) Southwest Sri Lanka...Galle and Hikkaduwa

Another trip by Tuk Tuk took us to the historic city of Galle where we stayed in the Old Fort area...

A view from our Tuk Tuk...

Since Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean it is surrounded by hundreds of kilometres of beaches which are very picturesque...

The old Fort area of Galle  is a town living inside the old fortifications of a 16th century Fort originally built by the Portuguese invaders. The town is quite lovely with many beautiful and restored buildings. We stayed in a small BnB as I couldn’t find a homestay...

The lobby of our place where we were served delicious Sri Lankan breakfasts each morning.

Lots of cute cafes...

Shaded places to have coffee...

We loved having our supper in the warm evening air, this was our favourite place to eat...

Since it is the beginning of the Monsoon Season on the West Coast we had rain most every day, but unlike the rain at home it is warm and doesn’t blow sideways! The day we explored the Fort area it was a light mist but made for great photos...

Lots of the original Fort remains and this couple was taking cover....

Places to view the enemy’s approach...

There is a lighthouse built by the British at one end of the Fort walls and a clock tower at the other...

The Fort was built first in 1588 by the Portuguese, then extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards. It is a historical, archaeological and architectural heritage monument, which even after more than 400 years is well maintained due to extensive reconstruction work done by Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka.

The walls are very thick as can be seen when entering through one of the gates...

There are also reminders in sculptures of the Slaves Quarters and prisons that were built inside the Fort...

The Fort area is quite large with many walking paths...

And places to take photos, we laughed at this young man trying very hard to take the best shot...

The Fort is a UNESCO heritage site being chosen for its unique exposition of "an urban ensemble which illustrates the interaction of European architecture and South Asian traditions from the 16th to the 19th centuries."

Some street scenes of this quaint little town...

Fruit seller...

Lots of art galleries...

There are also some historic churches...

The Dutch Reformed Church...

Where the floor is made of headstones from the old cemeteries...

Another church...

And a mosque...

Lots of color here as well...

Not all the buildings are restored but even the old ones have a certain charm...

Another interesting fact is that the Fort walls were able to stop the 2004 tsunami from destroying this area when all around it there was much loss, other part of the town of Galle lost 4000 people that day.

Which brings us to our last stop the beach town of Hikkaduwa where we finally got a pool and a great place to spend our last few days in Sri Lanka...

 This beach town has been a resort area for a long time so has lots of infrastructure for tourists though most of it is shut down now that it is low season, once November comes the tourists will return until March or April....

Beaches are empty...

We did find crowds at the Sunday market though...

Fresh produce everywhere...

As I mentioned Galle sustained a lot of loss as a result of the tsunami in December, 2004 and so did this area. There are a number of memorials which we visited while we here...

An explanation of this one...

This spot is where the tsunami derailed a train and many lives were lost, there is a very poignant sculpture just a little ways across the road...

The relief work depicting the train tragedy was very moving, some close ups...

 

You could feel the terror and horror from the images there...

Our final stop that day was in the village that was almost completely destroyed by the tsunami and where a local woman had built a homemade memorial to remember. It is built where her family home once was, just a little ways from the water where the killer waves came ashore.

She is the woman in red explaining that day to the visitors...

Most of the displays are pictures and stories  from that day as well as other artifacts that help tell the story. She told us they were at home when the first wave hit and it was about a meter high enough to cross the road and start to flood the houses. But it receded and all that could be seen was the ocean floor so a lot of people went out to take pictures and pick up the fish that were left, others fled including her family and then the big wave came back.

It was 8 meters high moving at the speed of 800km an hour so you couldn’t outrun it. It reached over two kilometres inland detailing the train and destroying everything in it’s path...

The displays are very primitive but so moving...

Many children were lost that day...

It was difficult to stand there in that little building surrounded by those images and trying to imagine what it must have been like to experience that day and the aftermath, not many people left there without tears in their eyes and lumps in their throats. 

I took this picture looking out the window at the ocean across the street where the waves came ashore, so beautiful now but so horrifying then...

Our time in this beautiful country is now coming to an end. We have had a wonderful winter exploring this part of the world and can both say that it has been an amazing trip. We are thankful that we are ready to go home still healthy and still speaking to one another! 

Tomorrow we head to the airport for a 11.5 hr flight to London, overnight and then the flight to St. John’s. Looking forward to breathing some cool Atlantic air! Until next time.....