Colombo, Sri Lanka

April 23, 24 Colombo, Sri Lanka.  We arrive in the harbor of Galle, our second stop in this country.  There is no deepwater dock, so we plan to drop anchor and tender passengers to shore.  But the sky is dark and ominous and the seas are rough.  The captain makes the decision that it is not safe to tender ashore.  With no other way to visit this place, he decides to not drop anchor, and instead sail immediately for our next stop - Colombo.  So we will spend an unscheduled day at sea, then tonight and tomorrow in Colombo.

The ship docks in Colombo before sunset.  Early the next morning we take a 90 minutes bus ride to a seaside resort.  On the way we drive through Colombo.  We are pleased to see that is has very little trash - it's a relatively clean city, buzzing with people everywhere. We visit on Easter Sunday, which is not a big deal in this mostly Buddhist nation.  The traffic is calm though somewhat chaotic, as buses, cars, bicycles, tuktuks (3-wheeled taxis), and various strolling mammals share the miles of pavement, obeying natural laws rather than traffic laws.  We also make some detours off the main road, along a river, past people washing laundry outside their homes, through neighborhoods where people live.  People smile and wave, seemingly in an angst-free zone.  There is a good energy to the place.

Finally we arrive at a our destination, a very nice beach resort.  It's a busy place with lots of tourists from Australia and Europe.  Our task for the day is to hang out by the pool, eat and drink.  Of course Brigit gets a massage, 'the best Swedish massage ever' she declares.  We enjoy an elaborate and very tasty buffet lunch, colorfully themed for Easter Sunday, socializing with fellow travelers.   Mission accomplished, we board our bus for the ride back home. 

Heading back to the ship, the driver stays near the shore and the tour guide explains Sri Lanka's damage from the 2004 Tsunami.  The area outside of Colombo was hit hard by that tragedy - we are told various estimates ranging from 40,000 to 60,000 people lost their lives here.  The tour guide explains that when the water receded as a prelude to the inevitable incoming surge, many of the home owners with beachfront property ran out to post property stakes in the the now-accessible sandy ocean floor.  Needless to say, they had no chance when the massive wave came rushing inland - a final lesson that ownership is fleeting - all is impermanent. 

The damage was quickly repaired and today there is little evidence of that tsumami.  We also make an unscheduled stop at a Batik shop, where we watch women applying the ancient skill of making Batik fabrics.  Most of our small group buys something, fascinated with the process.  We get back on the bus to go back home - our ship.  This ends our tour of Sri Lanka. We come away with positive feelings for the people here.  A nice place to visit, though very far away for those in North America.