The Ship of the Desert

I just couldn't resist this picture...one has to park one's camel someplace...

Five Star Luxury in Sri Lanka

Unbelievable...sitting on our porch...looking through the palm trees to the restless ocean, crashing ceaselessly upon the huge boulders submerged along the coastline. The sun setting brilliantly through the darkening clouds scattered across the sky. The view! The ambiance! The stunning beauty!


Jeff has posted a slide show of pictures from our travels - check them out by clicking here. 

View of the Jetwing Hotel

The trip here was a bit of a rush. We ran out of school exactly at 3:00 so that we could be home and ready for our driver at 4:00. We gave ourselves 30 extra minutes because traffic is horrendous in the afternoon and especially when everyone is leaving town. Well, of course, the traffic was non-existent and we made it to the airport in 30 minutes (heck, we can take that long to get home...and that's across the street!). Of course it meant we had a longer stay but since we have a nice lounge we can go into and they have snacks and tea and comfy chairs, it was fine to sit and read while we waited - much better than sweating it out in the car.
We landed here at 3:00 am...bleary eyed and exhausted. We were totally amazed to be greeted with Christmas lights and wreaths hanging throughout the airport and Christmas music playing everywhere (at 3am). I thought it was a Buddhist country (it is) with Hindu also (it is) but apparently with so many European conquerors, the Christians didn't want to be left out. Our driver was waiting for us and we headed out in the dark of night to our first destination – Galle.

North from our hotel

The hotel here is fantastic, unbelievable, add your own adjectives – 5 star luxury at 3 star prices. We have a fabulous room with a view that doesn’t stop. We can see the coastline, view the sunsets while we sip cold drinks, watch the fishermen, without ever leaving the comfort of our deck. The service…impeccable.  Dilan, our hotel young man, brought us tea and coffee to the room. He makes sure everything is perfect, the room, extra water, our meals at the hotel. We've never had someone whose job it is to look out for us like this. This could be easy to get used to. 

Fishermen on the rocks

What do you eat if you don't eat meat? omg - let me tell you. We went to one of the nice restaurants here - this is a very posh place and the food is fabulous – and not just for carnivores. They have an unbelievable number of vegetarian dishes. Tonight I had cumin baked pumpkin with beans and pistachios wrapped in a buckwheat crepe with a lite sauce made of buffalo mozarella. It was absolutely wonderful. The salad was fennel fronds (don't remember what they called it) with mushrooms, peppers, other veggies and a basalmic vinegar sauce that was wonderful. Breakfast includes many different and unusual foods - red rice with various curries, spicy pickled veggies, grain breads, cumin spiced gouda cheese (delicious) and chili spiced gouda - though that one could have used more chili. This is going to be a hard place to be on a diet.

Whale Watching

Bleary eyed we arose at 5:00 this morning - yes, I realize it is our vacation but...we decided to go whale watching today, and what a gorgeous day for doing it. We met our guide and another couple and jumped into a van, heading south. The whales travel just past the continental shelf, sadly in the area of the shipping lanes - we left from the point in Sri Lanka that is closest to this spot

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Turns out the couple we were with are actually scientist who were doing a feasibility study to look at the impact of shipping lanes as well as hundreds of whale watchers on the migration patterns of the whales. Our guide has been working on studying the whales for the last few years and was working with the British couple to see what could be done in the future since his own grant was running out. We picked up two more men who wanted to record whales sounds to study – we learned a lot about whales just by listening to them.

Trio of dolphins

Spinner Dolphin

What a trip! The men in charge of the boat were nothing short of remarkable with their ability to spot dolphins - they have such a low profile that it seemed impossible to see them before we got right on top of them. There was some help with a fisherman who came by, signing jumping animals and pointing but still...they were all but invisible to me until we were right on top of them. The pod had a number of calves in with the others - probably all feeding - and moving away from the boats.

Blue whale surfacing

Blue whale fluke

 After many more hours (though really, it was probably only 30 minutes or so) one of the guys spotted our first whale - although all you could see was the blow as it came up. We quickly powered our way through the waves so that we could get close enough to really see the whale - it was a Blue whale - absolutely huge! Ginormous! It seemed to take minutes to finish surfacing - the front was under water before it we even through. Sadly, it seemed to only stay up for 4 or 5 breaths and then it dove and disappeared. We found 2 or 3 other whales and again, the same thing happened.

The large boat chasing whales

 It is true that there are lots of boats out, whale watching. It has become an important source of income for the people here, meaning there are a lot of boats chasing whales down. On the plus side, they are trying to regulate it, looking at what can be done, how to spread out the boats, to protect the whales (hence that study they're hoping to do). By the late morning, there were 5 small boats and one huge one out plying the water back and forth, searching for signs of whales. I actually think the whales were staying up for less time and diving sooner just to escape us - hope the study goes through and some changes occur. On one of the dives, I got a great picture of the whale's fluke - not the classic back shot but nevertheless, a true shot of the fluke - Jeff thought it was just a fluke that I got it - and I've made him promise to stop with the fluke jokes.

