Visiting Sri Lanka has been really nourishing at the end of our trip. The land and waters are clean and sparkling, the people friendly and smart, the food spicy, flavorful, and aplenty. Yellow coconuts provide tart treats and the waves are the waves of every surfers dream. Huge monitor lizards run alongside the roads with peacocks showing their lovely tails to the ladies. A country recovering from a 30 year civil war, blossoming in the wake of bombs, guns, and the boxing day tsunami. Many people lost loved ones on that day- Many stories of brothers and sisters washed out to sea.

The Ceylon (Sri lankan) people have big beautiful eyes green to light brown and HUGE beaming smiles. Their language- Singhales – has 60 characters. And the script is comprised of intricate rounded characters.

They drive like bats out of hell- the road is small and often fits three lanes of traffic in whatever direction people choose to go. Driving is no joke around these parts and tuk-tuks jut through jungle roads with swift ease.

One night when returning from a late night gathering our tuk-tuk driver offered to take us to get some baked goods. It was almost 3am and we were shocked that anything would be open. He drove us straight into the jungle and up some mountain roads to a very yummy smell- FRESH LOAVES of BREAD!!! Cooking in a brickoven, pastries galore- some with berries, fruit, and sugar, some super spicey with peppers- but best yet- ALL WARM!!! They all just came out of the oven. He gave us a tour and let us peak at the next round of delights that were about to rise over the fire.

One night Justin and I were meandering down the beach admiring how bright the moon is when we found a group of people marveling over freshly hatched sea turtles!!! On the full moon the babies hatch and make their maiden voyage from sand to sea. We even had some big mama turtles come up to shore as if to check on their babies. So cute!!

I wasn’t sure what to expect of Sri Lanka- I thought perhaps it would be more like India or more like Thailand- but it truly is it’s own unique place with rich culture, a 89% literacy rate, and a lot to explore.

Tonight is the full moon and their local festival here in the seaside town of Mirissa. Time to go watch the men get dragons and angels painted on their backs and join to the parade!

Xo