Day 12 Sri Lanka
Galle and Goodbye
Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our wonderful ocean resort today. It turns out that many people have to return to work(?) and we have to return home -so the party is over.
The town of Galle where the remains of Galle Fort is just north of us so we stopped there on the way back to Colombo. Galle Fort was originally built by the Portuguese in the 16th century but then taken over by the Dutch in the 17th century who fortified it. I must have subconsciously remembered that fact and that’s why I came up with the idea of visiting The Netherlands first? I do remember how hot it was and it was hot this time too! The walls of the fort obviously protected the town but now it blocks the ocean breeze! We found if you walked on top of the fort wall it was a smidge cooler.
Fortunately, Dave and Thilini took us to a little ice cream shop in the town. We met the owner and she told us that she is the fourth generation in her family to live in this house and the house itself is 225 years old. She was very friendly and her ice cream was terrific too but you have to eat it fast or it’s ice cream soup!
It was late afternoon before we made it back to Aminda and Salani’s home and they and some others soon arrived also. This is the house Aminda grew up in and it shares a small garden courtyard with his grandmother’s house which is directly behind it. Unfortunately, his grandmother passed away last year. Interestly enough she spent most of her years in Minnesota of all places! As hot as it was today I kind of understand this.
Aminda and Salani were very hospitable and offered their guest bedroom and bathroom for us so that we could shower and change before we had to catch our flight that night to travel home.
Goodbyes are so hard, especially when we live thousands of miles away from each other. Salani, Thilini and Dave rode with us in the van to the airport which I thought was above and beyond since our flight was at 12:50am and we didn’t leave the house until around 8pm.
We had such a wonderful visit with them and they took very good care of us even through the chaos of a wedding. We are hoping that they can come and visit us next year.
 |
| Don, Dave, Thilini and Kamillia in Galle |
 |
| 62 is our number this year! |
 |
| Happy Chinese…happy dog! |
 |
| Kamillia striking a pose |
 |
| Yummy ice cream in a coconut bowl and a coconut spoon |
 |
| Ice Cream store owner |
 |
| She saw Don drifting off to sleep so she brought him a pillow! |
 |
| Outside the ice cream store which is over 200 years old |
 |
| Part of the fort wall |
 |
| Thilini and Dave |
 |
| This guy will jump off the wall into the ocean if you paid him! I gave him an application to Casa Bonita. |
 |
| This cuddly guy stopped when he heard Don whistling to him |
 |
| There are many fruit stands along the road |
 |
| This is a liquor store that we stopped at. It looked like a high security bank! |
 |
This is a normal site everywhere - we never could figure out if they stopped building, in the process of building or in the process of tearing it down?
|
 |
| Salani and Aminda’s home |
 |
| Entrance to garden courtyard |
 |
| Comfy living room |
 |
| Our traveling van group..fun people! |
 |
| One last pic with Salani |
 |
| We left at 1am and got home at 3:30pm the same day however we traveled for over 27 hours! |
 |
| The longest leg of the flight..about 14 hours.. |