Fort Galle

Because we might get bored if we stay at this delightful hotel with all the amenities you could ever want (and I have my kindle loaded with about 20 unread books), we took off to Fort Galle to eat lunch and check out the community that still lives within its walls.

Small row of tuk tuks

Crazy traffic

I have to start out with driving here in Sri Lanka….it seems like I should get over it…just ignore it...but...it seems to just be a reoccurring theme…and you might miss it if I skipped it. Not only that, it will make you appreciate how good we have it in the states when the local idiot does something stupid on the road. Remember the tuktuks we rode in long ago in Thailand? They have been upgraded and improved here and they can be found absolutely everywhere – most are for hire but since they’re cheap, (relatively speaking) sometimes a family buys them for personal use. They are ubiquitous. Now they usually do stick to driving down the left side (yes, we're back to drive to the left), in a somewhat slower lane, except for when they don’t. Motorcycles and bike fit in that same category, hugging the left except when they’re passing, driving down the road, dodging a dog, kid, bike or tourist.  They pass when they like, the cars pass when they want, the buses and trucks pass and get passed by each other and all of the above. They pass on straight stretches, curves, partial curves, around corners and into oncoming traffic.  If someone is coming towards you well...they’ll honk their horn, you’ll honk your horn,  they might stop, or perhaps slow down...you swing back in, the tuktuk backs off. It looks chaotic and most foreigners have decided that the best way to deal with it is… to not look. They do have a booming business of drivers for hire…

The wall - high enough to stop the tsunami

The Lighthouse

Fort Galle history in a nutshell: The fort was started by the Portuguese to protect them from the natives. For some strange reason the native people objected to the Portuguese taking their lands, essentially making them work for not much money, and then punishing them when they objected – they built a jail there to house the Sinhalese people who tried to fight them. There was some good from the development of trade – spices were a hot commodity -  but still.... The walls of the fort were built up on the east side, the land, protection from the natives. Well...they weren't expecting the Dutch, from the sea so in yet another gory battle, the Dutch defeated the Portuguese and proceeded to take over the land and trade. The Dutch built up the seaward wall and added lots of bastions and other improvements so that they had a protective ring around the entire community at Galle Fort. At various times, over the years, proposals were made to change or remove structures but they always maintained the integrity of the fort...and nothing has ever breached its walls since, including the 2004 tsunami that hit the area. While the tsunami took out communities to the north and south, the force of the waves did not breach the fort.

Al Meera Mosque

Buddhist temple

The lighthouse is one of the main structures that is visited there. It is still in use today because the coastline here is filled with hundreds of rocks. There are also a large number of monuments left in the fort including the Dutch Reformed Church, the Dutch government museum, the Clock Tower, the Meera Mosque, a Buddhist Temple, a Roman Catholic church and the Al Saints Anglican Church. Quite a mix of religions within this small site. 

Kottowa Rainforest

Jungle stream

Resident critter

Headed up to the Kottowa rainforest preserve. It's a small preserve that's being held as a protected area. We hired a driver and headed up - about 20k from Galle. Upon arrival we discovered that it is closed on Sundays...a fact that the hotel either didn't know or failed to mention. Notwithstanding the locked gate, several enterprising young men were standing at the entrance, willing to take us through reserve for a fee - less than the normal entry price. We were able to walk around the gate and head off into the jungle. I was a little dubious but I will admit it was nice to have them along. They were excellent observers and obviously knew the jungle, showing us various dens for different animals, the lair of a trap-door spider and a tiny little lizard that, for all the world, looked almost like a walking stick insect at first. The only thing that I was worried about were the leaches...apparently they were everywhere...and we, being used to manicured reserves, were in Tevas (sandals). Sadly, I had had boots on when Jeff convinced me that sandals would be fine...they weren't. Serendipitously, I have discovered that while mosquitos think I am the source of all meals, leaches like Jeff. He had any number of them crawl on him - the guide was fast to notice them - but a number of them latched on and had to be informed that they needed to get off, now. Turns out mosquito repellant convinces them quite quickly that they want to leave. He did come home and soak his foot, putting on antibiotic ointment immediately.

We also got a chance to see rubber trees with the bark scored for collection. Down the way we could see the workers pouring the collected sap into their larger jugs. There were also pineapple plants – somehow I always pictured them on more tree like plants rather than shrubs…don’t know why…

Notes from Galle

Sunset from the balcony

The weather report has been mentioning rain at various times during our stay but we have enjoyed fabulously blue skies with some overcast in the evenings. Even this morning was gorgeous as we wandered through the forest (hmmm....at least it was gorgeous at the beach. Once you get in the jungle, the blue sky was hard to see.). This afternoon, however, there was a noticeable increase in wind, the ocean choppier, a smell of rain on the wind until finally...it was absolutely pouring rain. The lightning and thunder coming together! I've only heard it that close together a few times and it is LOUD. Thankfully it seems to be moving away. It's still very warm and we have a wonderful balcony, protected from the rain, looking out on the clouded, restless sea, drinking tea (or scotch).

