Madeline and a large reclining buddha.
We just finished a nice, long and relaxing spring break here in Sri Lanka – a bit later than other schools perhaps, but it makes for a quick end to the school year now. It’s hard to believe another school year is on the way out.
We had a stellar time. Because of the April Poya, we had not only a week off but the Thursday and Friday before that week off. So after taking it easy on Thursday, we headed out of town on Friday. Maddie was so excited to be heading to the beach – her school had been closed for its spring break as well and she had lots of pent up energy to expend.
Since mom is very pregnant at this point, we left it more or less up to her as to what she wanted to do for the break. She wanted to go to the beach and do very little, and that was no problem!
We headed south on Friday morning in a 2-car convoy with Mark, Meredith, and Sonia and arrived in Marissa in the early afternoon. Mirissa is, so far, our favorite beach destination in Sri Lanka. It’s near the tip of the south coast, between Galle and Matara, and has a secluded, almost undiscovered feeling about it. I think this is the way Unawatuna probably used to feel before it was ‘discovered’ – but Mirissa will not always be this way, so it’s good to experience it now.
Mirissa Beach, south coast of Sri Lanka.
In the 'king's chair' overlooking the Indian Ocean.
The week of April 13 was a big holiday time in Sri Lanka, the Singhala and Tamil New Year. Monday and Tuesday of this week are official holidays, but many people take the entire week off, and the whole country has a bit of a festival atmosphere to it all week. Lots of fireworks at odd hours, and lots of people traveling and out on the streets. So it’s a good time to be tucked away at one’s favorite beach and not moving around too much.
We stayed two nights at a good place right on the beach that has a pool, which is crucial for the kids, of course. Between a swimming pool and a nice wide beach, the kids have plenty to do, which if course makes it much more relaxing for mom and dad. There were several other families there from the school community, as this is a popular place for expatriates.
After two nights on the beach, we decided to go ‘upscale’ and move to a place about 1 kilometer away to on the western edge of Mirissa Bay, called ‘Palace Mirissa’. When we stayed down here during our March break, we checked this place out and decided that we would definitely go back there. For not that much more money per night you get a lot more in
Not our car!
terms of comfort, and it is well worth it. The only drawback is that it’s not on the beach, but the beach is about a 5 minute walk or less. It’s situated on top of a bluff on a point overlooking the ocean and the views are superb – and it’s almost always breezy up there, which cuts down on the number of mosquitoes. Maddie loved the band of peakcocks roaming around the ground and the very friendly dog named Rex. And so much exploring to do here – lots of rocks and trees and narrow rock staircases with bugs and birds and everything else. She was definitely Dora the Explorer while staying here. And the kiddie pool was absolutely perfect for her size.
On Easter morning we had an Easter egg hunt and candy party with Maddie
Easter morning!
and Sonia. Mom and dad put plastic eggs filled with goodies all around the grounds and the girls did a good job of finding most of them. Madeline is very peculiar with the contents of her basket – whereas most kids would simply want to eat all the candy as quickly as possible, she decided to ration it and make it last for a long time. In fact, at the time of this writing, she still has lots of jelly beans, raisins, and small chocolates that she dips into only occasionally. She’s not a big eater, as we all know, but usually goes crazy for sweets so this hoarding behavior is peculiar!
On our third day at the beach Maddie developed a bit of a fever which meant that we had to do even less than we were doing before (no problem there!) It cleared up in a few days and she never let it deter her from her fun.
Inside the Dutch reformed church in Galle.
We also spent a lot of time with Geoff and Zehra, two of our good friends from Colombo. Geoff is Maddie’s very first ‘boyfriend’ – and she makes sure that no one forgets this, especially Geoff himself. One afternoon we drove over to Weligama where dad tried surfing again with them. He didn’t have as much luck this time as the waves were bigger and harder to catch. Still, it was fun though this time Madeline didn’t seem much interested in surfing herself. Too bad! We also spent an afternoon in the historic fort area of Galle, a very interesting place to hang out with lots of good shopping opportunities.
Stupas around Mulkirigala.
The real highlight of our excursions was a trip to a place called Mulkurigala with Geoff and Zehra. It was just a reminder to us of what a special country Sri Lanka is, and how many fantastic things there are to see here around almost every corner. There is a small blurb in the Lonely Planet about this and we decided to go check it out one afternoon.
Mulkirigala is a large Buddhist rock temple north of Tangalla, about 16 km inland. It’s
Maddie was fascinated inside the caves.
a series of caves and stupas at different levels on a 650 foot-high rock outcropping rising up from a gently rolling plain. A series of ancient steps leads all the way to the top and along the way are several amazing caves containing huge reclining buddhas and various statues of dieties. One can also see ancient carvings in the rocks and there is a school for Buddhist monks at the base of the rock. The area is off the beaten path and few tourists go there (expats or Sri Lankans), so it really has a ‘far out’
Too many monkeys!
feeling to it. Definitely worth the effort to get there. As we have not been to Sigira or any of the bigger, more well-known temples up north, we have nothing to compare Mulkirigala to, but we were impressed! Madeline especially liked all of the monkeys and the statues of animals. And she has a special fondness for large buddhas, remarking everytime we see one whether driving or walking.
We spent a few hours there, and Madeline almost walked all the way to the top on her own! Quite a few steps. On our way home, we stopped on the side of the road just west of Dikwella to look at a local New Year’s festival that looked interesting. A few hundred people (lots of families and kids) were gathered on a volleyball pitch that had been converted into a carnival – it was clear upon our arrival that some sort of childrens’ skit was being put on. We watched for a while, many people of course fascinated by Madeline and wanting to stroke her fine hair. When we went to leave, we were corralled into staying and the next thing we knew we were judging a beauty contest containing 8 little girls all dolled up in their finest Sri Lankan outfits. Chairs were set up for us in the middle of this huge crowd and the contestants paraded by us. Even Maddie was in on the judging! Judging was difficult but there was a clear winner with true style, a little girl who had clearly been practicing her strut and demeanor. After this we were put on stage where we handed out awards to the girls and Geoff gave a grand speech. A very uniqie cultural experience, to say the least. Maddie even got her own award, a small wooden trophy for sportsmanship, which she has proudly been hanging onto (even after she broke it!) We got back to our hotel late that evening, but it was worth it for the fun we had.
Checking the vegetable garden after returning home.
We returned to Colombo on Friday so we had a nice long weekend before school started again. Ready for the rest of the school year!
