2015 March 12-13: Kandy: Part 1

On March 12 we left the blazing sun of Negombo for an overnight trip to the cool hill country of Kandy. 

Found in the very centre of the island, it is the second largest city in Sri Lanka. It is a beautiful city with a rich cultural and religious heritage, and is surrounded by tea plantations, hills, and spectacular views. 

Kandy has been - and still is - known by many names since its founding in the mid-1300s, It is an old city - the Kandyan Kingdom was founded in the late 1400s. After the Portuguese conquered all the coastal kingdoms in the 1500s, Kandy was the last remaining kingdom on the island, and repelled all attempts by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British to overthrow it until a treaty called the Kandyan Convention was signed between the Colonial British and the Kandyan aristocrats in 1815; the last king of Kandy was captured by the British and, along with all other claimants to the thrown, was taken to Tamil Nadu in southern India, where the area where they were incarcerated is still referred to as the Place of the Kandyan Kings.

The treaty did not lead to peace. As stated here, "The story of English rule in the Kandyan country during the rebellion of 1818 cannot be related without shame...Hardly a member of the leading families remained alive...Those whom the sword and the gun had spared, cholera and small pox and privations had slain by the hundreds...Others became ignorant and apathetic. Any subsequent development efforts of the government for many years were only attempts begun and abandoned."

The tea and rubber plantations that one passes on the way to Kandy are beautiful agricultural marvels that hide a troubled past. During the 32 years of British rule following the signing of the treaty, many tea and rubber plantations were established in and around the city and villages of the surrounding hills through the expropriation of land owned by the people, who were then forced to abandon their traditional way of life to become waged workers for the British. The Kandyans refused to accept this, resulting in the British bringing hundreds of thousands of unskilled Tamils from southern India to work in the appalling conditions found on the plantations. The Kandyans revolted, and with their leaders dead, their land gone, their way of life destroyed, they rebelled by electing for the first time non-aristocrats to lead them.

Of course, we knew little of this as we traveled by bus to get there. We were taken in by the beautiful views, especially as we slowly climbed the winding mountain roads that lead to Kandy. The view of Bathalegala Rock, a 1688 foot tall volcanic mountain surrounded by lush rain forest, was breathtaking. 

Kandy is also home to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. This is one of the most holy places in the world for Buddhists. They believe that one of the Buddha's teeth was rescued from his funeral pyre, and eventually made its way here to Kandy. It - or a replica so that the original remains safely tucked away - is found in one of the shrines in the complex, encased in seven boxes reminiscent of Russian nesting dolls. The temple is situated in the former Kandyan royal complex, and includes this island which is reportedly where the king kept his favourite concubine.

After finding a hotel we went for a walk around the lake. Kandy Lake is completely artificial, constructed so that the royal family would have a place to go boating and bathing. The city surrounds the lake, and a well-maintained walkway makes a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

The next morning we went to a natural area found in the hills behind the temple.

Lush and serene, it seems a different world from the hustle and bustle of the city. We spent several hours here, walking the pathways. 

We saw over 130 toque macaques in three family groups as we walked along the sun-dappled roads. One group of 63 individuals passed in front of us. Steve and Elanor sat on the ground in the midst of another large troupe as the monkeys crossed all around them. Several large black millipedes were entertaining to watch and for Steve and Elanor to hold. A Buddhist monk in his orange robes passed us on his way to some nearby caves to meditate. A barking deer - the size of a dog, sounds like a dog - startled us just as much as we startled him. Elanor was bitten by her first leech, and bled her white sock red. 

After a passing light rain, common in the higher elevations in the hill country, we headed back to busy Kandy. Numerous websites and travel guides talk of the seedy underside of Kandy - warnings against lone female travelers, staying inside at night, avoiding the alleyways that contain seedy gambling dens, and the ever present touts trying to encourage you to spend your money at one or another establishment...for a small fee, of course.

