So many places to visit, so little time!
It’s not really the worst dilemma you could ever find yourself in - residing in a small town on the south coast of Sri Lanka, temperatures exceeding 30 degrees, trying to plan a route that allows you to see as much as possible over the coming two weeks, whilst also giving yourself time to integrate into a community for long enough that you get a decent understanding of the place. Impossible! But here we are, giving it a good go…
However, we were a little disappointed with the lack of snorkelling and surfing provided by the beach, as so many of the reviews had claimed it was the ideal place for such activities. There was a small section at the end of the beach that only extremely advanced surfers could enjoy, as it was surrounded by rocks and coral, and even then we witnessed a few injuries and sketchy moments. Similarly, the snorkelling was okay, but there wasn’t really much to see and the water was extremely shallow over the coral, making it quite difficult to negotiate at times.
Having done some research online, we heard rumours of a small beach a bit further out that was meant to be a great spot for finding turtles swimming around. We were both yet to see one of these beautiful creatures so we set out on the (very) long walk to have a look for ourselves. On the way we stopped off in a proper tacky tourist shop and purchased the two cheapest snorkels we could find (this was not a good plan), before finding the small, deserted beach. We were wandering around looking like two lost lambs before conveniently bumping into a Sri Lankan guy who owns his own snorkelling company but was having a day off. He was really helpful and showed us where we would need to swim out to to have the best chance of spotting a turtle, but warned us the current was quite strong (again, maybe not the best plan to have carried on at this point…).
It was only once we had swum out quite far and begun floating around the rough sea that I realised…. I really don’t like snorkelling! Having done it as a child, I just assumed it was going to be easy but apparently my body couldn't manage not being able to breathe through my nose and it all became a bit of a drama. Where we had swum out quite far, it was no longer possible to touch the floor and we quickly realised our masks were absolutely rubbish and leaked in just about every way possible.
Whilst Butty, being the calm person she is, could manage this by treading water each time she needed to readjust her mask, I had a complete freak out and actually thought I was going to drown on more than one occasion! Every time I tried to empty my mask, a big wave would sweep me further along as my panic levels continued to rise. The guy we were with kept calling us out further as he spotted things he wanted us to see, completely oblivious to the fact that I was clutching onto Butty, splashing around like an idiot, and struggling to breathe. We did manage to spot one turtle, but I can’t say I enjoyed it much as by that point I was experiencing my first ever panic attack - in the middle of the sea, with a bloody mask round my face!
It is both strange and frustrating when your body reacts to something in a way you don’t expect, and I continued to struggle with snorkelling for a few days after. We had to go back to basics by practicing in completely still, shallow water and slowly building up to actually being able to swim around and enjoy looking at the extraordinary life under water that exists. Butty had to remain very patient as I splashed around, cried, stormed off a few times and then, finally, got the hang of it! Safe to say, I don’t think I’ll be booking onto a diving tour anytime soon.
On our final day in Mirissa we decided to set out on the search for a ‘secret beach’ which had read some fantastic reviews online. It was an extremely long walk, winding up and down steep paths and through little villages. Anyway, it eventually transpired that the secret beach wasn't all that secret. When we arrived (around 11am) we were pretty confused at the scene that lay out before us. There was a DJ blaring out dance music next to the ‘secret beach bar’, and who was completely surrounded by a mob of Sri Lankan men who were all completely off their faces on drugs. I don’t think any of them even noticed us as we weaved our way through to reach the sea - which, believe me, is a rarity!! Anyway, the beach turned out to be pretty rubbish and definitely not the quiet and serene scene we had expected. For anyone planning a trip - this isn’t a spot we would recommend at all. 
From Mirissa we carried on heading west along the coast, until we reached the quiet town of Weligama; our absolute favourite place we visited in Sri Lanka! We were staying just a stone’s throw away from the beach, and it was an amazing place to improve our surfing. Boards were super cheap to rent and the beaches were really quiet, so we weren’t hassled at all. The only downfall of Weligama is that we probably overdid the surfing by practicing for around 8 hours in the first two days, and ending up being too battered and bruised to continue on our final two days!!
In the evenings we found this awesome little place, called ‘Baby’s place’. Instead of ordering from the menu, you can take a walk onto the roadside where there is a fish market and you can chose what you’d like to eat - pick ’n’ mix style! We settled on a huge tuna fish which would cost us 600 rupees (less than £3). They then cook it up for you, along with any accompaniments you have chosen from the menu, and serve it all up on beachside candlelit tables under the stars. It is moments like this you just sit back and think, this is what travelling is all about!
We were sad to leave Weligama, but decided to make our next stop Unawatuna - probably the most popular beach in Sri Lanka for tourists. We loved the quirky little shops, bars and guesthouses that lined the streets off from the beach, and there was a huge amount of choice for places to eat or grab a drink. Staying true to our budget travelling, we found a guesthouse that seemed about a third cheaper than anywhere else in the area, so got ourselves booked in for a couple of nights. Turns out we weren’t the only ones staying there, as the surrounding ‘garden’ was full of cats, chained up dogs, chickens, a cow, mongooses, monitor lizards, a LOT of ants and a monkey that visits in the morning!! We were also convinced there was a mouse (or two) living in our room as we would often come back to things having been nibbled, items out of their place, and hearing suspicious squeaks as we attempted to get some sleep each night.
Unawatuna was pretty but certainly not one of our favourite places. I guess we are in a lucky position to have lots of similar places to compare it to, and just found it to have a bit of ‘try-hard’ feel to it. You also couldn’t make it more than two metres at a time without someone trying to get you into their bar, shop or taxi. Having to walk along constantly saying “no, no thanks, nope, NO” does get tiring after a while!
On our final day in Unawatuna we took a day trip to Galle, a famous little town built during the Dutch rule in 1649. The town is enclosed by the walls of an impressive fort, and there were loads of little historical monuments and museums to visit. It was another interesting day, learning about a part of the world we previously had little knowledge about. We also got to experience the world’s worst cheese toastie and realised it’s about time we accept Sri Lanka is just not a good country for anything cheese related!!
So, if anyone out there would like to send us a block of cheese for Christmas, it would be very much appreciated! Cathedral City - extra mature. Thanks :)
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