Not as exciting a day as yesterday. I left Galle early, after taking a brief look to its 16th century Portuguese fort. The Portuguese had basically one fort design, which they used all along the coast of Africa, India, and Sri Lanka. Or rather, they forced the locals to haul rock to build the fort according to their specs.
Once out of the town the road follows the coast, so one gets awesome looks of the breaking waves. From stretch to stretch one can find beach resorts, from modest to pretty swanky, and several outfits that proclaim their commitment to protect sea turtles. I stopped at the first one I saw, imagining it would be the only one, paid a high entrance fee of US$ 6, and was allowed to walk between a dozen of concrete tanks where different species of turtles were swimming. There were a couple of tanks with babies so I asked if they were to be released pretty soon. "Yes, of course, but that is a fund raising event for the center." Turns out being a conservationist doesn't come cheap, because they have to buy the eggs from the beach combers, who collect them as a virility elixir. So the center rises money through entrance fees, turtle release fees, and generous donations from visitors (hint, hint). As a secondary bonus, the owner had some big printed signs that explained how the center had been built by his grandfather, how everything had been destroyed by the 2004 tsunami (heart breaking photos), and his current efforts to rebuild and bring the program back.
After saying goodbye I headed into the village, which had been devastated as the tsunami inundated up to 2 kilometers inland. Like in the case of Palu, there are no signs left of the destruction, and life seems to have resumed as if nothing had happened.
For my Elevenses I chose a shack along the beach, where I had an early lunch of deviled shrimp on a bed of rice. Yummy! I also had an earful from a young promoter who first wanted me to visit the village's turtle conservation center ("sorry, done that"), then visit the village's herb and spice garden ("Ditto"), and finally wanted me to talk with the local medicine man about the many benefits of Ayurveda herbal treatments (including essential oils, massage, and chakra therapy). I tried to explain that we have something similar in Mexico (plus homeopathy) but he could not believe it. A slightly strained conversation, but we finally parted friends because I made a small contribution to a family in need.
And then traffic got heavy as I approached Colombo. I had planned to make a detour to visit the Galvihara Temple, which has a statue of the Reclining Buddha. It was a pain to get there, because the temple is tucked in a residential neighborhood. It is very nice, but I suspect it is not too old, with more of the craft of the concrete mason than of the pious stone carver. The image of the reclining Buddha represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. The posture of the image is referred to as sihasaiyas, the posture of a sleeping or reclining lion. I note that Buddha looks plump and quite happy, rather than cadaveric.
The last half hour before I reached by comfortable hotel was nasty. Colombo bus drivers are really evil, and the tuk-tuks are lesser devils who are clearly in the lowermost rungs of the ladder or reincarnation. They are going to need a lot of reincarnations before they can get even a far away glimpse of Nirvana.
But all is well that ends well. I am back in my air-conditioned room, and in an hour or so I will treat myself to a last Sri Lankan dinner. Tomorrow I head for Goa, in India.
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