On the Beach in Sri Lanka

The island of Sri Lanka is just a teardrop in the Indian Ocean. Its northern neighbour, India, is weeping over the fate of this tiny piece of tropical nirvana – and with good reason.
Sri Lanka has a history riven with death and destruction. Competing religions, races and empires have fought over this land for thousands of years and the recent three decade long civil war between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamils is still very much an open sore. The war ended in 2009 but, as in all civil conflicts, the scars run deep: recriminations and accusations will linger for generations. As we tour the island we will undoubtedly see signs of conflicts, ancient and modern, but in Negombo, an oceanside town north of the capital Colombo, we are surrounded by beauty. From our balcony we have a vista filled with palm trees laden with bananas, papayas and coconuts...


Outside our window the mangos are sweetening in the hot sun...

And the orchids are blossoming in its shade..

We also seek the shade from the baking equatorial sun and after breakfast we take a tuk-tuk tour of the town. Tuk-tuks rule in Negombo. Hundreds of these colourful little people carriers buzz around the town like busy insects...

We cross the canal built by the Dutch when they ruled this island in the 17th century...

And arrive at the near-deserted beach at midday...

There are neither mad dogs nor Englishmen, (apart from us), but the Indian Ocean looks inviting so we brave the baking sand to dip our toes in the tepid water. Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing and we quickly retreat to an air-conditioned cafe for lunch. Sri Lanka is now a popular place for northern sunseekers but the beach is not for us. We are here to explore its many natural beauties; to visit the tea plantations; and to connect with the beautiful people who have already made us so welcome in this corner of Eden...

This is Neetha, the lovely matriarch of our small hotel in Negombo, From Neetha we learned the secrets of making Sri Lankan hoppers...

Hoppers, (called Aappas locally), are traditional rice pancakes that are stuffed with sweet or savoury fillings. Neetha's hoppers are light and delicious. We see a lot of hoppers in our immediate future and we are happy about that.