We settled on a town called Weligama as a place to call home through January 2020.
We’d been looking for somewhere to rent that included a kitchen so we could cook healthy vegan meals (as there was limited choice available when eating out) but this turned out to be more difficult and expensive than we’d expected. After some searching we found a small place just a few minutes walk from the town centre – a room-cum-flat up a stone staircase, with a square balcony area out front. It comprised a shared living / bedroom area, a kitchenette and a small bathroom. Compact, but everything we really needed at that moment.
It was mostly a trouble-free time in the flat, bar the small colony of maggots that moved in at some point behind our toilet. They didn’t seem to want to leave despite any cleaning we did to send them on their way!
Though we took the odd cycle trip while we were staying in Weligama, we generally didn’t venture far and got around by foot. Due to this, nearly every time we set off somewhere we were approached by a tuk tuk driver touting for business – there seemed to be more tuk tuks available than tourists needing them!
I had some long working days during this time. Sometimes I’d spend 12 hours sitting at my desk, frequently having to jump up to change the background Blu Tacked to the wall behind me (depending on whether I was teaching children or adults at that moment, and on which company I was teaching for). The days were made all the more intense by the heat, causing constant perspiring which left me feeling dehydrated as I was never able to drink enough water while teaching. But, when the day was done, the most beautiful part was I could head out with Miki (often barefooted as the distance we had to go was so short), and within five minutes we could be paddling into the sea. It was the most wonderful way to decompress after a long day of work.
As I’d intended, I started surfing lessons again while there. Having early morning lessons, being out before the world wakes up, and watching the sun rise from behind the sea into the sky, was amazing. This was also generally one of the calmest parts of the day to be in the water – good for a beginner like me! Things were going well with the lessons. I managed to stand up and ride a wave with reasonable frequency when my instructor guided me on which to take, often giving me a slight push start in the process.
A week later my lessons were up, and I was to try my hand at surfing on my own. Unfortunately, this brought about the end of my surfing career as one of the waves I aimed for I very much misjudged, managed to fall off and get hit on the head with my board, leaving me feeling a little concussed. Although that feeling of riding along on a wave is something quite magical, all of the pounding my body got as I fell into the water each time (or got hit with my or someone else’s board!) led me to decide that perhaps surfing wasn’t for me! Chances to practise standing were also often few and far between as you have to wait for the right wave, then hope you can stand up and ride it. Any mistake means you miss your chance, probably fall in, have to paddle back out and then wait for another wave.
On one of my days off (though he was busy with a personal project, Miki wasn’t working at this point and so days were generally ruled by my working schedule) we hired a scooter to explore some of the nearby towns. We found a different, more picturesque beach a few towns down, without the fishing boats which lined ours. Although it was cleaner, it seemed to lack something because of this. It was very much a tourist attraction, the golden white sand lined with deck chairs for tourists and the nearby accommodation much more expensive than ours.
On another occasion we cycled a few kilometres back towards the west of the island in search of a shop we’d learned about where we could buy some nuts, dried fruit, and a few other bits we couldn’t find in Weligama. On our journey back we saw what was (to us) a fascinating sight – several men perched on wooden posts on the edge of the sea. It turned out they were fishing!
A major highlight of our time in the south of Sri Lanka was a weekend trip by bus to Yala National Park Safari.
We stayed a couple of nights in an amazing hostel in Kataragama, one of the nearby towns. It was such a relaxing palace, set back from the rest of the town the only noise around was from animals or the wind in the trees. Spread over an area of land, the place was dotted with many small treehouses and other rooms nestled among trees. A hardened mud-red path led you from one part to another. The buildings were a little reminiscent of the kind you could see in a Flintstones movie. There was a central area for everyone to gather and eat together. In the evening, we were all encouraged to pile into a room with a roof and two walls (the weather warm enough not to need a four-walled space) where instruments were shared out between us and guided by the more musical in the group, we all enjoyed making sounds in this wonderfully communal way.
We woke early on safari day and after a slight delay waiting for our lift to arrive, we were on our way! It was a day that was not to disappoint. We bumped and splashed our way along dirt tracks, sometimes wet and turned to mud. During that morning we saw a crocodile chilling by the water’s edge; the leg and tail of a leopard lazily hanging from a tree branch; uncountable species of birds; many a monkey – generally gathered in family groups; and elephants in different spots around the park. The highlight was a breathtaking moment when we stopped right next to an elephant munching away on a tree. Then, with slow determination, the elephant turned around and walked towards us as though it were almost going to plod its way right through us! It veered around the back of the vehicle as it got closer, so close that had we reached out a hand we would have been able to touch it!
Had we had more time, we would have loved to stay longer in this peaceful corner of the island. But as the time on our visas was running out we wanted to head to the middle of Sri Lanka to explore some new experiences and scenery. So we boarded a very packed bus out of town, ready for our final few days in Weligama before hitting the road again.