The coolness of Kandy was a welcome respite, and while we will probably visit there again before we leave, I am glad that we decided to stay in Negombo for our five months in Sri Lanka.  Negombo is home, with its sizzling heat and blood red skies that signal more hot weather to come.

2015 March 5: River Baths

On March 5 Elanor and I went on a road trip with the Relief Society, the women's group in my church, to a place called Kithulgala, a small town in the heart of the wet zone rain forest in western Sri Lanka. 

It is where the movie ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’ was filmed. 

It is also famous for its white water rafting...

...and is a popular place for Sri Lankans to take a bath.

Most houses here, the ones in larger towns and cities anyway, have a shower in the bathroom. But in the smaller villages, especially in very rural and traditional areas, there is no indoor plumbing. It's common to see wells and the Sri Lankan form of outhouse. It's also common to see semi-circular enclosures in yards, about five feet high, where people clean themselves using a large tub of water. Instead of getting into the water, you dip some out, get yourself wet, lather up, then use more water to rinse off. This keeps the water in the tub clean for the next person to use.

Which is why river baths are so popular.

We met at the church as the sun rose...

and over the next hour as we waited for some late comers and our bus, I was able to snap some great bird pics of a red-wattled lapwing who was confusedly fishing in a rainy puddle in the paved church parking lot,...

a white throated kingfisher sitting in one of the oldest trees in Negombo - at over 150 years old, it was saved when our church was built on the lot just a few years ago,...

 and this pond heron sitting on some wires.

I also saw house crows, koels, common mynas, cattle egrets, cormorants, barn swallows, great egrets, pale bellied flowerpeckers, purple rumped sunbirds and rock doves as we waited.

Finally, at about 7:20 we were ready to go, with breakfast, lunch, and an overfull bus load of women, children, and three men. With members spread from outside Negombo all the way to Chilaw, we also stopped along the way to pick up a few more people. As we passed by the airport, I saw a hawk circling overhead, and lesser whistling ducks swimming in the airport pond.

After we passed through Nittambuwa, we stopped at a little roadside pull-off for breakfast - spicy onions and fresh bread. Most women had brought their own recipe of the onions, so there was a lot of comparing of notes as each was sampled. We had a wonderful view of cattle and water buffalo in the fields below, and could see the branches of the trees swinging as monkeys hopped about.

A white-breasted drongo watched as we ate. 

After a few more hours, we arrived at Kithulgala.

We had a great time splashing about in the water, especially Elanor.

Then, time to relax as we listened to groups of men and boys playing instruments and singing in the middle of the river, on little islands, and on the shore.

After everyone had finished playing in the water and soaping up from head to toe before rinsing off, we headed back to our bus for some lunch, a pot luck of all sorts of Sri Lankan food. As it was a holiday, we ate in the shade on the steps of some nearby stores.

Completely refreshed, we began the long ride back to Negombo. Things were going wonderfully, and after about two hours we stopped to stretch our legs. I watched a little cricket being played. 

Then joined everyone in the shade of some trees, where we played a trivia game and had some snacks. Pretty soon, we saw this purple leaf monkey watching us from the nearby roof. 

And then it started to rain. When I say rain, I mean downpour. The skies opened and everything was drenched. I'm told it was a pre-rainy season rain. (You can see what I mean if you click on the coloured letters here.) We scrambled back into the bus and headed west again. Pretty soon, the rain had stopped and the roads had dried, so we were making good time despite the many road construction projects we passed.

That is, until we got a flat tire.

And like many things here, we discovered some problems - our bus had a spare tire, but no tools to remove the original tire and replace it with the new one, or a jack to lift the bus so that the tire could be replaced in the first place.

Thankfully, there was another bus stopped nearby, so our driver went to borrow their tools.

They didn't have any either.

Nor did the bus or the motorcycle or the car that stopped.

Finally, after several trips to houses we had passed and many conversations with passersby, the correct tools were found, and the flat could be changed.

In the meantime, the children had some fun playing in the nearby sandpit. 

