After our less-than-exciting visit in Colombo, we were eager to move on to the beach phase of our Sri Lanka travels. This phase of our trip didn't start out exactly as we planned, but in the end it turned out even better than we'd expected.
On New Year's Eve we drove to Unawatuna, one of the largest beach towns in southern Sri Lanka. In an effort to minimize how much we would move around, we'd booked 4 nights there (with the idea that we'd do some day trips in the area). When we arrived at our hotel, the owner informed us that he would not honor our reservation because he, "[could] not accept a reservation at a price lower than [he's] willing to take." Never mind that we had a confirmed, pre-paid booking...he had rented our room to someone else who was willing to pay more.
With nowhere to stay on a major holiday in a major resort town during the peak of high tourist season, we were a bit stressed. However, after walking around a bit, Bob found a place with a room available. It was not entirely clean and not the most comfortable (4 people sharing a double bed is not something we hope to do again soon)...but it was NYE, so if there was any night to not sleep much, it was a perfect one.
We didn't want to let the events of the afternoon spoil our New Year's Eve, and we ate dinner on the beach and stayed out long enough to see the first moments of 2017. I think this was the first year that the boys made it until midnight, and they were really excited to stay up so late.
Shortly after this photo was taken, we had a near-miss with firework injuries. We were walking along the beach and I was slightly in front of Bob and the boys. I saw something lit in the sand and, in my Western, "fireworks-are-regulated" mindset, thought it was a lit cigarette. So I stopped, with my foot hovering above the "cigarette", in an effort to make sure Bob and the boys didn't step on it. Some Sri Lankan guy feebly motioned to me, but due to his lack of urgency I still didn't realize that it was a LIT FIREWORK. I happened to walk back a few feet to Bob and the boys at that moment......and then the firework exploded. Had things been slightly different, one or more of us would have been right on top of it. As it was, a piece of the firework hit Bob and burned his leg slightly in a couple of places. However, it could have been much worse, so we ultimately felt really grateful...and even more like it was time to get the heck out of Unawatuna, which we had realized was far too busy and far too touristy for our liking.
The next morning we said goodbye to Unawatuna, thankful that our unhonored hotel reservation actually allowed us to move on without penalty or a second thought. We booked a car and driver for the day, and we first made a short detour to Galle, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Built by the Portugese and eventually held by the Dutch and then the British, Galle is a fortified city with lots of Dutch-colonial architecture. We walked atop the fortifications along the sea and stopped to watch guys playing cricket, a very popular sport in Sri Lanka.
Colin was really proud that he walked the entire way back to the car along these posts. It took FOREVER, but his pride was worth it.
We also stopped at a turtle hatchery in Habaraduwa. 5 of the 7 sea turtle species can be found in Sri Lankan waters, and they lay eggs along the beach. This hatchery helps to protect the eggs by relocating them to safe sands until they hatch and are reintroduced to the ocean.
Aren't these baby turtles the absolute cutest things you've ever seen??
By the end of the day we made our way to Mirissa, a beach town that was smaller and less crazy than Unawatuna. There were still plenty of other tourists, but the atmosphere was a bit calmer.....just what we were hoping for.
Bob found a much more welcoming hotel, complete with ping pong and billards table, which our boys always enjoy.
Colin made friends with a Bangladeshi guy who worked with him to improve his billards shots.
The hotel even had black eyed peas one morning for breakfast--a BIG DEAL. Due to my Southern heritage, my family eats black eyed peas on New Year's Day every year for good luck. We didn't eat them exactly on New Year's Day, but considering we were literally half a world away from the Southern US, it was close enough!
While in Mirissa, we took a half-day trip to see blue whales in the Indian Ocean. The blue whale is the largest sea mammal in the world, and it was incredible to see one of these gentle creatures up close.
Coming back to shore, we passed a beautiful point.
We also went to the beach, which was pretty much the most perfect family beach ever. Nice, wide beaches with waves that were just strong enough to have fun but not strong enough to be scary for kids or parents.
We introduced the boys to body boarding, which they loved. We spent hours riding the waves in.
Bob and I got to ride the waves, too.....I don't think I'd done this since I was a kid, myself.
We found a great hole in the wall restaurant that had about 5 tables in the backyard of someone's house. The view was spectacular.
It was there that we tried our first and absolutely best kottu of the trip. Kottu is meat, vegetables, and roti (a flat bread cooked on a griddle), all chopped up and tossed with spices. This restaurant's kottu was so delicious, we actually came back and had it a second day. And every kottu we ate for the rest of the trip, while usually good, never lived up to this first one.
We also tried their roti on our second trip.....their version was quite similar to a crepe. This one has melted chocolate and bananas inside....YUM.
After 3 days in Mirissa, we moved further east to Tangalle. This was the view from our AirBnB apartment.
There were some beautiful birds that came to the property to eat, and it was neat to see them and listen to their calls.
The coast was breathtaking.
And the beaches were spectacular--much rougher seas than Mirissa, but even clearer water and bright sands.
We played in the water and sands but had to be much more careful due to strong rip tides. No body boarding here, but it was still a great place to spend a beach day.
Tangalle was the end of our Sri Lankan "beach phase"--from there, we packed up and prepared to go on safari!
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