As we drive toward Fort Galle, we pass through the area that was hit hardest by the Tsunami in 2004. There are still empty lots and destroyed buildings here – where inhabitants refuse to come back or re-settle here because they think it is bad luck. We stop at the Tsunami memorial amidst piles and piles of huge boulders and debris – left here we suspect to remind people of the tragedy. There are something like 25,000 unidentified bodies buried on this spot.
It’s getting on past noon, so we stop for lunch first at a local restaurant above a gift shop specializing in wood. Lunch is a basic western buffet, but they do have Keralan (Sri Lankan) food on another buffet for the drivers and guides. We all avail ourselves of that food too and get a taste of the curries and dishes common to this area. It’s all really good – but a little spicy for my tastes – at least there is some version of local food here for people to try so they’ll have some appreciation of the real food they serve here. But oh, what will India bring? We shall soon find out!
After lunch, Sunny decides to ride his first elephant of the trip…
…and we’re off to see the Fort.
First we walk out onto a pier to look at the harbor across the water. It is one of 4 harbors on Sri Lanka. There are also the bones of an old ship right off the pier – which seem to have been preserved by the salt water.
Then we walk into Fort Galle proper, through the main gate (photos to come!) with the Portuguese coat of armor on one side and the Dutch on the other.
The fort was built in 1588 by the Portuguese, then heavily fortified by the Dutch under their rule. And today it is still thriving with military, police, retail and tourist activity. The walls still stand after 423 years, so strong they are in fact, they completely withstood the tsunami without incident.
We wander along the sidewalks covered by porticos outside the shops and restaurants, coming upon the last lighthouse ever built on Sri Lanka which over looks the sandy beaches and beautiful clear waters of the harbor.
We follow the ramparts around (in the sweltering heat) to a lookout point where we can see back to the light house and the Muslim mosque (that we think began its life as a church of some sort – but forgot to ask Prabarth) for some really scenic views and picture taking.
We’re all melting a bit by now as we slowly make our way back to the bus and our 2 hour ride home.
I think most of us snooze for a bit here and there on the ride home. Prabarth actually sits down for some quiet time, although he could probably talk forever that guy! When we reach the city, he takes us on a quick highlight tour where we pass by the old parliament building, the new parliament building, the White House (built on the same basic idea as the US White House) and various and a sundry Buddha statues and miscellaneous monuments.
We drive through Cinnamon Gardens, where all the wealthy people live, past the President’s Palace and all the embassies, then head back to the port through crazy, crazy traffic. We can see the entrance to the port right up ahead, but we don’t reach it for 15 or 20 minutes. It’s like this every day according to Prabarth.
But, nonetheless, we make it back to the ship with plenty of time to spare after a really full and interesting day. Excellent tour and guide – we definitely lucked out with the good bus.
Back aboard, we thankfully fall into our air conditioned room and jump into the shower to cool off and begin our nightly rituals. Next stop: India.
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