On the move again. Paradise Lost as we breakfasted and said goodbye to our little piece of heaven. Mind you the bill brought us rapidly back down to earth. Nonetheless it was a beautiful respite from the hustle and bustle that is Sri Lanka.
We had booked us a driver to take us to Galle but soon discovered that the lovely manager at Coco, Ninuka, was taking us himself. It was his day off!! Thats not to say we didn’t pay for the privilege but it was nice to have him take us. It was also the first ride on the Sri Lankan roads where we weren’t holding our breath most of the time!!
Along the way is the place where the stilt fishermen are found. Now, this is an ancient tradition of fishing and it is the iconic photo of Sri Lanka so of course you have to stop to see. But the reality is that it is now staged for the tourists. So, we walk onto the beach and the first thing we see is a group of Japanese Tourists; and the second is one of the fisherman asking us for money to take photos. So I handed over my hard earned (Rose took the role of observer) and a fisherman hopped on his stilt and pretended to fish. The really hilarious thing was that two Japanese tourists, who must have paid more than their fair share, also hopped on stilts and pretended to fish. Certainly not a great photo opportunity for us. But really it was priceless !! We stayed a few minutes and left…but needless to say I have my photo!!
We were dropped at our next place in Galle, Villa de 19, another homestay and a very considerable step-down from Coco. But you have to be satisfied with the level you can sustain and we are satisfied!!
Galle is so totally different from every other experience we’ve had in Sri Lanka. The whole town is UNESCO World Heritage listed and is really beautifully preserved, a bit like similar towns in Japan. Hand in hand with this is that we suddenly find ourselves well and truly back in the tourist scene. It is buzzing with white fellas from all over the world. This is a rude awaking from the towns we have been in since leaving Colombo where we were often the only foreigners. But it is quid pro quo because along with the foreigners comes all the tourist infrastructure. You can get coffee, gelato, wine and you can shop til you drop if thats your thing!!. There are lovely shops to poke your head into all over the place, restaurants with all manner of food and more importantly they are in beautifully preserved heritage buildings from the Dutch and Portuguese eras.
So out we went walking to get some wine and beer, home to drop them off then out again to eat at a classy restaurant called Fortaleza. That’s all great but at the same time expenditure has also matched the move into an upmarket world. We just keep telling ourselves to stay cool, its our last 3 days!!
Back to have a nightcap, a shower and hit the hay!!