And the women enjoyed the spectacular sunset. 

Until it started to pour again.

With only one home nearby, the owner generously allowed an entire over-packed bus load of women and children to take shelter under his carport and the eaves of his house. Lightening flashed and thunder boomed directly overhead, as rain fell in sheets so thick you could not see the field just beyond the modest home.

As soon as our driver had finished changing the tire - the poor man changed the tire in the middle of this storm - we ran in small groups back to the bus, between flashes of lightening, and quickly boarded, eager to be on our way. A few more hours, and we arrived back in Negombo.

Exhausted. Hungry. Sun burnt.

And feeling completely satisfied with such a wonderful day.

2015 February 26: DEAD SLOW

DEAD
SLOW

Nothing quite brings dread to one's heart like seeing these words on the road sign directly in front of you.

We were about to enter Wilpattu National Park, located in the Northwestern part of Sri Lanka. It is the largest and one of the oldest national parks in the country, having been declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1905, and is world-renowned for its leopard population. The park has close to sixty willa (lakes), giving it the name of Willa-pattu, or Wilpattu. It is also famous due its long cultural history.

According to the park's website:

Wilpattu National Park and its surroundings are of history that runs as far as back to the arrival of Prince Vijaya in Lanka from East India in 543 BC. The landing beach of prince Vijaya is believed to be the area today known as Kudriamali. Kali Villu is said to be location of the palace of Kuveni, a princess of a native tribe in the island.

Wirandagoda and Galbendi Niyara located north-east of Maradanmaduwa at Wilpattu are believed to be two of the locations where prince Saliya, who forfeited his right to the crown of Lanka, lived with his low caste wife called Asoka Mala a couple of millenniums ago.

At Pomparippu of Wilpattu, several urns containing human remains have been found. The urns are believed to belong to period prior to the recorded history of Sri Lanka, i. e. prior to the arrival of Prince Vijaya in Lanka.

In the eastern part of Wilpattu are remnants of breached tanks left over from agricultural systems of ancient Sinhalese civilizations. Also between Palangaturai and Kollankanatte are the remains of an old harbour.

But back to our adventure....

It was February 26th. We decided to go to Puttalam for the day, a mere four hour bus ride up the coast north of Negombo, another thirty kms beyond Chilaw.

On the way we saw all sorts of wildlife. Our bird list can be found at my eBird site, but we were also glad to see lots of cows on the road, goats, and Steve even saw wild macaques as we passed by. 

We finally arrived. Elanor was just happy to be off the bus. Wanting a window seat so she could keep cool during the long hot ride, she sat near the front by herself. At one stop an old woman sat behind her, and, fascinated with Elanor's light brown hair, began stroking Elanor's head. The colour is a novelty here, as most Sri Lankans, even the very old, have rich ebony locks. When it dawned on Elanor that someone who was not me or her dad was rubbing her head, she slowly turned around to see who it was. The woman began smiling and talking to her in Sinhalese, and Elanor began talking back to her in English. The conversation continued for a good ten minutes or so, with neither speaking the other's language, but it seemed as though they were having a good chat from where we sat!

Arriving around 2 pm, we quickly found a place to grab some lunch. After some traditional Sri Lankan food at a Muslim restaurant - Steve had seafood fried rice and sambol; Elanor and I had some unknown but delicious vegetarian dishes - we decided to walk to a little seaside park with benches for viewing the 327 square km (126 square miles) of Puttalam lagoon. We were hoping to see some shorebirds and waterfowl, to add to our growing list of Sri Lankan bird species on eBird.org.

But, we got sidetracked. And went an additional 35 km or so further north to Wilpattu National Park. 

And the sign that read:

DEAD

SLOW

We soon found out why.... About a hundred yards beyond the sign was a security check point. And about a hundred yards beyond that was the entrance to the park.

Picture this:

A river.

With a dam.

With water flowing over it.

On one side, the road leads into the river on top of the dam.

