Sri Lanka (pt. 1)
For the Christmas-New Year break, with Fra’s parents in tow, we convened with Francesca’s sister, Arianna, and her family in Sri Lanka. Our families have been discussing a holiday get-together on this beautiful island for at least 15 years, and living in HK - a 5 hour direct flight - made the plan instantly more attainable. Arianna’s husband, Hiran, is Sinhalese. His parents moved the family to London in the late 70s, but they still have many close ties to their homeland, so we were happy to have a “local” on our team (and in fact, Hiran’s parents and sister’s family were in-country for the holidays as well).
The predominantly Buddhist country’s history dates back 2,000 years to native kingdoms that built cities, aqueduct and dam systems, and giant temple fortresses carved from rock formations (the most famous of which is Sigirya, a site we unfortunately did not get the chance to visit). More recently, it served as a British protectorate under the name of Ceylon, making its mark as an exporter of fine tea and even finer cricket players. Independent since 1948, Sri Lanka has recently emerged from a decades-long conflict between the main government and Tamil separatists, a development sure to renew interest from east and west in its important ports of entry to the Indian Ocean and investment value in its beautiful coastal and inland jungle terrain.
We arrived a day ahead of Arianna, flying in late at night, and made our way directly to the beach town of Hikkaduwa, located just north of the more populous coastal tourist destination of Galle, checking in to a lovely little guesthouse a short walk inland from the beach.
Soon after jumping in the warm crystal waters, we were amazed to be greeted by a few local residents - giant, gentle sea turtles that swim right up to the shore and happily tolerate beachgoers’ touches in exchange for seaweed snacks.
We quickly adjusted to “island time,” relaxing on hammocks at home and lazily strolling the village roads and shops prior to the rest of our family’s arrival, enjoying the animal life of the area, domesticated and otherwise.
Ari & co. arrived in the evening to many joyous reunion hugs, especially among the girls and their little cousin, Sedona - a clique that proved inseparable for the remainder of the trip. First order of business the next day was to introduce them to our new shelled friends.
(About as close as Sedona was willing to get to the large reptiles, mimicking a shell on her own mamma.)
The afternoon called for more family time, as we welcomed Hiran’s parents, Savi and Amithra, down from their home base in Colombo for the day, for a seafood lunch feast. Personally, my association with them has always been under the gray gloom of London winter days (as I typically only get to UK during the Xmas period), so it was really lovely to be with them on their true home turf, under the equatorial sun and green canopies.
After bidding adieu to the elder Ilangantilekes, the younger ones joined us for a visit to a nearby turtle hatchery. As one of the main coastal areas that five varieties of sea turtle utilize for their breeding grounds, Hikkaduwa prides itself on its efforts to maintain the populations and protect the fragile system required to ensure the little ones make safe journey to the sea. At this nursery, we enjoyed baby loggerheads and olive ridleys at the start of their majestic lives, as well as older turtles rescued from accidents at sea and rehabbed.
These little ones are just 2 days old. By the time I’ve typed this, they’ve (hopefully) already been at sea for a month.
The next morning, we set out early to travel inland by boat for a sunrise tour through to Madu Ganga Lake and its many mangrove islets, home to a wide variety of birds, monkeys, water buffalo, as well as crocodiles!
For breakfast, we pulled up to a small island populated by one - a lone cinnamon farmer. Above, he demonstrates how he plies his trade, stripping the bark from cinnamon branches. Below, the bark drying overhead prior to export (he also provided his homemade cinnamon tea and cinnamon oil to sample, which were both awesome).
At the end of the boat portion of our tour, a quick stop at a fish spa for some natural exfoliation.
Below, Sedona and the proprietor of our guest house, Chami, who personally led us around for the day. He proved a super knowledgeable and helpful resource throughout our time with him.
Our next stop was a short hike through the jungle to reach a waterfall and swimming hole. It was plenty hot in Sri Lanka even in winter, and the cool water proved a welcome respite.
Above, this family hosted us for lunch at a small restaurant they operate behind their house - tons of fantastic Sri Lankan dishes on offer (including jackfruit curry, spicy coconut relish, and pancakes with palm syrup) served with warm smiles. Below, a field of tea plants on our trek through the woods.
After a full day of boating and trekking, we still had time to hit the beach near home for R&R before retreating to a beachside spot for seafood dinner and bed. The waves were quite large here, which made for great body surfing, real surfing by others, and some nervous moments by a certain worried mother. Riptides or no, though, it was tough to get the girls out of the ocean.
For our final day in Hikkaduwa, the group split up. Fra, Ari and our girls set out early for a whale watching trip off the nearby port town of Mirissa. Those of us with more easily nauseated constitutions remained back on dry land with Mario & Stella for a relaxing day at the beach.
Out at sea, the ladies got their money’s worth - spotting both blue whales and sperm whales. The highlight, in G&S’s opinion, though, was the mating sea turtles (below).
The girls returned home exhausted and enriched, and ready for a little more beach time prior to our departing for a different landscape early the next morning (more to come soon)...