Sunday, 05th October 2014
The island that has everything.Green mountains, mist and chilliness in the morning.Burning hot beaches and large waves in the afternoon. Sri Lanka offers all this – in one single day.
On a winding tour tothe tea plantations
The window gives me trouble. In order to feel present I have to open it, as the air conditioning removes all the fragrance and impressions. After some turning and trying I manage to open the window and it all comes over me. The smell of jungle, traffic, people, cooking and sewerage. Now I am here for real. I make a mental note that next time around I’ll come by motorbike.
We are heading for Mirissain the middle of Sri Lanka’s southern coast. The freeway from the airport of Colombo is almost completed and we reach our goal in a couple of hours. The village is located along a fantastic beach with nice little guesthouses and coconut salesmen. And very nice waves which I want to investigate further.
If I continue paddling, the Antarctic will be the next stop. I don’t do that, instead I take my surf board and paddle to the reef just outside the hotel. There are some rocks to the right and a reef underneath, so I have to watch out where I can surf and where I can’t. I’m more or less alone, there is only a happy French woman who is a much better surfer than me. We are seated in the water, gazing out towards the horizon, hoping that the next wave will be perfect. It gives a peace of mind far away from wi-fi and smart-phones. The feeling of being one with the element and at the same time completely focused on the next wave is in many ways unbeatable.
The reputation of Sri Lanka’s southern coast has begun to attrackt surfers from all over the world. The coast is completely exposed to the storms of the Indian Ocean which generates good surf waves.
The waves keep rolling onto the reef and the feeling of catching them is impossible to describe. Complete pure joy, my most absorbing addiction right now. The feeling is further increased when some turtles turn up around the surf board to breathe. I see some ten of them the first day.
Mirissa is a pearl consisting of two long beaches. Here most things are happening close to the water. In daytime there is surfing and fine bathing, and in the evenings tables and chairs are placed onto the sand. You just walk around and chose your own fresh fish, and then youfind a seat underneath the stars where you await your dinner.
Before we investigate the rest of the villages which are located along the coast we look for the chilliness up in the mountains.
A classical journey is the train trip from Kandy to Ella, considered as one of most scenic and beautiful in the world.The train is slowly puffing away from the platform. I and the photographer Roger are hanging out from the open doors not to miss anything of the view. It turns out to be a very special experience. I don’t think we sat down at all during the six hours trip. Sri Lanka shows itself from its best side when we slowly climb across mountain passes and wind through tea plantations. We are passing through people’s everyday life, and it was long ago that I saw Roger being so excited. Coming to Ella we allowed ourselves the luxury to stay at a first-rate hotel and we enjoyed a late lunch with a great view over billowing tea plantations as far as the eyes could reach.
Ella is not much more than a small village and the reason why so many tourists find it is the location itself in combination with an inherent special atmosphere. The village isn’t more than a crossroads but still a good place to hang out. There are a handful of cafeterias and restaurants where people have tea and chat.
It’s difficult to get enough of the view. The air has cleared from the morning mistand the jogging tour is done in the green surroundings. We keep walking around the tea plantations and bump into Darsini. She picks tea leaves 14 hours a day and earns 1.100 rupees a week, which is approximately equivalent to 55 crowns. It turns out to be a pleasant meeting although the world’s injustice has never been so obvious. In spite of this she seems to be a basically happier and more harmonious person than I am.
I have never felt as much “upper class”as when I a bit later spend an amount that corresponds to her weekly wages for a lunch at the hotel. I bring that feeling of injustice as we wind down by mini bus to continue our exploration of the small villages along the south coast.
Surfers from all over the world bring their lifestyle to Sri Lanka
“Like a blend of India and Thailand”, I write in my note book. It’s like these countries have made a compromise. There is “Indian” traffic, food culture and obsession with cricket, but“Thai” friendliness, a strong Buddhist tradition and magical beaches.
The newly constructed freeway from the capital Colombo has opened for more tourism in the small villages along the south coast which are spread out with a few kilometers distance in between. Mirissa in the southwest has many years of experience as a tourist resort.A little further towards northwest is Weligama, where local life is thriving. In the village you can find most of what you need, and it’s quite an experience just to take a walk among the small shops. In the afternoons the local life moves down to the beach, where the fisher men are mending their nets and a whole gang of cricket matches are going on. The cricket planes are disposed according to age; the eldest get the most and the young the least space.
Tuk-tuk is the way to get around. Cheap, smooth, and on top of that a cultural experience. If you bring your surf board you may just throw it onto the roof. Ten minutes westwards by tuk-tukand we arrive to Midigama which is a village completely constructed around surfing. The first impression is not super but the more you hang in the village the more you’ll love it. Surfers from all over the world have started restaurants and cafeterias and here you’ll be served the best juice, coffee – and surfing.
The next village is Ahangama. There is a wonderful beach and we stay at a nice place just a few meters from the sea. This is where we end up eventually – at a surf-camp just by the sea where we spend a few social days filled by waves and surfing lessons.
– Going around on our motor bikes we keep discovering new places to surf, says Louise Edwinsson.
She has worked at the surf-camp for a few months and contributes to the development of Sri Lanka as a surf destination. Surfers have found the place but everything is still in its infancy, and hopefully the village will develop in a sustainable way. The surf-camp is meant for beginners as well as more experienced surf-dudes. The beaches are wide and desolate, and there are lots of surf-breaks without crowding.
But curiosity drive us further out on small paths and dirt roads. We travel around by moped and discover the area. It’s a fantastic way of getting around even though it takes a bit of courage to join the traffic with its rules, differing considerably from the Swedish ones.
We make spontaneous stops here and there to buy fresh fruit and discover small paths leading to desolate beaches and untested waves. The little villages really simmer of energy and enterprise spirit. Small hotels are being constructed, juice bars are popping up and surfing schools are started.
With the photographer Roger as my trustworthy driver I can sit on the pillion and enjoy all the scent and nature impressions.21Without having to wheedle up any window.
Emil Sergel
