Sri Lanka part III

Our tour guide Kamal and our driver Sampath whisked us away from the cool atmosphere of the tea plantations down to the South of the island where the climate was more Singaporean. We stopped at the site of some enormous Buddha carvings cut into the side of the hill which was now maintained privately by a family so it would be preserved for devotees to visit.  We then carried on down to the town of Tissamaharama...or Tissa for those with a short memory! This part of the country differed greatly from the area we had just been in. Before it had been all luscious greenery and misty mountains, now it was arid soil and coconut palms. We went on an evening bird safari and were eye-balled oddly by our guide who couldn't understand why his paying guests wanted to occasionally walk and stretch their legs rather than ride in his bumpy Landrover! We saw weaver birds and flying foxes as well as all manner of kingfishers, pelicans and maribou storks. The next day, our guide Kamal also took pains to slow down and point out peacocks (interesting to see them wild) and chickens (less interesting!).

Our tour of the South coast continued and we stopped at a Blow Hole and a moonstone factory. Our resolve to not spend any more money was once again put to the test... We were determined to spend some time on the beach and Kamal dropped us off to play in the sand on the West coast. We were soon defending England's cricket honour by playing 'catch' in the sea with some of the local lads. At first we thought they were admiring our graceful catches and throwing arms, until Ju pointed out that it was more likely they were looking at our bikinis!

That night Kamal took us home to his family. His first wife had been taken by the tsunami along with his business and livelyhood. Time moves on and he is now married to his second wife and they live with his 3 sons and her son and daughter in a small house where they freely offered us curry and a warm welcome. A happy ending to this tale.

After fond farewells, we took the 3 hour drive back to Colombo airport with Sampath to part company until the next time. Bye matey - see you at Christmas!