6:30 pm local time
You walk out the main gate stopping each time at the guard station to show them a shore pass (no photos allowed of the guard station) and down the short side road and then get to the main coast road. Just past the guard station gate I saw a monkey climb up to the electric wires crossing the road. It was the first monkey I’ve seen here and it seemed to be alone chattering nervously to itself. I did take a quick photo before Randal yelled to me that the gate guards weren’t happy with my camera.
When I got to the corner and the main road Randal was yelling to me, this time to get out my camera.
Bicycle racers!
Support vehicles.
The racers flew by followed by the support motorbikes and then lots of support cars. The support cars seemed as if they were zooming past us yet they couldn’t go faster than the motorbikes which couldn’t go faster than the bike racers who Randal says were probably going 25 mph. But it all seemed very fast to me. And loud.
Next we saw this family with their goats!
On our way back we saw this bovine pulling a wagon.
We saw lots of chickens, goats, dogs, and one large monitor lizard run through a grassy field. I found a small stall selling a limited selection of vegetables and bought some green beans and tomatoes. We had gone looking for a lunch restaurant but didn’t see one that looked particularly inviting. We stopped into the small grocery store and chatted with a cruiser there who told us to try the Closenburg Hotel.
The view from the Closenburg Hotel on the hill overlooking the harbour.
We walked up the hill to the old colonial Closenburg Hotel but decided against staying for lunch because they were having some kind of affair and there was just a huge buffet that we didn’t want to eat just then. Also, it looked like a storm might be coming and I didn’t want to negotiate the plastic pier in a storm. And our laundry was still on the line….It never did storm but I’m not sorry we skipped a huge lunch.
Back on the boat I made lunch and Randal worked on boat work and we spent a quiet afternoon. I am reading Empires of the Monsoon: a history of the Indian Ocean and its invaders by Richard Hall. Our friends on Labarque had given it to us knowing we’d be heading here. It’s actually quite good. I’ve just gotten to Marco Polo. I’m sure I won’t remember that much of the 500+ pages but the introductory maps are good so I will know where we’ve been and where we are going. I must honestly say that this is probably the only time or place I’d ever read this book but it is quite enjoyable.
Later today we’ll probably head back to Fort Galle for lunch and to use up some of our Sri Lankan money. We’ll also stop at the small grocery store and load up on the all important ice cream for the next leg of our passage. We’re thinking that we’ll head on out tomorrow, Monday or at least by Tuesday. Some of that will be determined by when the officials get around to responding to our request to leave and to doing our paper work. We are told that you have to ask at least a day in advance. Today is Sunday so we’re not sure how much can be done though this is officially a Buddhist country.