28th November, 2009Mirissa, Sri Lanka
We have discovered a new beach that I think is now Paul’s favourite place in Sri Lanka: Mirissa. This tiny little place near the southernmost tip of the island is gorgeous, with a palm-fringed beach and a wonderful laid back atmosphere. However, I think that what made it for Paul was the ocean.
With a group of friends from our guest house (Hayley, Hollie, Hayley and Dom), we planned an ocean excursion to go out whale watching. A very friendly local called Raja had converted the old family fishing boat (much to his father’s disapproval!) to use a sight-seeing tour for holidaymakers. The six of us, along with a couple of French families, hopped aboard, climbed up to the upper deck and headed out into the calm early-morning waters. Or so I thought. The sea looked reasonably calm, and in my head I know that it really was calm, but my stomach was definitely telling me otherwise. I should have perhaps remembered that my last aquatic excursion (a pontoon boat on Canyon Ferry Lake last summer) resulted in acute nausea for at least the first hour. Too late did I discover that the land was fading into the distance and instead my breakfast was wanting to make an appearance. So, to my great embarrassment, I spent the first part of the trip lying down at the back of the boat rather than sunbathing on the top deck. However, after a nap and some toast I was feeling much better, so I headed up to join the lookouts on the alert for the elusive whales. Unfortunately, after three or four hours of searching, we’d had more tanker sightings that whales and, apart from a splashing fin in the far distance, the most active marine life was in fact us. Tired of going in circles on the boat, we just stopped and all jumped off. Swimming in the deep blue ocean water, miles from land in any direction, was the definite highlight of the trip; my waterproof camera was put through its paces and got some hilarious shots of our underwater antics. To round off the day, Raja invited us to a barbecue on the private beach near his house. Now my idea of a barbecue is usually a veggie burger in a breadroll, while Paul’s is some kind of wild game steak, but this one was really something else. For me, fresh aubergine, pumpkin and peppers cooked with bu
tter in iron pots on the fire; for Paul and the other non-veggies, the hugest fish I have ever seen, grilled to perfection (according to Paul) with lemon and salt. All eaten out under the stars to the accompaniment of the waves running up the sand. A day on the ocean, in the ocean and eating from the ocean – Paul was in heaven.
We have discovered a new beach that I think is now Paul’s favourite place in Sri Lanka: Mirissa. This tiny little place near the southernmost tip of the island is gorgeous, with a palm-fringed beach and a wonderful laid back atmosphere. However, I think that what made it for Paul was the ocean.
With a group of friends from our guest house (Hayley, Hollie, Hayley and Dom), we planned an ocean excursion to go out whale watching. A very friendly local called Raja had converted the old family fishing boat (much to his father’s disapproval!) to use a sight-seeing tour for holidaymakers. The six of us, along with a couple of French families, hopped aboard, climbed up to the upper deck and headed out into the calm early-morning waters. Or so I thought. The sea looked reasonably calm, and in my head I know that it really was calm, but my stomach was definitely telling me otherwise. I should have perhaps remembered that my last aquatic excursion (a pontoon boat on Canyon Ferry Lake last summer) resulted in acute nausea for at least the first hour. Too late did I discover that the land was fading into the distance and instead my breakfast was wanting to make an appearance. So, to my great embarrassment, I spent the first part of the trip lying down at the back of the boat rather than sunbathing on the top deck. However, after a nap and some toast I was feeling much better, so I headed up to join the lookouts on the alert for the elusive whales. Unfortunately, after three or four hours of searching, we’d had more tanker sightings that whales and, apart from a splashing fin in the far distance, the most active marine life was in fact us. Tired of going in circles on the boat, we just stopped and all jumped off. Swimming in the deep blue ocean water, miles from land in any direction, was the definite highlight of the trip; my waterproof camera was put through its paces and got some hilarious shots of our underwater antics. To round off the day, Raja invited us to a barbecue on the private beach near his house. Now my idea of a barbecue is usually a veggie burger in a breadroll, while Paul’s is some kind of wild game steak, but this one was really something else. For me, fresh aubergine, pumpkin and peppers cooked with bu
tter in iron pots on the fire; for Paul and the other non-veggies, the hugest fish I have ever seen, grilled to perfection (according to Paul) with lemon and salt. All eaten out under the stars to the accompaniment of the waves running up the sand. A day on the ocean, in the ocean and eating from the ocean – Paul was in heaven.
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