and peeled off the resulting layer, so he had that characteristic pencil-sized curved bit of bark sold as cinnamon sticks. Of course it was still wet and pliable, so he showed us how he stored the sticks up under the roof of the shelter so they could dry.
Next he expounded the health benefits of cinnamon and showed us we could buy cinnamon oil he produced to assist in various cures. Sunetra and I both bought a small bottle--I suspect I'll use mine as a perfume! Not sure what it will attract, but I'll feel good about myself, like a yummy walking doughnut.
The
Martha with baby monkey
What's your name little one? final demo was how the shavings from the tree could be made into a strong and useful twine. Waste not, want not. Was I impressed? Yes.
The return trip down the river held one more attraction, a swing through another mangrove secret corridor, which we were told was for lovers, and that the boat driver would take a photo of us if we wanted one. A quaint suggestion as our own courting days were in the dim and receding past.
Though the whole trip was bright and airy, it was undoubtedly Cinnamon Island and the baby monkey which remained my strongest memories.
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Michelle
non-member comment
Messing about in boats
What a great little adventure and such a fabulous description. It sounds like a brilliant day! M xx