Day 3: SOUTH BEACHES OF SRI LANKA (MIRISSA - WELIGAMA - UNAWATUNA) - GALLE - MIRISSA
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Today we will tour the beaches of southern Sri Lanka and we will visit the city of Galle. We wake up at 6 in the morning and the first thing we do is look out on our terrace, to make sure that the rain last night has given way to a clear day.
And although from the terrace we still can't see the sun we expect, we see that at least it has stopped raining.
So we go directly to the breakfast room of the Riverside Cabanas and we get a continental breakfast between chest and back that will give us strength until lunchtime.
Riverside Cabanas breakfast room in Mirissa
Continental breakfast at the Riverside Cabanas in Mirissa. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
With the stomach already toned and with the taste of a good coffee that we needed, although we love tea, we talked to the staff of the RiverSide Cabanas and after a few minutes of negotiation, we got a tuk tuk, which will take us to Galle, stopping at different beaches of southern Sri Lanka, like Weligama, Midigama, Unawatuna ... and then come to pick us up once we have visited the city of Galle and take us back to Mirissa, going through the beaches of southern Sri Lanka, although this time we will surely not stop ...
We agreed on a price of 4000 rupees for this whole tour, plus the wait in the city of Galle, so we calculate it will be about 7 hours between trips, stops and visits.
And closed the deal we only have to wait half an hour, having a tea, until our transport arrives for today.
From very early we listen to music in Mirissa, very close to our accommodation and the staff explains that today is a Buddhist party in the city and that is why we will meet many people in the street and few buses in case we want to make the journey of Mirissa to Galle thus.
Our “tuktukero” arrives at 8.30 in the morning and before leaving we tell you a little about the planning we have for the day, especially the stops we will make in the beaches of southern Sri Lanka, so we set off with the first stop of the day already calculated.
We only need a few minutes to reach Weligama, which is 4 kilometers from Mirissa and is on the road to Mirissa to Galle.
Weligama is a beach tourism center, next to a fishing village.
First stop of the day, Weligama. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
Weligama sits on a bay, from where Mirissa is seen in front, but the beach is not very good or very clean and compared to Mirissa, where we are staying and others beaches of southern Sri Lanka, There is not point of comparation.
Views of Weligama. South Sri Lankan beaches
While in Weligama, we notice a gentle drizzle that darkens the sky at times, something that we appreciate in a way, because it cools the environment and ceases in a few minutes.
Only one day ago we have reached Sri Lanka, but we have already noticed that the environment, despite not being very hot, is very humid, so these brief rains come great to cool the environment.
After a while walking along the beach, we continue in our tuk tuk to what will be the next stop of the day: Midigama.
Curious way to bring water in the tuktuk, in a bottle of vodka. Way of Midigama ...
On the way to Midigama we stop at a kind of island with a house, which serves as accommodation and where parties are held, as our tuktukero explains, at quite expensive prices.
Short stop on the way to Midigama. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
A few kilometers later we arrived at Midigama, a village on the A2 general road, very famous among surfers, but very little visited by the rest of tourism, given the poor infrastructure it has in accommodation and restoration.
Midigama Beach South Beach of Sri Lanka
Here we are not too long, since we do not like this beach too much compared to the rest of beaches of southern Sri Lanka and we don't want to spend much time with the times, knowing that we still have the “most important” visits of the day.
Before getting back on track, we see a kind of colorful scene that catches our attention, just in front of Midigama beach and again our “tuktukero” acts as a guide and explains that this type of structure They are set to celebrate the Buddhist festivities and that at night they light up, to continue giving color to the holiday.
Lands of Midigama. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
We are also very interested in the cartels that we see of “land for sale” along the general road and we can do nothing but let our imagination fly, dreaming of one day having a piece of that land to retire ... Who knows , do not?
More practical information to prepare your trip to Sri Lanka
- 10 essential places to visit in Sri Lanka
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Sri Lanka
We return to our transport today and on the way to Unawatuna we pass in front of an Aviation Center and as a curiosity they have a plane on the ground, so that people can go up to visit it.
Awatuna road aviation center. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
It is these kinds of things that make us fall in love with a country. Those things we could never see in Europe ... those colors, that atmosphere, that rhythm of life ...
And to continue falling in love, we stop at a gas station, where we can do nothing but look at each other and smile when we see the business infrastructure.
We love!!!
