Today we are joining the first of our 3 tours with the Cruise Critic folks. Ann, one of the drivers of the Cruise Critic board, has organized these tours – and when I say organized, I mean organized in every way, shape and form. She has 3 buses, each with a bus leader whose responsibility it is to make sure we are all there at our appointed time, and who is in charge of the name badges (Ann provided) and little Canadian lapel pins (Ann provided) for all of us. Our bus leader has already called to remind us of the specifics. I don’t think the ship staff is this organized!
We arrive at dock right at 7, which is good because we have a whole day tour planned out. Unfortunately it begins to pour – like Monsoon rain – after we dock, and so the whole procedure is held up for about 45 minutes – either because of the rain or customs – we’re not 100% certain. As we finally get released, I hit the security bing bong and I get the big buzzer! That damn key card again. The bar code doesn’t even work, which doesn’t seem right, but no matter, “ma’am, can you go back up to guest relations and get a new card?” Well, crap. Ed’s already outside since he was in front of me. I pantomime what’s going on then race back up 3 flights of stairs, running directly against the steady stream of passengers coming down to disembark the ship. I skid to a stop in front of the sweet little guest relations girl and pant out that I need a new card. She’s nice, and very apologetic, and I try not to be too exasperated, but this is getting really, really old.
So, equipped with my now hopefully functioning card, I run back downstairs, bing bong out, and find our group already assembling and almost ready to go. Phew. New routine: every morning before we disembark, I’m going to guest relations to make sure my card works. A minor inconvenience if it stops the bing bong buzzer from sending me back in each and every port.
On to the tour….we have a pretty good bus and an excellent tour guide: Prabarth “the second ‘r’ is silent”. We also have a driver and a “handler” aboard (the handler’s job is to help herd us along, but also to handle the money for the tolls and entrance fees, etc.). Prabarth has been guiding for about 17 years and is really great at explaining his country, cultures and customs. We have a 2 hour drive to our first stop, and he never stops talking. We find out about Sri Lanka’s national animal – the squirrel (get out! I keep my mouth shut, but we all know they aren’t my favorite animal – I’d consider it a rat more than an animal, but I’m not Sri Lankan), the national bird – forest fowl (I really think that’s a chicken or rooster type animal, but not quite sure). We get a lesson on the religions, Buddhism being the main practice here; an overview on family life, how marriages aren’t necessarily arranged any longer, when you marry you live with your parents (new wives move into their husbands’ family home) and how the mother is the most important person, and the sons love their mother more than their wives. We learn about the island history, the Portuguese influence, the British influence, etc.
As we listen to Prabarth talk, we watch the craziness of Sri Lankan traffic all around us. Tuk Tuks (called 3 wheelers or just taxis here), buses, trucks, scooters, cars, all driving about seemingly without any rhyme or reason, but getting through the choked intersections somehow. It’s bedlam, but it’s interesting bedlam to be watching from our air conditioned bus with an awesome driver chauffeuring us everywhere.
After we hit the main highway, things calm down a bit, then about an hour later, we get off the the highway onto local streets leading us to the Turtle Hatchery which will be our first stop. The hatchery is a non-profit society dedicated to saving endangered turtles. They rescue nests from the beaches, relocate them to an area inside the hatchery then transfer the babies to a pool for 3 days before releasing them back into the wild. It’s amazing – and we get to see al the stages of the operation, from nests to babies ready to go back into the ocean tonight.
These little guys actually have a 10% chance of survival. That’s unheard of – it’s more like 1 in 1,000 survival rate when left on their own. Totally cool. They also keep disfigured or maimed turtles here too – loggerheads without a flipper, green turtles that have been hurt and these incredibly beautiful albino turtles.
We feel right at home. Our Hilton Head Turtle folks would love this place. After milling around a bit, then shopping in their store where we pick up this awesome little elephant floor mat made from coconut husks, we make our way back to the bus for our next stop: The Madu River cruise.
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