Sri Lanka day 7: A long journey south to Mirissa with a puncture

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A veritable lie in until 5:45 was followed by packing up as we were on the move again. We don't often spend three nights in one place so we were beginning to feel like we'd moved in. Lion Lodge comes recommended; it's expensive compared to some places but it's clean, the staff are great and you get the room you booked at the price you booked at.
Thuminda picked us up at 7 and we set off on what google maps estimated to be a 7 1/2 hour journey to Mirissa. Our first stop was for a puncture. People had been pointing this out so Thuminda stopped and saw a rear tyre was going down. Somehow we were right opposite a tyre place!
Actually that brings me to something I've been thinking about mentioning. They used to refer to the English as a nation of shopkeepers but I think that would pale into insignificance compared to here. So many of the roads are lined with stalls, cafes, hotels, businesses and shops that you don't have to go far to find something to eat or drink. The range may be limited (I didn't see my first supermarket until today and that looked tiny) but you won't starve.
The tyre was removed and the puncture checked for in a tub of water, yep like we do with bicycle tyres. An offending 2" piece of metal was removed which was possibly part of a bus we'd seen smashed up at the side of the road earlier and part of the debris that we'd driven through. The tyre was then repaired, yes repaired, even though its lack of tread would have made it illegal back home, it was bunged up with something, put back on and we were back on the road again for a quid.
We spent a lot of the journey writing our blogs while listening to predominantly awful music. I'm not sure if awful Western pop pap is what Thuminda likes or if he plays it because he thinks his guests will like it but mostly it makes me ashamed to be Western!
I said in an earlier blog that the driving here seems okay so it must be time to elaborate on that now we've seen more. I guess the rule here is to expect the unexpected. When a vehicle can be overtaken by another vehicle which is also being overtaken and all on a single carriageway it's best to expect it, especially if you're coming the other way. Horns are used mainly to warn people that they are being overtaken, indicators are frequently on, not used or the wrong one is used i.e. left to turn right and the lines in the road are ignored. And don't forget you have idiotic stray dogs sitting and running all over the road to contend with, people walking in the road, cows crossing, people parked all over the place and don't forget to keep an eye out for elephants and crocodiles....
So yeah, expect the unexpected. You'll be fine.....
Well that may have been a bit hasty a summary as later Thuminda had to slam his brakes on for a monitor lizard crossing the road. And then we drove a few kms down a small road only to find it then blocked as it had been washed away in the rain. A sign at the top might have helped especially as it looked like it hadn't just happened!
Later on we went on a expressway which is a dual carriageway toll road which was a lot easier to traverse and people seemed to stick to the rules there.
And now, as this a long journey, a word on Sri Lanka. What a gorgeous country, so green and verdant; palm trees all over the place backed by rolling green hills peppered with vibrant green trees. This isn't Kos by any means where all the life and infrastructure has been sucked out to leave an uninviting husk of touristy phlegm. No, here the people still work the land, grow things, make things and live somewhere attractive. I think Sri Lanka has a bright future and is moving in the right direction.
They even had people working at the roadworks. I bet it doesn't take them over six years to then make things worse as they are doing on the M6 back home. The roads are generally okay, the back roads are exactly that and the expressway is spot on with more of them planned I believe. In case you were wondering the toll was £1.50 for about 60 miles.
So remember I said we had a 7 1/2 hour journey ahead of us, well how many stops would you have on that? One, two? Maybe more for toilet stops or to get food? We did it with one stop....for the aforementioned puncture where there was no toilet and no food. We shared a small bag of cashews and a quarter of a packet of refreshers. Claire mentioned stopping but it never happened. We coulda shoulda asked but....well we didn't as we expected to be offered. Claire was probably thinking that the sooner we get there the sooner she can make me climb a mountain.... Thuminda thought we just wanted to get here so hey, we got here!
Disappointingly for Claire it's quite flat down here.
We arrived at Sanka Guesthouse where we used Thuminda's translation skills one last time as the hotel owners speak very little English. The room is fine though and at £7 a night including breakfast it's not too expensive.... We have a four poster bed too!
We paid Thuminda who has been an excellent driver for the last four days-look him up as Eagle Eye tours, you won't be disappointed. Just make sure you tell him if you need a wee!
Marissa has quite a few touristy places but no high rise nonsense. We were quite hungry by now and set off walking to find somewhere recommended by Lonely Planet. It took a while and of course it was shut.
We walked a bit more and found somewhere with a view of the ocean where I had a nice cheese rotthu while Claire had a cheese roti. The guy there was very chatty and suggested we walk along the seafront to a rocky outcrop to get a view of the sunset so we did.
Claire lost another lens cap on the way and we saw some lemmings crabs. What, you've never heard of lemmings crabs? They climb up onto the sea wall then wait for a big wave to wash them over it. Nutters.
We waited on the rocky outcrop for about 30 minutes listening to the waves crashing against the rocks. But the sun buggered off behind a cloud way too early so it was a drab sunset. Ah well.
Finding our way back to the road wasn't easy as we had to clamber over a wall, go past a dagoba, through a school yard and down a bank as some of the kids were waiting to be picked up. We don't do things the easy way....
On the way back we walked along the beach and stopped off at a waterfront restaurant for some drinks. It was nice being sat on the beach with Bob Marley playing in the background. Sadly they mislead with the drinks prices which is a shame as we may have gone back there tomorrow. The avacado lassi was really nice though....

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