Gas station in Sri Lanka. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
And almost without realizing it and after a few more minutes we arrived at one of the areas we most wanted to know: Unawatuna, one of the best beaches of southern Sri Lanka.
As soon as we arrive, we tell our driver that this visit will take us a little more time and don't be scared if we take time ... Who warns is not a traitor 😉
Unawatuna beach. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
Unawatuna is considered one of the best beaches in Sri Lanka. It is a bay surrounded by coconut trees and with a strip of sand of about 2 kilometers, bathed by calm waters, without risk of currents.
Walking the beach of Unawatuna. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
We are walking this strip of sand quietly, camera in hand, and enjoying the loneliness of traveling in low season.
We are surprised by the proximity of business to the shore and remind us that this beach became a hell on January 26, 2004, when hundreds of people died from the tsunami attack, leaving the village virtually destroyed.
Walking the beach of Unawatuna. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
Unawatuna was one of the places where they recovered faster from the disaster, thanks above all to international aid and volunteers.
But the initial construction plans respecting the natural environment were not carried out and today we see the majority of businesses on the beach as before.
And despite having mixed opinions about this, we can do nothing but sit on one of the tables and enjoy tea and mango juice for 704 rupees, in a privileged environment ...
Enjoying the Unawatuna beach. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
After this “stop” forced in a place like this, we continue traveling the piece of beach that we have left, before returning on our steps, to resume the road, not without looking back… trying to retain forever the landscape we have before us.
Saying goodbye to Unawatuna. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
From Unawatuna to the city of Galle we have another 6 kilometers of journey, crossing the beaches of southern Sri Lanka and as we get closer, we already intuit that not only will the beaches of this area of the country fall in love with us, but that Galle They are waiting for us, to show us that they have reason to be included in the list of World Heritage Sites.
Our tuk tuk leaves us at the Clock Gate and the first thing we do is stay around 4 pm, in the same place, to come pick us up.
Before entering the city, we stop a few minutes in front of a cartel with a map, to locate ourselves a little and decide which path we will choose for the first contact with the city.
Galle plane
the city of Galle, which is pronounced "Gol", preserves the most beautiful historical center of Sri Lanka. It is a city with just over 90000 inhabitants, a World Heritage Site, motivated in general by the importance of its walls and the dozens of colonial buildings that remain protected inside.
After seeing the map and orienting ourselves, we go back out of the walls, to be able to see the incredible bastions of the city.
Galle Walls
Galle views
After giving a good account of the city walls, we go directly to Church Street, one of the most important streets of Galle next to Lighthouse and we arrive at the Dutch Reform Church, the main Christian temple in the city. It is from the middle of the s. XVII and the floor is paved with the tombstones of settlers who died overseas.
Galle Dutch Reform Church
Right next to the Dutch Church we see the famous Hotel Amangalla. Old colonial mansion of the Dutch governor.
Amangalla Hotel
After these visits, we continue our journey, this time already losing ourselves a little through the streets, without taking a fixed course, which in the end is one of the things we like the most and with which we enjoy the most in the cities.
Colonial houses of Galle
Galle streets
The atmosphere in Galle It is very relaxed today. It is festive and it shows in the streets of the city. We find the majority of shops closed and in the most central part we only see some souvenir shops and some of gems, which keep their doors open.
At the end of the street we reach one of the most photographed areas of Galle, its lighthouse, surrounded by palm trees, on the Point Utrech bastion.
Galle Lighthouse
Right in front of the Lighthouse, we have the original and beautiful Mosque.
Galle Mosque
In this area of the city, we begin to notice the festive atmosphere, but this time not in the solitude of the streets, if not the other way around. Here many people who take advantage of the day to walk and bathe on the banks of one of the most beautiful cities in the country are concentrated.
Taking advantage of the holiday in Galle!
After touring this area with ease and take the opportunity to rest in one of the many banks that we find in the area, we return to the interior of the city, to continue walking through those streets that minutes before have brought us here.
Tuk Tuk in Galle
Galle Images
Corners of Galle
We begin to notice that this morning's breakfast has already stopped filling our stomach and knowing that today is festive, we not only walk admiring the city, but we take a look at the recommendations we have of restaurants, until we see that the creperie which they recommend as number 1, is open.
Seeing this, we remain calm and before entering, we spend a little time going back through some surrounding streets.
