Talalla and Hiriketiya

Feeling the pull of the ocean tides, we left our mountain digs in Ella for the sandy southern beaches of Talalla and Hiriketiya.  The serpentine road slithering down the mountains to the sands seemed like an easy downhill coast.  Our car saw things differently.  As soon as we reached the flats, our car decided it had enough, despite the careful repairs in Ella. Our rental agency and soon to be number one nemesis, Europcar Sri Lanka, offered to “help”.  As it turns out, search and recovery is not included in their mission statement.  The six hours we spent stranded on the side of a highway proves it.  Eventually, after much back and forth, with more back than forth, a working car was delivered to what felt like our final resting spot in Sri Lanka. Breaking our cardinal rule of “no driving at night in foreign countries”, we finally pressed on to our hotel in complete darkness.  The misadventure didn’t end there, though. 

With everyone starving, we set out on foot to find food.  With Europcar Sri Lanka our number one enemy, darkness was determined to take second place.  The darkened roadway and an approaching menacing bus forced Gary to step off the road and into an unseen deep concrete ditch.  Moaning helped us identify his location, and yet another recovery operation was underway.  Let’s just say he is fine, minus some deep bruises and a small limp for now. 

Daylight brought a fresh oceanside start.  We enjoyed the isolated beaches and ruckus waves of Talalla, and the seen and be seen surfer hangouts in Hiriketiya. Channing paddled into a few radical surfing maneuvers, and Gary quickly achieved the level of notable “knee surfer”.  Feet in the sand beach dining resulted in meeting new Canadian friends on a similar sabbatical journey. We also attempted blue whale watching.  Let me remind you, they didn’t get Moby Dick on the first day. We learned to appreciate the reliable power grid at home, as Sri Lanka experiences one of its worst economic downturns in decades. In effort to save fuel and water, the entire country has daily rolling power outages usually lasting a total of 3-5 hours per day.

Politics aside, Sri Lanka packs a lot into a small package—endless beaches, wild safaris, ancient ruins, temples, steep mountains, tea plantations, jungles, highland grassy plains, good food, cheap prices, and best of all, warm and friendly locals. So, with breeze blowing through the coconut trees and a bit of sand stuck in our cracks, we are sad to say, it’s time to book our next flight and say goodbye to the beautiful country of Sri Lanka.