The Palms Hotel Beruwela

... came out with scrapes from the reef. We thought it was better to leave it to the locals and the Aussies, so we spent most of the rest of the time messing around in the smaller waves in front of our cabana. We'd heard that there were lots of crocodiles in the lagoon a few kms down the road in Panama, so we asked around and found a tuktuk ...

... have been able to rebuild there lives. The amount of foreign help evident here is also amazing - Japan, Korea and Europe all lieaving marks of help - from huge estates of homes built - and whilst unfortunately these do not appear to have been built to the tastes of the locals - with high rises in land and swiss shalets looking buildings jotted around - it certainly proves that even amongst countries that seem to engage in so much seemingly uneccessary ...

... me because they know it is very different culturally to what I know and they also inform me what is considered to be good and bad practice in front of monks and temple etiquette so I don't offend! After Dondra, we stopped further along the coast at Matara. I don't think this photo really does the beach justice because it was a bit overcast, but the beaches along the South coast really are gorgeous! We then headed on to Welagama ...

... but no en-suite facilities. For a couple of hundred rupees more they have one en-suite cabana which Alison loved. We had been offered the Cabana for our next trip to Sri Lanka and though it might be a sensible to try it out for a couple of days. We checked in late afternoon and decided not to move until dinner time. Unfortunately, by then a bar about fifty metres away turned uo the volume and turned the bass as low as it would go which drove us along the beach in search of dinner ...

... area, having different adventures every day. We were invited to a local family's home for lunch one day. The mother's son, Amilla, was married to a German woman, Ingrid. She spents part of her time here in SriLanka, and part of her time in Italy, where she manages a theatre group. (Check it out at www.dekadenz.it) We went to Amilla's family's house for a special SriLankan lunch. The food is so spicily scrumptuous.. I love it. Most ...

... dictated a story to them about a visit to the zoo and they wrote it down. It was quite funny seeing the results - I think my accent had a lot to do with their spelling! All in all they weren't bad. I also started past and future tense with them. I only have the one afterschool class today and they leant some musical instruments. 3 girls who don't go to school are going to start coming in the morning to learn patchwork and how to use a sewing machine. Nearly ...

... I met a researcher from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. IUCN keeps a Red List of Endangered animals and explores biodiversity. "I just described five new species of frog here," he mentioned with a little scientific braggadocio. Other researchers were looking for more frogs, as scientists predict that 5% of the world's frog species live in Sri Lanka. Along the trail, I saw many of these frogs--in the forest litter, on trees ...

... its Chamika thats really mad. He immedfiately obliged my somewhat joking request to drive the Tuk Tuk!! Fantastic Experience!! Partly due to the driving of the thing, partly due to the risk to our lives as I dodged trucks, chickens, old ladies and other Tuk Tuks. It was also great to see that everyone stopped staring; seeing Chamika in the back and not dreaming for a minute that a white maniac would be driving or disbelieving their eyes if they did! Resisted ...

... BBQs in SL are fueled by coconut husks. Check out the fish we feasted on! Then Friday evening I was chilling at home when all of a sudden the neighbor (Pati's sister) came over yelling frantically at Nilu (Pati was away). Of course all I could hear was loud sinhala I couldn't understand. Then Nilu yells at me 'lock all of your doors and come down now!" A little puzzled, I did as I was told and was whisked into the house across the street. At ...

... has at least 4 dishes. One of my favorites is Pol Sambol. It is grated coconut and red chilies smashed together with salt, pepper and lime. It's sweet and refreshing and hot and delicious all in one little spoonful. This brings me to the best part of Sri Lanka cookery: the eating utensil. Spoons are used as a serving tool only. But what better way to get a feel for what you're about to eat! Instead of picking at the 'foreign substance ...