Galle
In love with Galle
In our eagerness to make some time before going to eat, we find a place where a good group of boys are playing cricket and we cannot miss the opportunity to observe them, so we sit on a step and there we spend a Good time, just doing what we usually do on our trips ... see life pass before us ...
Galle
Cricket in Galle
When we look at the clock and see that it is almost two in the afternoon, we go straight to Crêpe-ology, the creperie we have seen before, marked as number one on Tripadvisor.
Crêpe-ology Gate in Galle
The place is very nice, with a very sanote atmosphere, which delights anyone who enters.
As soon as we see the letter, we begin to want to try everything we read that they have, so it is time to get serious and make a choice.
Letter from Crêpe-ology in Galle
What we eat Crêpe-ology in Galle
In the end we decided on a crepe of pesto, another cheese, take it and olives, plus two special soft drinks from the house, mint and lime, plus a mango crepe and strawberry dessert. Dessert has been something we have not been able to avoid ordering, although we were already completely full! The account has been at the end of 3135 rupees. Something more western, but the food has also been ... so we can't complain.
Crêpes at Crêpe-ology in Galle
Special drinks at Crêpe-ology in Galle
Crêpe-ology in Galle
Dessert in Crêpe-ology in Galle
After lunch we can no longer have a tea or a coffee, so we leave and as we still have a while until the time we have left with the tuktuk, we go straight to the area of the lighthouse, to be able to go one more turn for the city and thus lower the food a little while we say goodbye to Galle.
We return to the area of the Galle Lighthouse
On the way to the Clock Tower, where we stayed with our tuk tuk, we stopped a few times to do some shopping and have a closer look at the first Buddhist Temple we see in the country.
Buddhist Temple in Galle
Galle Walls
When we arrive at the Clock Tower, our tuk tuk is waiting for us and we tell you that since this morning we have not seen the wading fishermen, only the sticks, we want to try to stop, if we see them, to see them in action!
He already tells us that today, being a holiday it will not be very easy to see them and he was not mistaken. Throughout the journey of Galle to Mirissa, in which it took about 45 minutes, we don't see any.
Let's see if tomorrow we have more luck!
When we arrive at our hotel, we look at the clock and have been visiting for more than 8 hours, so in the end it must be said that 4000 rupees has been a more than correct price.
As we have been very comfortable with him, we negotiate with tomorrow.
We have to go to Tissa, stopping at Hole, Dondra, Dikwella, the Wewurukannala Temple and Tangalla, to search again for the wading fishermen for 7000 rupees.
So closed the deal, we went up to the room for a while to rest and take a shower, before leaving again to go to the beach of Mirissa for the last time ... tomorrow we will head to Yala NP, but first we will travel another little piece of the South Sri Lankan!
It's a little after 5 in the afternoon and although we haven't rested almost anything, we're looking forward to going out again, so we don't think about it much and get back on track.
Festive in Mirissa
If yesterday we toured the eastern part of the beach today we want to know the western part, so we cross the road and in less than 5 minutes we are in that area where we see that there are some little hotels and bars with a very pleasant atmosphere.
Hotel on Mirissa Beach. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
Mirissa beach. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
We stop at Central Beach, a beachside beach bar, for a 600cl beer and a coke for which we are charged 300 rupees !!! We can't even believe it. We are on the beach and only charge us this? Amazing!
This is life… We don't lie if we say we don't want to leave here yet!
Enjoying Mirissa Beach. Beaches of southern Sri Lanka
We have a good time here, with background music, chatting about the things we have seen and those that we have left to see and above all, thinking about how lucky we are to be able to have this within our reach ...
We return to the Riverside Cabanas at 7 and stay with the staff that will go down at 8 at night, so they have time to prepare the dinner we have ordered before leaving.
Today we had a fried rice and a pasta dish plus water for 1000 rupees.
As we did yesterday, after dinner, we had a good time having tea and talking with the staff until we see that it is 10 at night and we return to our room to rest.
Before we fall asleep, we listen to rain. We look out onto the terrace and an impressive storm is falling!
Luckily, Sri Lanka is giving us a truce, when we thought it would rain every day ...
With the sound of the storm, we fell asleep ... and how not to dream of the magnificent beaches of southern Sri Lanka and with Galle.
Amazing Galle
Day 4MIRISSA - DONDRA - WEWURUKANNALA - BOW HOLE - TANGALLE - GOYAMBOKKA - TISSA