My lightning strike - the one and only

We actually spent the better part of the afternoon trying to take pictures of the lightning. There was quite a show of sheet lightning with periodic bolts of lightning breaking up the sky. After many hundreds of shots, I finally got one shot and Jeff got two great ones - one is absolutely gorgeous. It is really tough to get a good shot - heck, to get any shot at all! Satisfying to get the one.

We always learn so much on these trips. Now I realize that the hotels in these places make a lot of their money off their restaurants. I know that the prices you pay helps support the place, the community, pays the workers. However...the charges can get out of hand, especially when you're vegetarian and have no interest in eating the heavy meat meals. We took off tonight for the fort again and ate at Indian Hut - a restaurant complete with the same logo as pizza hut in the states. Their sign out front shows their total support for the community they are in..."No Pork, No Beef, No Alcohol". Seafood, chicken, mutton, and LOTS of vegetable dishes were all on the menu. Great food, nice and spicy and 1/10th of the price at the hotel. Yum!

Started out on a walk down the beach the next morning. Immediately found the obligatory self-appointed tour guide, ready and willing to walk us down the beach, telling us all about every rock, every fishing spot, every grain of sand. Since we were not staying more than one more day he finally decided we weren't going to latch onto the boat trip or dive trip he had planned so he moved on...and so did we. The beaches here are full of rocks, jutting through the sand and into the ocean, making it very picturesque. Sadly, our beach hike ended at the river - had to make our way around the boats and tethered calf up to the bridge...and more waiting and available guides. We were finally saved when the downpour came and we took refuge in a passing tuktuk.

Barking bird

The last couple of days, whenever we were sitting on the balcony in the evenings, we could hear the barking of a seal or two, but every time we searched for it, we absolutely could not find it anywhere. We finally solved the mystery. I spied a blue and red bird perched up in the branches of a tree. In the process of trying to get some pictures, I noticed that the bird was puffing up his breast and woofing - our mysterious seal! We were amazed that such a loud sound came from such a tiny animal. The picture has lousy color - it was the same rainy afternoon and lightening it didn't do much to improve the coloring.

Heading to Kandy

Guest house painting

Decisions, decisions...we can get to Colombo in 3.5, maybe 4 hours or we can get there in 1 hour...and 400 rupees (roughly $4.00). Hmmmm...big decisions here. The new freeway is something most Sri Lankans are quite proud of....and don't use a lot because of the fee. (to be fair, it has only been open for 2 days.) We had a road just about to ourselves, all the way up to the end of the road. One day, within 2 years our driver said, the road will go all the way to the airport. What a benefit that will be! An hour later we were leaving Colombo, heading for Kandy - the center of Sri Lanka and home of any number of places to visit.,

We have avoided most of the mandatory visits to ceramic shops, silk shops, fabric shops, tea shops, but we did stop at an Ayervedic herb garden. We had a chance to see many of the spices we take for granted (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg) as well as some that I had never heard of before - and will have to look up to remember what they are. Did have a knowledgable student, studying to be an Ayervedic doctor, give us a tour, talk about the plants, different medicines they get from them, and how some are used. It really was interesting. Jeff got a back massage - he really enjoyed it. At least if we're going to be in one of those places, this was a good one to check out. Think I'd like a tea plantation also, although I won't mention in - they would undoubtedly find 10 or more to take us to...


Getting to Kandy was no problem; the driver has a sister living here so he's been many times. He did stop at his family's favorite sweet shop - and shared the story of his family stopping here every trip out. There were the normal road issues and it took 4 hours from that nice shortcut we had earlier but it was still pretty straightforward. That's where it ended. We needed to find "Nature Walk Guesthouse" somewhere in Kandy.  Seemed like it should have been easy to find to us but...the first tuktuk driver had no idea, pointed us in a vague direction. Next tuktuk driver wasn't much better, but we did get to the lake. To be fair, the road around the lake used to be two ways and our map seemed to be straightforward...but the road was no longer open. The next driver and the next got us progressively closer but still, no one really had any idea. Finally, using the map and the rough ideas, we got up on a road, near the Kandy Lake Club where, when we asked the final tuktuk driver he said yes, just up there, around the corner. We no longer mention our place, we just mention the club and everyone knows where to go. The things you learn on these trips....

The guesthouse is...interesting. It is very outdoors and low key. Has lots of outside seating areas - wonderful in tropical climates because the rooms are hot, lousy in a tropical climate because the bugs are out, wonderful here because the rooms are tiny. Unless you sit on the bed, you have to sit on the floor. Fortunately, we stayed in that room only one night. We moved up to a slightly larger room – though we still enjoyed the outside seating areas and the company of the interesting people who stayed at the guesthouse.

He never dropped them!

Fire Dancers

Kandy has a number of groups that put on a nightly performance of traditional dances. Luckily, one of the performances was right next door to our guest house so the people walked us over to the area. It was interesting to see the different costumes, learn a bit of the stories behind the various dances, and hear the music, primarily drums, a flute, and a curved horn instrument. Both men and women danced, though the men definitely had the most energetic dances. Many of the dances were part of a story, primarily that of Ramayama as he searched for his wife, Sita. One of the most interesting was the one with the men holding spinning plates – 5, 6 or more at a time! There was also a fire dance as well as the men who walked across burning coals.