On the other side, the road leads out of the river on top of the dam.

In between.... river. On top of the dam.

This is what we had to drive through to enter the park. Go too fast, and the water sprays into the engine of the vehicle and it stalls. On top of the dam in the river. Go too slow, and the river pushes you over the edge of the dam in the river. Go at just the right speed, and maybe the river will not be deep enough to cover your feet with water.

We were lucky - the water came to the very brink of soaking us. (And we didn't get swept over the dam.)

We spent some time driving slowly through the park, careful to watch for critters of all kinds, and mindful that we did not want to become leopard food or upset a pack of elephants into rampaging us or get eaten by a crocodile.

We saw all sorts of wildlife. And lots of poopy. Lots and lots of poopy. Mostly of the elephantine variety, but also Sri Lankan hare buttons.

Our critter list included:

Painted storks flying overhead 

Bluetailed bee eaters

Peacocks 

Brown headed barbets calling in the trees

Grey herons

Toque macaques playing near a stream 

Eurasion collared doves roosting on the roadway

Bush larks flitting through the air and sitting in the bushes

White bellied sea eagles soaring overhead

Elephants browsing in the meadows in the late afternoon sun 

Several herds of spotted deer, including a buck with huge majestic antlers 

Jungle fowl calling in the forest

Two mongooses - mongeese? - walking on the road

Leopard tracks - we went a little faster through that section!

Palm squirrels

Termite mounds 

Indian monitor lizards 

Weaver finch nests 

Wild boar 

Coucal

Malabar pied hornbills - a bird that Steve has always wanted to see 

Flocks of small green bee eaters taking their evening dust baths 

Grey langur monkeys

and the best of the day, Asian paradise flycatchers. 

A terrible picture, out of focus and too far away - but that white line in the middle of the picture? That is the long trailing tail feathers of a paradise flycatcher!

I also saw an Oriental magpie robin, and Steve saw a grey wood shrike, ioras, terns, and a crested hawk eagle. 

We arrived back in Puttalam shortly after dark, and quickly jumped on a bus headed back to Negombo.

Our driver was crazy.

He was in a rush to get to wherever he needed to go, and he made sure that everyone knew it. Driving down the middle of the road, forcing vehicles in both directions to pull over, speeding over bumps as though they did not exist, not stopping completely for people to get on or off.... I was actually surprised that he pulled over and came to a complete stop to let an elderly blind man off the bus!

I am sure you think I am exaggerating, but it took over four hours to get to Puttalam in the morning, and less than two hours to get back to Negombo!

The return journey was anything but DEAD SLOW.

2015 March 23-28: Steve's Report: Trip to the South

We got back Saturday night to find our internet service gone, and didn't get it restored until just now (Monday AM). We left Monday morning for Mirissa on the south coast a beautiful touristy resort city with a lovely (but boring) beach. We stayed in a very interesting hotel built in a series of levels up the side of a hill. It had a rooftop swimming pool, so it was quite luxurious. I have no interest in beaches; our real motive for going to Mirissa is that it happens to be the place where the blue whale tours -- now famous worldwide -- originate. It was only recently discovered that large numbers of blue whales live year round off Sri Lanka's south coast.

Tuesday morning we climbed aboard one of more than a dozen smallish whale tour boats (ours seated thirty people or so) and headed out into the Indian Ocean. On the way out, we saw flying fish, very bizarre creatures that erupt from the waves and glide rapidly along, banking and changing direction as their long fins flutter like wings. There were few seabirds aside from the ubiquitous whiskered terns. To everybody's (and especially Elanor's) delight, we found ourselves in the middle of a huge school of acrobatic spinner dolphins (as many as 200 individuals) that leaped and pirouetted in groups of five or ten at a time. We watched them for quite a while. Much farther out to sea (about 15 miles) we finally found blue whales -- five in all, and one pair that we were able to approach within a hundred yards. They are truly enormous, visibly much larger than the humpback and even the fin whales we see so often in Newfoundland, and do quite a bit of rolling and fluke-displaying between dives. One of them must have been nearly 100 feet long. Standing in the presence of the largest animal that has ever lived on this planet (or perhaps, anywhere else!) was a nearly religious experience. On the was back to shore, three pomarine jaegers -- very rare birds this far south -- flew past the boat. Elanor and I spent quite a bit of time in the hotel swimming pool, and she's now really learning to swim quite well. She learned to do a passable crawl while we were there, as well as to swim on her back all over the pool and to tread water. She's now fearless in the deep end, and I've ceased to worry about her drowning.

