First day, Negombo to Dambula

Before we arrived in Sri Lanka, we thought that the weather would not be in our favour. We had rain in the night, but woke to a beautiful day. Breakfast was on the terrace where a local dish was being made, a light crepe cooked in a cup shaped bowl and then an egg poached in the crepe and accompanied by daal.

The view from the table




The lake in the hotel is really part of the lagoon. The fish there are unusual in that the parents both look after the children for about 6 months before the parents eat them (or as many as they can catch).

While we were watching them, the (Swedish) owner, architect and builder of the hotel came to introduce himself. The house had been a family home before becoming a hotel. His wife was the interior designer. One of the staff gave us a tour, accompanied by a young guest: 10 months old and not at all phased by strangers.







Then, we set off for Dambula and the 'monkey hotel' where we will spend 4 nights.

The journey took about 5 hours and we were very happy that we were not driving. Travel in towns is slow and the maximum speed on the island is 70km/hr. We were certainly able to get a good view of the different areas.

Negombo:



Along the route: people dressed in white on their way to church' a tile factory and roadside.


Coconut trees and sites along the route.


Paddy fields and pineapple fields


Photos from our lunchtime stop


- Pat and John on tour