Surf's Up

Having woken up early in my tent at our glamping site, I am happy to say I found very few mosquito bites, even though the net over my bed was covered in holes. So I decide to start the day with a swim in the pool; as soon as the staff have finished cleaning it, I am right in. I while away about an hour swimming and floating, joined by various people as the minutes tick on by. Then after a quick brekkie the group is back on the bus to our next stop, Mirissa. Once we arrive, we have a free afternoon before our group dinner. Sumudu lets us know that he can arrange for a surf lesson at Mirissa Beach or a massage if we would like: most of the group opt for free time or the massage but a smaller group of us are excited to go surfing. I have decided that my goal by the end of all this travelling is to have learnt to surf, so this is a good first step! Erin has been surfing before and spent the afternoon whipping out a move she calls the ‘Chicken Leg’ – the position you have to put your back leg in before attempting to stand on the board. I am just praying I can stand up – at least once!

What do you mean, you recognise the pose from the last blog... are you suggesting this is faked?

Sumudu accompanies us on the surf lesson, which is good because it means we can leave our bags in the bus. After sliding ever so elegantly into our provided rash vests, we line up for the start of our lesson. We start on solid ground working our way through the steps of getting up on the board, each taking a turn on the demo board on the sand. After a couple attempts from us all we get ready to head out and, of course, the heavens open. After a quick scramble to save some shoes and bags that were either getting caught in the rain or the rising tide, we are ready to go. Turns out I love surfing – I am not very good but it is so fun. I have picked a good goal for these travels. Erin unsurprisingly is the best by far! But don’t tell her I said that. In fact the whole group does very well; we are all able to stand and catch a couple waves, I even catch a couple without assistance. I am sure to people that know how to surf, we look awful, but as a complete amateur I was truly impressed by the group!

Can't be that difficult – can it?

Off whale watching

Once the group is done with surfing we towel ourselves off and make it back to the hotel in time to book a massage too. This time I don’t hesitate. I am starting to ache a little and I do love a massage. I opt for the deep tissue full body massage – it felt amazing. Although, having said that, I can still feel the oils in my hair, but on the plus side my skin feels real soft right now! After another group buffet some of us opt to wander back to the restaurant called Salt on Marissa Beach where we had enjoyed our lunch. I get my second banana milkshake of the day and we all spend our evening chatting with our desserts, accompanied by a group of hermit crabs who seem to live at this beach-front restaurant.

Whale sighting

After I awake from my nap we are back on solid ground and a group of us head to Shady Lane a brunch spot that was visited by Jordan and Jenna yesterday and was highly recommended. As Jordan is a professional travel blogger (inspiredbymaps.com) I tend to listen to his recommendations. It was nice; I got a fully loaded toast. Like many Sri Lankan restaurants the food comes out in waves so everyone at the table starts and finishes their meal at different times but it is a nice experience nonetheless. Once the group is fuelled up we all re-meet and drive to our next stop, a bike store. We are going on a bike ride. It is nice to be doing some exercise – I am starting to feel all this food. Along the way we see an old Dutch canal used for transporting cinnamon, many water monitor lizards, and opulent farms – it is all rather beautiful. But the best part for me was when Jason who was in front of me, after taking some selfies with me in the background, attempts a bunny hop and the next thing I see is his back wheel becoming his front as he goes arse-over-tit into the wet, marshy field to our side. After making sure he is okay and watching him fish one of his sliders back out of the boggy mess he ended in, I have to admit I couldn’t help but laugh. But don’t worry he and the bike are fine, later he shows me why he came off, his front tyre is completely deflated – no wonder he couldn’t land the hop!

Beginner's class
(click on the top right hand icon)

The next morning is an early one, I have decided to go whale watching. Not many of the group have chosen to join for this activity, maybe because of the price tag, maybe because of the 6:15am start or maybe because we have been given a 50% chance of seeing whales. Nonetheless Jordan, Erin, Ali, Celine, Leyla and I decide to brave the early morning and crashing waves in the hunt for a blue whale. My friends in the Maldives did this trip a couple weeks earlier and everyone saw one although they also said that the motion sickness was rampant! After about an hour of being thrown about, a group of Chinese tourists vomiting all around us and for me a mistaken bite of a very dry fishy sandwich – we see them! A mother with her infant, spotted by one of the many speed boat spotters the whale-watching company seem to have out in these crazy waters, trying to find whales. Our boat and three others just like ours speed over to the whales and watch, clinging on for dear life as our boat follows the pair as they continue on their swim. It is amazing. After a while our boat leaves them – I can’t help but feel bad for the whales, after all, having a few boat loads of tourists gawking at me for half an hour would piss me off, while I just trying to peacefully go about my day! On the way back to shore we see a school of dolphins and I spot a few flying fish as well. A successful trip, but the early start catches up with me and I end up somehow falling a sleep on the rough seas before we reach the shore.

Chasing whales
(click on the top right hand icon)

After our bike ride we are back on the bus to the old Dutch fort city of Galle. A beautiful town full of what look like amazing restaurants and cafés, as well as jammed-packed with history. We don’t have much time here, so after a quick orientation, Sumudu takes us to what he calls the best gelato place in Sri Lanka – it is delicious! The group have a little time to walk around – Jess, Erin and I seem to wander apart from the group and get back to the bus a little early. But I don’t mind as earlier Jason and I completed my first book trade since travelling, as we both had finished our books. I gave him Jon Ronson’s Lost at Sea, a book of short stories about his crazy adventures as a journalist, and in return I received Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, a fifteenth century diplomats controversial handbook on strategy, leadership and power dynamics. I am excited to get stuck in!

After a bus ride and a read, we arrive at our next destination, Hikkaduwa beach. This is another town similar to Ella, but not as busy, although with many restaurants, bars and hotels, this town caters well to its main trade – tourism. Erin has a call booked this evening to hear about a job offer at the company she interned for over the summer. So us two, and a few others, head out to Mama’s, a restaurant on the beach for an early dinner so she can rush back to jump on the call. It is not one of our best dinners, but there is live music and our group slowly grows as others join us. The mood is high when Erin returns with the news she’s got the job – congrats again if you're reading Erin! We celebrate with a few drinks and getting up on the dance floor as the band plays a couple of our table’s requested songs. Erin and others want to move on to another bar that’s been suggested, Top Secret. The music here at Mama’s is very loud and the drinks are a little pricey so slowly the group disperses, some leaving for an early night and others, including me, head to Top Secret. The vibe here is a lot more chilled although we have ample drinks and by 11:30, half an hour before the website says they close we are happy, well hydrated and dancing. At midnight I go to pay my bill, having been denied a drink earlier by one of the staff, and the manager asks if I am ordering another drink exclaiming when I question the midnight close, “if we have no customers we close, if we have customers we are open”. So, of course, with this news we order another round of drinks! After a little while I feel bad that they are staying open just for us but, as if my thoughts were heard, two more groups suddenly turn up and join the party. The night ends with a stranger picking up our bar tab and a tuk-tuk ride back to the hotel.

Another good end to a good day – or shaky start to another day, depending on how you look at it!

Jason, just before his fall