Friday, 15th February 2019
We had a peaceful night at our Secret Garden- while during daytime, the fort is ever so busy with tourists, tuc tucs, restaurants guests and shoppers, the nighttime turned out to be very still. Well our alarm went off at 7 am as Indika was supposed to pick us up at 9am.
We had a very good breakfast of fresh fruit and juices plus coconut rotis and Gerry ordered an omelette. When we were ready I sent a WhatsApp to Indika that he could collect us. He was somewhat delayed as the bus he was travelling on from his home town decided to stop for 15 minutes tea break. Apparently this was the bus from Colombo to Galle and the bus driver is allowed to have a 15 minute break………. well we didn’t mind as we were enjoying the sun in the street terrace lounge chairs and watching Pedlar Street waking up – shopkeepers opening up their shops, postman delivering his letters by bike and some tourists already out and about……
Today we had quite a few activities before we reached our resort at Bentota. Our first stop was at a Moonstone mine and factory – we had specifically asked Indika that we were interested to see this as the moonstone gem is only mined in Sri Lanka and specifically in this area – Meetiyagoa.
Of course we were shown how a mine works – sand being brought up in coconut baskets and then sifted in water to identify the gems and then taken along to the factory where the gems are polished and then cut into the traditional round, egg or tear drop shaped stones. I wanted to pick some Jewellery for Nicole, Tessa and Martijn; Gerry did the same for his daughters and grandchildren. I think this would be a better gift as it’s precious and typical of Sri Lanka – and not bulky to take back home!
Also it’s interesting to note the meaning of the moonstone: intuition + dreams+energy. It encourages hope, enhances feminine energies, sensitivity, intuition and psychic abilities. Known to bring strong energies of abundance to one’s life. The moonstone is associated with the crown chakra.
The term moonstone was originally coined by the ancient Greeks to describe a particular gemstone that seemed to hold the ethereal light of the moon in solid form. Apparently the process in some mines has been speeded up by using electrical cutting machines but the rest of the work is still handled manually.
Anyway after negotiating a good price, we came away with our gifts and then drove onto our next activity: a water safari on the River Madu where thick mangroves grow and various birds, crocodiles and other animals live.
The waters of the Madu River are dotted with about 60 islands – some of which are inhabited and others have either temples but most of them are left to be inhabited by the indigenous birds and beasts…..
This was a unique trip and once again we had the boat to ourselves and our young man taking us on this trip was very attentive and courteous. He was happy to take pictures for us and of us.
Our first stop was at Cinnamon Island where a family lived earning their living by peeling cinnamon tree bark and preparing it to dry. We were shown how it was all done – very interesting especially as I always have wondered how the cinnamon sticks can be so hard but in actual fact one part is skinned from the bark and then other skinned parts are added into it – then hung out to dry in the hut in the shade. The man who was showing us was the same age as Gerry and although skinny and almost no teeth in his mouth, his skin was with any wrinkles……so guess what we will be doing? – drinking cinnamon tea every morning and it’s also good for joint pain, headaches and muscle pain……
We also visited a Buddhist temple located on the Kothduwa island. Next to the temple there is a Bodhi tree which was grown from a cutting in 1860 after the previous one died through neglect. A Sri Lankan business man took an interest and also built the present temple in 1860. There are about 5 monks living in the temple complex and we visited the library of one of these monks who explained how the ancient books were made. He then tied a string of life around our right wrists while chanting a mantra. We’re supposed to keep the string of life for 21 days and then cut it loose ……… up to now we both have our string still tied……
We finally made it to our hotel – Laluna Aryuveda Resort on the River and as we had not eaten all day, Indika was taking us to a special place for a late lunch early dinner, which he promised us would be the best rice and curry in Sri Lanka!
We checked in and first had a good shower before meeting up with Indika. It was close to 4 pm and my stomach was telling me that it was time that I did eat something. Well Friday afternoon, traffic was quite heavy but we got to this homely place and enjoyed our dinner. Truly it was an excellent rice and curry with shrimps and chicken……
And all of a sudden it started raining – quite like a monsoon, however we didn’t mind as we were still enjoying our meal. By the time Indika was taking us back to the hotel, the rain had stopped but the traffic was still as bad……
Got back safely and we decided to have a drink before going up to our room. It was a very pleasant and cool evening after the rains and when we were finally in our room we did not even need the airco on………
Believe it or not we were in bed before 10pm……….
