Not quite paradise but still nice…….

Well I decided I just couldn’t face another marathon bus trip – and can you blame me?  My options were get a bus from Dambulla (2 hours from the project) to Trincomalee (then a four hour trip) and face not getting a seat – standing room only; as the bus would only be passing through enroute from Colombo and probably already full or if I wanted to be assured of a seat then first travelling to Kandy (4-5 hours travel from the project) where the Trinco service starts its journey from a bus interchange  then factor in an additional 4 hours back to Dambulla and through to Trinco so 8 hours plus 4 would have involved travelling from dawn to dusk.  And this time I wouldn’t be travelling light I would have my entire luggage with me; so another huge backpack to struggle with through people and down narrow aisles.  Sounds insane doesn’t it!  So after talking to Chinkhata I decided to hire a driver and use one of the projects 4WD and go in comfort for around $80 all up as the driver would need to turn around and make the trip back as well.  My driver was Darshana and it turned out to be a good decision as he was great company, spoke English quite well and was a wealth of information and stories – he had a close shave during the war while doing Conservation work around Trincomalee and because he didn’t speak or understand Tamil he was nearly shot by a soldier so the trip today brought back a number of memories for him.

About a litre size clay pot of home made yogurt for 80 cents

A real highlight of today has been finding yogurt – nobody makes it like the Indians and on our drive through we drove through an area called Kanthale famous for it’s yogurts which are sold in clay pots on stalls at the side of the road.  I recalled I’d read about this in Lonely Planet too (the pots are so quaint you really want to keep them) so asked Darshana if we could stop for me to buy some. We got to taste the yogurt and I bought a pot to take with me. Sooooooooooo delicious! 

Darshana demonstrates how solid the yogurt is

A little taste test with honey

The drive was interesting to Trinco as there were many road blocks with soldiers and a lot or road repair work still being undertaken since peacetime.  We were never stopped so I think these days it’s more a show of strength as Darshana said just after the war buses and lorries would be held up for around 4-5 hours at the road blocks and have to unload everything from their vehicles and have them fully checked before they could proceed.

So as I said, it’s not quite paradise………………..everything you do here in Sri Lanka seems to require enormous effort one way or another. You get there in the end and it’s a beautiful country for sure but nothing is easy and effortless like we are used to things being.

Aqua Inns

I’ve arrived at my new quarters for the next 4 nights ‘Aqua Inn’. It’s a bit grubby but then so is everywhere else apart from a couple of very expensive resorts which I’d decided were way overpriced.  The couple that run it are nice, lots of things don’t work very well and a guy has so far had to fix my light by fiddling about with the wiring, reset things so that I had electricity when it just decided to all drop out and find me a bucket so I could rinse some clothes through.  When I had my shower, I was delighted to find it was hot water, even though it was little more than a trickle but then I found I couldn’t turn it off and it took me a good 10 mins to work that one out – was too weary by now to go and find Mr Fixit again, even though he’s been very obliging. Other than that the room looks comfortable and I’ve a ceiling fan so all good.

Contrary to Whale Watching being promoted here in May on the internet, it seems that May is too late for whale watching so not sure whether to give it a try regardless or drop that idea……………… am never sure what to think as advice is very often conflicting here.

This afternoon I got a tuk tuk to Nilaveli beach where all the boats leave for Pigeon Island and snorkeling and that all went smoothly enough. In fact, it was lovely!  There are few to none organized tourist attractions here – it’s a case of work out all the logistics yourself and just go for it but it was worth all the effort as I snorkeled off the island this afternoon and felt myself really relaxing and experiencing something I so thoroughly enjoy again.

Asraff sorting out the Pigeon Island NP conservation charge for visitors

Asraff (aka Zorba the Greek) and his brother Abdul Karim

The local I met on the beach at Nilaveli whose brother takes his boat over to Pigeon island is great – every time I look at him he just brings to mind for me Anthony Quinn in the role of ‘Zorba the Greek’ – same big presence and personality.  He talked me into taking another trip out next day with his brother to snorkel at another spot called ‘Red Rocks’ and then onto a lake to do some birdwatching after that to his home and he will have lunch arranged.  They are both delightful and both in their late 50’s by all accounts with lots of children and grandchildren.  So good when you connect with a local as it all becomes so much more simple and pleasureable.  I’ve also found a tuk tuk driver I like (Sadar) who I am using to get me here and there and this afternoon I managed to make him understand that I wanted some more yogurt and find a shop for me that sold it.

Red Rocks for snorkelling

Lunch was delicious

I’m currently negotiating with ‘Zorba the Greek’ to see if he can find me a driver and vehicle for my next trip which is 3 hours away in Pollonowaru to stay at the Primate Centre for 2 nights and bird there.  If it’s too expensive then I’ll go to the train station tomorrow and see if I can book at seat on a train for Monday.