Sri Lanka

We have three separate port days in Sri Lanka, formally known as Ceylon. Not wishing to spend all three of these days in unair-conditioned, rickety buses for long periods of time, we chose the least interesting port to take the easy way out. Our first port is Trincomalee, one of Marco Polo's discoveries, supposedly hometown fine beaches. The other tours offered two to four hour bus tours for limited visits (and the visits included temples which are now a no no in my vocabulary) which didn't seem like a great trade off, especially with the "lower your expectation" postings on the tv. They do have hot springs, but I was a bit wary re doing anything on our own.

By 1795, due to its strategic location, Ceylon had changed hands 7 times passing back and forth among the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British. Trincomalee was a key naval base during WWII for the British and Allied Powers. So, today, Doug and I are off for a 25 minute ride to a resort at Chaaya Blu for the day, with limited culture. The two following days should restore our cultural experiences and we will begin to lower our expectations.

We expected horrid conditions, but were pleased to step onto lovely new buses and be greeted with an easy to understand "hello." He gave us a highlights talk about the area in rather perfect English which was about the easiest to understand of the trip so far.

The port houses a giant cement factory which appears to be the major industry here now, second to fishing and tourism. Supposedly there is scuba diving and snorkeling. We aren't too far from the Maldives.As we drive through the island to the resort, we pass mosques, Hindu temples and churches, nestled in thick jungle. This is the first place that I have ever been that really looks like a jungle. Thick with palms and vines, huts dot the landscape, and bananas and coconuts hang lushly from the trees. Women saunter with their umbrellas in their colorful saris, dodging the rushing motorbikes and cows plopped by the sides of the road.

We pass many best exotic Marigold Hotels but pull up to a rather nicely landscaped resort, where we are given nicely scented cool towels and lassi.the pool area was large and lovely and there is a tented table area set up for food. Folks rush to grab chairs on the other side by the beach, but there aren't nearly enough chaises and only one or two umbrellas. One of our group spots a room with a porch that says "regent" on it and grabs it and I ask if there are any more and am directed to a section far down. I rush and grab a few accommodations and rush back for our new friends. What a windfall! We have our own attached cabana sections. Each came with a covered porch, a double chaise, two chairs, a table, a room, a private bathroom with a shower and an outdoor foot shower. All of this was right on our private beach! The water was calm and lake bath water. Pure heaven.

Then, there was lunch...I bet you think it was a fiasco...it was wonderful...there was the western food...not so good ...but the local curries and fresh shrimp and tuna were so yummy. Topped that off with beer and fresh fruit...heaven. Then back to our heaven and another swim.

A few of the other tours also culminated at our resort for lunch and a swim and we caught up with others there and all headed back to the ship about 2:30. We freshened up and some headed down for trivia at 4:30.

We still haven't cleared for the tour we want to do tomorrow, so maybe we will do another beach day. Here we are on the other side of the world and all I can tell you about these countries is they have fantastic beaches with powdery sands and warm waters and lots of mosques and hindu temples and when given a choice, I opt for the beaches. But, I'm ever so relaxed and happy and at peace with the world, so that can't be bad, can it?

We topped off a lovely day with an equally lovely evening with Eugene and Gail and another couple who are Ngaire's clients. Life just doesn't get better!