On Wednesday we went over to Tissamaharama (near Kataragama in southeast Sri Lanka), a lovely town near both Bundala and Yala national parks. We stayed at a small hotel beside a lake full of lotuses that absolutely brimmed over with birdlife, including such beauties as pheasant-tailed jacanas, purple swamphens, lesser whistling-ducks, and black bitterns. The woods and paddies around the lake were also alive with birds. The huge pipal tree at the Buddhist shrine near the hotel usually had green imperial pigeons roosting, and the newly-cut rice paddies were full of little birds like ashy prinias, scaly-breasted munias, and the dauntingly-named zitting cisticola. I racked up quite a number of new species for my growing ebird list just walking around the lake. Also, several mugger crocodiles lived in the lake; one fair-sized individual often lay out in the sun on an islet, daring the lapwings, cormorants, and other waterbirds to come within reach. Elanor enjoyed observing the epic numbers of geckos around the hotel and following around the large monitor lizard that patrolled the grounds.

We headed out at 4:30 AM for Yala National Park in a safari jeep. The driver was pretty knowledgeable. We told him we didn't want to participate in the mad rush into the park when the gates opened to go to the spot where leopards were usually seen. If we saw a leopard, fine, but we wanted to go at a leisurely pace, along less-traveled roads, and see lots of birds. We arrived at the park gates while it was still dark and waited in the gloom for dawn to break. Accordingly, when the gates opened, the other jeeps tore off in the direction of the main leopard sighting area, and we took "the road less traveled" by ourselves. As a result, we didn't see any leopards, but we saw many other things, mostly without other vehicles around. The first prize of the day was a lesser adjutant, a very rare giant stork species, standing in the middle of the road. We got a good long look at him. We found large, very entertaining flocks of Malabar pied hornbills that cackled and cavorted in the trees along the road. Also present were plenty of grey langurs and tocque macaques, as well as wild water buffalo (one of the few places in the world where they can be seen), and lots of mugger crocodiles, including one that was more than 15 feet long. The landscape was surprisingly beautiful, with scrub jungle punctuated by ponds and lakes, as well as ranges of striking rocky hills and tors, one of which resembled a human profile. We stopped at every pond and tallied species, with Pam taking oodles of photos. Near the sea, we found a beautiful flock of herons, painted storks, and spoonbills probing in the mud for snails and whatever. Behind then stood two great thick-knee (the first burrhinids I've ever seen) and a host of shorebirds. While we were watching these, a grey-headed fish eagle sailed up and landed on a log; Pam got nice shots of him.

Back inland, we found many more birds, including the crested treeswift, the golden-fronted leafbird, and the ashy-crowned sparrow lark, among many others. We saw several mongooses and at least three Indian monitor lizards, hers of spotted deer, a pair of sambar, quite a few wild boar, and finally, a number of elephants. The first one we encountered was a large tusker walking down the middle of the road, which we followed, along with several other jeeps. Eventually, he let us pass -- so close that we could see his cheek glands. Elanor, of course, was ecstatic. A little further along, we came across a female elephant with two half-grown calves bathing in a pool. We watched them blow water on each other for a while. We later encountered another large tusked male. by the day's end we had tallied more than 90 bird species.

