Every morning Matt steps out on the verandah, coffee in hand, adopts his "man of the sea" stance and surveys the water and the wind. Winds out of the north bring big waves that stir up the black sandy sea bottom and decrease visibility to almost nil. He takes his time, weighing the clouds direction and speed, the sound and look of the waves, and then announces the activity of the day. On days when the winds and waves are high we are guaranteed no visibility so these are days spent either swimming or out of the water entirely. The other day we swam a little over an hour and found it much more pleasant than in Sri Lanka. The sun seems less harsh here, probably because of all the humidity in the air. The water ... read more

I sang as I scrubbed the dishes today, the fact that I can cook or do laundry whenever I want has made me happier than it should any sane person. I have great admiration for backpackers that can live out of one small bag, moving from hostel to hostel and eating only street food, but I am not that person and neither is Matt. We may have been when we were younger but the benefit of traveling when you are -ahem- a little older is that you know yourself better and you stop wanting to be something you're not. After six weeks rinsing out underwear in hostel sinks, we knew it was time to call it. The little house we've rented in Amed - around 50 - 60 sq meters - is more than ... read more

Our last few days in Sri Lanka went by very quickly. Once we decided to move on we were anxious to get going but Kantha made us promise to stay for his birthday party, on the 8th of January. The party was a perfect excuse to wear the saree his wife Kanthi had gifted me the week before. The day after she gave it to me, I asked Vajira to help me find a fabric store and then a women's tailor to have the blouse and underskirt made. He did and also gave me suggestions for the style of blouse I should choose. Afterward we went to the men's tailor to have Matt's sarong sewed up. Dressing in a saree sounds very simple - all you have to do is tuck a long piece of fabric ... read more

Matt and I ran some errands in Weligama yesterday. We needed to buy and mail a birthday card, pick up some electrician's tape, and find a couple of gifts and wrapping paper. Easy, right? Well, surprisingly, it was. On our way out of the last shop, bags in hand, gifts pre-wrapped per our request, we laughed as we recalled a similar outing, undertaken our first week in Sri Lanka. The list that day was short: tape, thread and needle, and postcards. We asked many people for help but the directions were difficult for us to understand and if we were able to find the right place, it was closed or didn't have what we needed. After 2 hours of wandering around we left completely defeated. I guess we have adapted. Yesterday, with our list completed after ... read more

If you are married to a biologist and want to make him as giddy as a 10 year old schoolgirl, take him on a safari. Yala National Park is a must see for anyone that comes to Sri Lanka. It is 978 km squared and mostly closed to the public. Access is granted to only 40% of the park and they are strict about not letting the Range Rovers stray off the roads. So if any animal wants to escape scrutiny, he just needs to turn around and walk into the bush. We were told not to expect too much since there is a lot of a park and only so many animals that roam it. So we were surprised and awed by what we did see. I'll let the photos do the talking. Matt took ... read more