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There were always lots of boatmen on the beach, ready to take people on rides, mostly to the small Pigeon Island just opposite. We decided one afternoon to go and visit the lagoon a bit further north. Since it was low tide it was not easy getting in, but eventually we were out of the rough waters and admired the scenery of a mangrove forest. There were a few crab and prawn fishermen and a group of ladies digging for oysters, while a sea eagle |
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circled high above us. Kamal, our boatman, took us also to his house for some limejuice and papaya and to meet his family (eight kids!). He convinced us to go
with him the next day too, for a whole day of snorkeling and picnic. So that'swhat we did. First to Coral Island, where Mommy took me out to see the
pretty fish and coral as well. I had been practicing in the pool with the mask and snorkel, but this was different and although I was very apprehensive in
the beginning, I didn't want to get out of the water later on! There were some local boys catching the small fish and putting them in plastic bags to sell them for aquariums (rather sad...). Papa was able to explore further and see some larger fish in the deeper water, but some areas were very shallow so he had to watch |
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not getting cut by the coral. We then continued our way further north along the coast, to an area called Red Rocks. There, on a completely deserted beach, Kamal and his friend prepared a wonderful grilled fish and lots of tiger prawns, as well as a few other items, so a little later we had a delicious lunch in the shade of some low beach trees. I also had a chance to explore some of the tidal rocks to see lots of crabs and little fish. But it was already 4 pm and we had to head back over a rough sea. On the way we stopped near some other rocks where Papa got to see more underwater life, but it was too wavy for us in the boat, so he got back in. Sunsets were often quite spectacular and the beach scenery (colourful boats and lots of ladies in saris) became quite special with the low light. |
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Because it was Easter, we went to a church ceremony in the village of Nilaveli. It was a very simple church without even pews, but the place was full and everyone was dressed in their new clothes (remember their New Year's tradition?) to attend the Tamil mass. We also spent a day in Trinco, to visit the fishing harbour, an old Portuguese fort (still used by the army) and an active Hindu temple overlooking the sea. We ate some nice devilled fish and used the internet too. But since it was so hot, I was happy to be back on the beach again and play with my Norwegian friend (did you know that I
manage to swim in the deep end by myself now, without wings...). Oh, and a couple of times we tried to sleep on the beach. I managed no problem, but it was either the sudden lack of breeze (which was usually always there)
and/or some biting insects that made us eventually get back to the breeze of our fan and the safety of our nets. |
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But it was time to leave our Eden and go back to Colombo in time to catch our flight to India. Everyone working at the resort had been very nice to us, especially the 2 managers. We took a night train, but in stead of the expected sleeper berths, we got
"sleeperettes", which are just reclining seats. Again, no problemo for me, but the folks were a little tired when arriving in Colombo at 5:30 am... We had two full days to spend and the motto was: shop till you drop! We had heard from several sources that you could get good clothes for a fraction of the money it would cost back home. And since we would need them for when we would get back, the folks bought a lot. We went from store to store, to store, taking all the time threewheelers (more & more being called |
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TukTuks) and we had a very nice lunch with to-die-for deserts. The good part was that one of the nicer stores, Odell, had a kids play area, which was perfect for me. Besides brand name type clothes you could also get a large variety of souvenirs there. The place even had a DeliFrance! The plan was to send it all off by sea mail from Madras. Our final hours in Sri Lanka were spent in the company of Francis (the brother of a family friend in Toronto) who has lived in Colombo for the past 7 years. He took us to a really nice restaurant where we sampled all kinds of local specialties, including Arack that Papa found mixes well with Sprite. So after a very nice evening and a late night of packing we were up at 5 am for our 8 am flight to Madras. |
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Making bubbles: my first scuba experience in the pool with Papa ! |
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