Friday we went to Bundala National Park, known primarily for its birds. Here we were accompanied by a park guide who knew where to find the birds. We racked up lots more species, including a pied cuckoo and common thick-knee. Our real hope was to find the black-necked stork, of which only one lives in Bundala and the other ten or eleven (Sri Lanka's entire population) in remote corners of Yala. At one point, we came upon two huge saltwater crocodiles mating at the edge of a lagoon; they glared at us and began swimming slowly out into the lagoon, passing within a few feet of our vehicle. Bundala also had enormous numbers of langurs and macaques all along the roads, and Elanor happily kept a tally. Finally, just past noon, in a remote salt pan full of painted storks, spoonbills, and smaller shorebirds of many kinds, we found the black-necked stork, a very shy bird that stayed just close enough for a good long look in the spotting scope. As a bonus, I spotted a small group of rare pratincoles, a sort of cross between a swallow and a sandpiper. Once again, we ended up with nearly a hundred species for the day.

After we got back to Tissa, we took a took-took (!!) up to Kataragama, one of Sri Lanka's two holiest places, revered by Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists alike. The sprawling complex of temples and shrines extended over many acres. For me the most interesting thing was the cell phone tower built of reconditioned sewer pipes, which had become a preferred roost for the Malabar pied hornbills that frequented the area. The place was of course full of hawkers and beggars, as well as Hindu holy men and Buddhist monks, and monkeys were everywhere. The temple elephant was getting its daily bath in the Menik river when we arrived, which Elanor watched with rapt attention.

Saturday we took the only air-conditioned bus of the day back to Colombo (a six hour trip, including a rest stop in Matara). We got home to a dead internet and a new water leak in the upstairs hallway, but it was a great trip. Elanor is now a very seasoned jungle adventuress, and can't quite decide if she likes the monkeys, elephants, or dolphins the most. I've nicknamed her "Elanor of the elephants."

2015 February 16: The Long Road to Chilaw

Map courtesy Google Maps.

The Negombo Bus Station. The clamour of drivers hawking the virtues of their particular routes. No orderly lines and ticket counters here - in fact, there are no lines or ticket counters period. We study the rows of brightly coloured buses in all shapes and sizes, find one that is going to Chilaw, and board. There are no timetables or schedules - when the bus is full, it leaves. No matter...all day long another is waiting to take its place. The assistant passes by, asking for end locations and accepting payments....three people traveling 51 kilometres (31 miles) is just 177 rupees ($1.38 US). As people disembark en route, the driver's assistant loudly calls 'ilaw ilaw ilaw ilaw' (short for Chilaw) to the passing throngs of people, trying to refill the bus and maximize his profits on this trip.

The road is lined with street vendors of all sorts, everything one could imagine available as we pass by....pastries, candy, fruit, shots of liquor, t-shirts, dresses, shoes, kitchen strainers, vegetables, water, pets, farm animals....

Nainamadama....a town filled with tiles factories, with their hot kilns and mounds of clay ready to be made into roofing tiles and bricks.

We pass the Coconut Research Institute, a very important and prestigious government department, with its acres and acres of coconut plantations, many of them doubling as cow pastures as they attempt to maximize the use of the land.

Cathedrals, Catholic schools, shrines, white robed nuns, uniformed school children line the entire length of this Catholic corridor, and everywhere, everywhere are leftover signs welcoming the Holy Father, Pope Francis, who visited Sri Lanka in January of this year. With 1.2 million Catholics in the country, this made worldwide news, as did the mass that was celebrated in Colombo, the capital city, with some estimates of over one million attendees.

Marawila....waiting for more riders, the intoxicating fragrance of row upon row of bakeshops fills the senses, a sharp contrast to the sweetly acrid and smoky air in Nainamadama.

To our right....ancient tanks or wevas (reservoirs), constructed up to 1700 years ago, filled with waterfowl, yellow lilies, pink lotus flowers - part of an irrigation system envisioned by King Parakrama Bahu the Great (1153-1186), who declared "Let not even a drop of rain water go to the sea without benefiting man."

