Rock-Awn 7.0: Melting in Sri Lanka

March 2015, I had signed up to go to a retreat in Guatemala. It was something I had seen previously, thought looked interesting and told someone I casually knew about it. When this person told me months later that they had signed up to go, I told them “Well I’m going too then!” We made arrangements to meet in Guatemala, go on the retreat together and possibly travel with each other a bit afterwards.

Fun fact . . . . I didn’t know this particular person that well at that time that we took this first trip together. Second fun fact . . . . that person was DawnO. Additional fun facts . . . . that was the beginning of the Rock-Awn adventures, that have now spanned 10 years and 6, now going on 7, trips together.

Our latest adventures . . . . Rock-Awn 7.0 . . . . sees us exploring Sri Lanka. We’re loving it so far, and have both agreed on a few of things.

First . . . . Sri Lanka is HOT!! We both tend to be the type of people that run cold. We’re happiest in the heat and actively seek that out when we travel. Maybe it’s the humidity, but the heat here has been kicking our butts to the point where one or both of us actively look for air-con somewhere at some point in the day (I think this may be a Rock-Awn first!)

Second . . . . Sri Lanka has many elements that for various reasons remind us a lot of our separate travels in India. BUT the harshness and aggressiveness that can sometimes be found in India seems to be replaced with a more gentleness and sweetness.

Third . . . . the people we’ve come into contact with have been so kind and sweet, willing to help us out even when we haven’t asked, and all tell us how much they love Canadians!

Colombo

DawnO had a specific date she would be arriving in Colombo, but as I was flying standby I decided to head there a few days earlier in case I had any trouble getting on flights. It ended up being smooth sailing and I left Singapore to arrive in Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon) with a couple days to spare before DawnO arrived.

With some days on my own, I wandered around Colombo getting my bearings and joined a couple walking tours to get a sense of the place. It’s was so interesting to learn a bit about the history and to see the combination of different Asian as well as European influences all around.

Though a majority of people practice Buddhism in the country, elements of Hinduism can be seen everywhere, and the influence of being colonized by the Portuguese, Dutch and British at various times can be seen in the buildings and architecture in the capital city.

Some images from my wanderings . . .

When DawnO arrived, I was able to act a bit like a “tour guide” and take her back to the places I thought she would be interested in and that I wanted to spend more time at AND quiz her with the interesting facts I learned (eg. Did you know Sri Lanka’s national sport isn’t cricket?! It’s volleyball!!)

A highlight for both of us was definitely the Jami-Ul-Alfar Mosque, also known as the Red Mosque. Not only was it beautiful, but our guide was such a kind, sweet guy and was so excited to share this mosque and his religion with us. We also really lucked out because we happened to get there just as the tour was starting, and because of Ramadan, tours for that day were very limited.

After a few days exploring Colombo it was time to wander on, and we were excited to take a train ride to our next destination.

We had heard that train trips in certain classes could get lively with drumming and singing. How exciting that it happened just outside of our train car! DawnO got us in on the action, and it was soooooo fun!

We eventually hopped off the train . . .

. . . . to find ourselves in

Galle

Galle is a city on the coast known for Galle Fort which is a fortified old city founded in the 16th century by the Portuguese when they colonized Ceylon. The old city was very cool with its cobblestone streets, lighthouse and European flair.

We also spent some time doing “coast-y” type things 🙂 One of the things DawnO had learned about Galle was that there was a turtle hatchery in the area. Mahamodara Sea Turtle Hatchery is a conservation centre that is run by volunteers and is designated to breed, conserve and rescue turtles in the area. Back in the day, B-Rod had insisted that DawnO put “releasing baby turtles” on her bucket list. Looks like that item has now been checked off! 😃

Turtles are AMAZING, and it was hard for us to leave this place as we simply loved visiting and being in the presence of these creatures.

When we were finally able to tear ourselves away, we were once again so overheated, we jumped into the ocean where we had just released our baby turtles. Rock-Awn swimming together in the ocean?! Another Rock-Awn first!

Not far from Galle are a series of beaches that are known as good surfing areas. One day we decided to walk to the closest one (about 40-ish min) called Unawatuna Beach to try our hand at surfing again. This would be the second time and the second lesson for both of us.

For someone who doesn’t really like the water much, DawnO took to riding the waves quickly and LOVED it! On the other hand, as someone who LOVES the water, I realized that surfing is not my fav! I spent a lot of my time missing my paddle board and realized THAT is the type of board that’s my jam! It was still really nice to be in the water though.

After our lesson and practice, we walked along the beach and then spent a few hours vegging, beaching it and taking it all in.

And of course . . . . . there was an exploration of food! Again I’ve found many similarities with Indian food (yet also some very distinct differences), but overall I find that Sri Lankan food is spicy but in a slower way. You don’t recognize it at first and it somewhat sneaks up on you until eventually you realize your lips are burning! 😝

We eventually watched the sun set on our time in Galle and on the coast (for now?), said goodbye to our host mom (she is sooo sweet) and got ready to get up extra early to attempt to catch a bus to head inland to our next destination.

Rock-Awn Sri Lanka!!!!!

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**** see also DawnO’s take