Wednesday February 13, 2019 – South to Galle and in between Stops.
We headed out with the same crazy driver, to the South of Colombo along the coast in the direction of Galle.
The first stop was the Induruwa Sea Turtle Conservation Project. (For more Information refer to http://www.srilankaseaturtles.com). This private project is on the ocean and started some 10 years ago. It looks to pick up as many turtle eggs as possible from the beaches where the mothers deposit them. These are re-buried in sand piles under protective netting. Once hatched they are transferred to pools and nurtured until they are old enough to release to the sea and give them a chance to survive. Some of the disabled turtles (no front paws, deformed shell, etc.) are maintained and allowed to develop while being cared for. The “star” of the show is s very rare adult albino turtle and a 1 Year old Albino. Both these are so prized that they are kept under locked metal grates at night to prevent theft. The adult is called Michael Jackson as it wiggles its tail and dances like MJ!! Other types are Green, Leatherback, Hawksbill, Loggerhead and Olive Ridley.
Our next stop was the Maduganga lagoon and River delta boat ride. We stopped at one of the many boat services – Mangrove Cave River Safari. After donning life vests, the two of us and a boat captain took off in an open launch with outboard motor, up river. We admired the flora and fauna and soon a small canoe caught up with us with a man and a monkey. Soon, the monkey was in my arms and burns playful, removing my glasses and wanting to chew them, then playing with my face and in general being a playful youngster. Anne shot off a bunch of pictures. The monkey was returned to its owner with some extra cash and we headed on seeing the shrimp catching nets, birds and all the islands in this large lagoon. There are residents in many of huge islands and some are interconnected with small bridges (albeit one was about 200 yards long) on stilts.
Our first stop however was at the Sri Wickermasingha Purana Viharaya Buddhist temple on Madura Balapitiya where we met the resident monk of 20 years who showed us a bark holy book, his other books and blessed us giving us a piece of string to tie around our wrists. We thanked him, wrote in his guest book and gave him some funds before heading out on our way.
The next island we had a private demonstration of how to get cinnamon from tree bark. The outer bark of the cinnamon branch is scraped off and discarded. The inner bark (about 2 mm thick) is teased away from the inner wood and set out to dry in the air. The stick is then used for kindling and the dried inner bark is the cinnamon we all know and love. We purchased some very concentrated cinnamon oil.
The boat then took us to the delta where the river meets the Indian Ocean before turning around and back in the road. A well worth while outing.
A brief stop at the Mask museum and shop ensued before we went to had moonstone mine. The semi-precious moonstone is mined in this location. The owner gave us a detailed description and demonstration of the mining process and panning of the mud mixture from the mine obtaining the stones. He then showed us how they work through stone and the final finished jewels.
Making and displaying the Masks
After an enjoyable Sri Lankan lunch we reached our final stop – The Dutch fort in Galle. A fantastic view of the ocean and main cricket grounds in this now broken-down fort made it worthwhile. We were sorry not to have time to wander around the town. Well worthwhile to overnight there, next time!!
The fort itself was started in 1588 by the Portuguese then extensively modified by the Dutch starting in 1649. The ramparts can still be seen, and we wandered along a good part of these. Certainly, a formidable place to patrol the Harbor.
It was time to head back the 120 Km to Colombo on the main Chinese Motorway and pack ready for our departure early in the morning. A terrific visit, but a great deal more to see. We must return!
Roger & Anne Travels 