To our left....mile upon mile of rice paddies and marshes, resplendent with myriad types of fowl, including three kinds of egret surrounding the cows peacefully grazing.

Madampe....vast coconut plantations, canals filled with pampas grass, fences lined with sweet smelling jasmine, Hindu temples, Buddhist stupa, shrines to the Horse God, the Roman Catholic Church of San Sebastian, a mosque complete with Ladies Prayer Room and women's clothing store pass quietly by.

Sewer construction causes a small traffic jam as motorists and pedestrians of all sorts attempt to get through. No careful city planning and pipe placement here...to build one's sewer line simply dig a trench from one's house to the sidewalk, line it with concrete blocks, lift the concrete pavers covering the sewer ditch and hope it slopes properly. Then, replace the concrete paver to turn the ditch into a sidewalk again. Block traffic while doing so.

The Madampe Bus Station....just a widened part of the road at a vacant lot where people gather to wait for their bus. We wait for more passengers. In a nearby storefront I spy women's blouses for 350 rupees ($2.74), men's dress shirts for 295 rupees ($2.30), complete children's outfits for 150 rupees ($1.17). A group of white uniformed giggling schoolgirls flee when Steve catches them staring wide-eyed at his huge scary American self. 

Fully loaded once more, we return to the main road, passing vendors lining the fence outside a brightly painted blue Hindu temple surrounded by coconut groves.

Kakkapalliya....40 kilometres (24.5 miles) into our journey. An odd building that looks like a viking boat complete with Chinese dragon head and a door where the mouth should be gives us pause...it's called the Bum Boat. Mynas, egrets, and cormorants line the canal.

Chilaw at last. The driver's assistant finds a bus for us to a well known Hindu temple in Musseswaram, found in the Tamil Region. We are one day early for for the Shiva festival Sivarathri, but it cannot be helped - we have to be in Colombo tomorrow. We buy fruit for an offering - it being a Hindu temple we feel this is okay as the money goes towards feeding the poor, the offering is to be eaten by us afterwards, and Hindus believe in the sanctity of all religions and all gods/Gods. Our guide is delighted to hear Steve speaking Tamil, gives us a personal tour, explains the ceremony and the temple's shrines to us.

The many faces of Shiva, "Great God".

Sariswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, wisdom, arts, music       and learning.

Our guide.

Afterwards Steve quickly makes friends with two of the men and a woman at the stand to buy fruit for offerings. As Tamils, they were very impressed that Steve had been to Tamilnadu and many of the shrines found in the parts of India that he has visited.

As our host takes us to meet his friend, a tuktuk driver who can take us back to Chilaw, others call out insults in Sinhala. He quickly chastises them, "They speak Sinhala so you better watch your mouth", with a shake of his head and a dismissive gesture of the hand. His friend agrees to take us back to Chilaw and stops several times along the way so we can do a little bird watching, and when asked, takes us to an eatery that he knows of, Wadiya Restaurant.

A huge flying fox colony.

 Water buffalo and sacred ibises.

Open billed stork.

After a delightful meal of curried dal, beetroot salad, green onion salad, hot okra, rice for the three of us, and spicy fish and devilled prawns for Steve and Elanor (1100 rupees or $8.60, including three litre size bottles of water, and one small bottle of water), the quality of which was no doubt aided by the owners' surprise to hear Steve speaking Sinhalese to him, we head back to the bus station for our return journey.

Past the cows wandering the side streets of Chilaw, past the rural areas just to the south with the numerous Serene Gardens Coconut Plantations, past the rice paddies with their red-wattled lapwings, past Marawila's beautiful rivers and furniture carvers and egrets and bee eaters, past the storefronts and street vendors and beautiful houses and tropical gardens of Katunariya, Wennapuwa, Nainamadama, Waikkala, and Kochchikade....

Back to Negombo.

 Fishermen in the late afternoon.

A murder of crows at breakfast.