Surfer's Paradise

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From Udawalawe, we hit the road again with the beach on our minds. We were going to stay one night in Tangalle which is one of the largest fishing towns in the southern province, and one night in Mirissa which is a main tourist point for whale and dolphin watching.

When we arrived in Tangalle, we gave Chin the day off as all we wanted was to relax at the beach. He took us to a hostel near the beach to drop off our stuff and we left him there enjoying some beers.

We had heard of a new restaurant that had opened up on the beach just a few weeks before called 'friendship beach' so fancied a visit. After trailing up and down the road for 30 minutes, asking almost every passer by if they knew it (which they didn't) we gave up and walked back to our hostel. As we reached the entrance to the hostel we saw some guys collecting wood, and thought we may as well ask them as well if they knew friendship beach. As luck would have it, one of the guys was actually the owner!

He walked us over to a table and two chairs set up next to a small wooden shed and welcomed us to friendship beach. We were a little sceptical. We were left there with two stray puppies who had joined us, while he went for a shower (as he had been doing some heavy labour work). When he returned he asked us to try his prawns and calamari, so we agreed.

Best decision ever made.

The food was the best we have ever eaten. Seriously delicious. After serving us, the boys working at friendship beach ran into the water and started surfing. And we could see more locals playing cricket in the distance. We immediately felt the relaxed vibe.

Marc couldn't wait any longer and ran straight from our table into the HUGE waves of the sea. We played with the dogs and jumped/drowned in the biggest waves we have ever experienced. This is why Tangalle is so popular for surfing.

We were also joined by some guys who are in the Sri Lankan army, who were on holiday (and clearly enjoying it from the smell of alcohol on their breaths and glisten in their eyes). They were very, very friendly.

In the evening we went to a turtle sanctuary. We were the only people there, and were hopeful to getting a close look at a turtle coming onto the beach to lay her eggs. As we waited, we had a look round the small museum. Once a turtle came onto the beach we made our way down with only a dim red light to lead the way. By the time the turtle had started to lay her eggs, there was about 50 other tourists on the beach.. so we decided to abandon and find our way back in the pitch black. Not an easy task!

Even though we had a rubbish evening, we completely loved Tangalle, but hoped Mirissa would have more of a buzz.

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