Hikkaduwa - beach antics

We spent a fair bit of time at the beach between outings, followed by early evening pool time. Both the kids are happy to spend hours in the water or digging in the sand. The beach was also a great place to watch the locals at play, and to chat to those that stopped. We would stay ther until dusk and then head back for a pre dinner swim.

One afternoon Dan decide to bury himself. Pretty soon a local chap joined in and turned Dan into a turtle.

 

 

 

 

We watched some young men playing a game which looked a bit like rugby but with rules we couldn't work out and with no ball handy, a coconut did the job.

 

A bit later another group turned up and started a game of touch, this time more organised and using a real ball. We didn't see a lot of evidence of rugby pitches although I did see one ground with rugby posts but the only sign of activity were a few grazing cows.

Sarah spent some time carefully crafting her own sand turtle only to have it destroyed by a stampede of school children brought in an excursion to see the coast and have a ride in the glass bottom boats. They seemed to be completely unaware of the damage although a teacher did apologise when he saw Sarah's very sad face! The children from the inland areas are bused to the coast for the experience of seeing the ocean and beach. After their ride to the reef this very large group seemed to be unable to resist getting wet and once a few boys were in the water the rest of the boys soon followed and then eventually the girls joined in. The teachers were not too pleased but no one seemed to be able to stop them and they were haveing a fabulous time anyway. We have found that beach wear can mean anything from undies to jeans and full street wear. I guess it's not like anyone will catch a chill! These kids must went in the water fully dressed in their regulation white school uniforms that all public school children wear.

Dan had been nagging about going in a glass bottom boat since we arrived so we again gave into the pressure from a local who had approached every time we were in the beach and agreed to go out for the 40 minute 'safari'. The reef is only about 15 meters from the shore and we had probably seen most of the fish standing in the water nearby but it's all about the experience! The driver gave us some crackers to feed the fish which was fun and we also saw a couple of small reef sharks which had been trapped inside the lagoon until high tide.

The other offer constantly made was to see the giant turtle which was feeding in a small protected area outside a large hotel. We were a bit over the efforts of the 'beach boys' to empty our wallets each time we came to the beach but eventually curiosity got the better of us and we went for a look. A local man there went out into the water to bring the turtle in using seaweed to coax turtle closer. He told us he found her and she had been blind (not too uncommon in turtles apparently) and arranged to have her seen by a vet and fixed up. He has been feeding her and watching out for her for 10 years. She certainly seemed to recognise him and again the kids were so excited to be able to feed a 'wild' turtle and touch its shell. (Sorry no pics as this was the one day I didn't have my camera and I can't work out how to get photos from my iPhone to here!).

One late afternoon we were treated to the sight of 4 sea eagles riding the air current. They came quite close and the crows we less than impressed. One crow kept attacking the eagles which seemed fairly futile and earned it a few swift pecks. The crows seem to be the Sri Lankan equivalent of sea gulls here (we didn't see any seagulls at all). They are everywhere and are pretty efficient at sneaking into the outdoor eating areas and stealing leftovers from peopleS plates. Some places let off firecrackers each morning in an effort to drive them away.

 

 

Sarah

The glass bottomed boat because we got to see all the coral.

Feeding the fish from the boat because they were very funy

Building the sand turtle even though it got trampled by school kids

Swimming in the sea because there was lots of interesting things to see

Seeing the sea eagles circle our heads

 

Dan

The glass bottom boat because we saw the reef

feeding the fish on the reef

feeding the big turtle

digging on the beach

swimming in the sea because it was warm, clean and fun

 

Rich

Best thing about beach type stuff probably has to be the coral reef here.

The beach is quite an area of entertainment. From the constant market antics of the various salesmen -conchs, clothes, necklaces, souvenirs, boat operators, tour operators, turtle whisperers to the antics of the locals particularly the boys, making acrobat troop pyramids in the water, chasing each other and covering each other with sand, playing kabaddi and cocunut rugby. The giant and frequent schoolmgroups who come to look at the reef and then all charge into the sea. We also noticed the locals all just walk into the sea for a swim in their clothes, not disimilar to you or I stepping out of the office in our suit and jumping into the swimming pool still dressed in it! I think though the reef is integral component. The life force. Providing the sheltered lagoon for swimming and beach activity, the coral and tropical fish for snorkelling and the boat rides and commercial activity. I think I enjoyed the boat and snorkelling activities the most.

 

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