All guests on our ship received an interesting note from the Captain recently. Starting immediately and continuing for about the next 10 days we are in a "high risk area for piracy". We had to attend a meeting to tell us about the ships' procedures in case of a pirate attack. At night we must keep our drapes closed in the staterooms and all the lights on the open decks will be turned off. Consequently we cannot walk around on the outside decks at night. During the day or when we're in port we can be outside. Also, we will be in a convoy as we pass through the most dangerous areas which are near the shore of Somalia. The Captain is feeling pretty secure, since no ships have been attacked in the past three months!!!! He told us that if anyone should spot a suspicious looking boat approaching us quickly we should not panic but calmly report it. Also, he asked us NOT to go outside and wave or take pictures of the pirates!!!! Duh!!! Of course, I can just imagine Bob grabbing his camera and running outside to get a quick pic! The Captain told us if he gives us the command we are to go to the inside corridors and lie down on the floor, since the ship will be speeding along and zig zagging to create a big wake to help us make our escape from the pirates. Exciting days ahead!!!!!
Colombo, Sri Lanka - Monday, March 30th
I had no idea what to expect when we arrived in Sri Lanka. In fact, my knowledge of world geography was so incredibly poor before this trip that I didn't even know where it was located! Sri Lanka sounded like a far away, exotic place that I only thought about when they sent a team to the Olympic Games! We arrived at the port at 11:00 am. and the temperature was already 101 degrees so we knew we were about to experience another hot, sweaty day. However, we didn't know that our experiences here would be so delightful.
For the first time on our cruise we decided to take the day tour offered by American Express. There was a small group of passengers (about 10 of us) who booked our reservations directly through the American Express office. Consequently, the company sent a host who sailed with us and arranged various free excursions for our group through the cruise. Normally we have been going on the ships' excursions but decided to try something new today. It turned out to be a very small group with only four of us plus our host, tour guide and driver. The day was thoroughly enjoyable!
In the remote possibility that there is anyone out there like me who isn't quite sure of where Sri Lanka is located, it is a teardrop-shaped island that lies off the southeast coast of India. It is a country rich in natural beauty and cultural splendor with an abundance of palaces, monasteries, shrines, water gardens and, of course, the ever-present temples. There are five amazing UNESCO designated World Heritage sites located in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country where elephants roam freely, water buffaloes idle in rice paddy fields and monkeys swing from trees. The virgin beaches on the east side of the island remain seductive, romantic places devoid of resorts or souvenir shops. The major cities, such as Colombo where we docked, are colorful communities with with a vibrant culture and a people of diverse ethnicity and religious persuasion. The people, landscapes and wildlife combine to make Sri Lanka one of the most fascinating places we have visited.
Our first stop of the day was to have a delicious traditional Sri Lankan buffet lunch at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo's prime five star hotel. Although many of the dishes were a bit too spicy for us, there were many delicious foods from which to choose. The hotel and its grounds were beautiful and serene and it was a lovely introduction to Sri Lanka.
As we waddled out of the restaurant and climbed onto our bus we headed for our next stop which was at a folk art center. The lovely center included an indoor and outdoor museum and a GREAT government sponsored gift shop. Evidently, when the government sponsors a shop the prices are much less expensive than the prices of private vendors. Before we toured the museums we went inside the shop. Well, we wound up spending a lot of time and energy flitting excitedly through the merchandise as we found many unique, colorful and beautiful hand crafted items. There were masks, dolls, jewelry, lacquer ware and lots of other wonderful locally made products. Bob and I are not ordinarily shoppers. In fact, we avoid tours which include shopping stops. However, we were out of control here! We were both racing around picking up all sorts of items and considering how we would get everything back home (still don't have a solution for this problem). It didn't stop us from making purchases. What a blast!!! Now, we had to tour the museums toting all of our packages in the blazing sun - didn't matter. Soooo excited to have some beautiful items from this fascinating place. The outdoor museum serves to provide knowledge of national traditions for future generations of people in Sri Lanka. It is a cultural sanctuary where legend, traditions and folklore are kept alive by the 75 students who live there. The village is truly a sensory journey into Sri Lanka's past, where age-old traditions are maintained, just as they were in remote villages scattered around this tropical island. There was a group of women using an outdoor wood fire to cook traditional sweets for an upcoming community celebration. At the end of our tour our guide presented each of us with a gift bag which included a sample of the village sweet that was being prepared while we were there.
Our next activity was an exhilarating Tuk Tuk ride through the town out to the countryside to witness how the villagers tap a rubber tree. This Tuk Tuk ride was quite delightful. It's very much like a golf cart so we were in the back seat of the open art. There was a top to shelter us from the sweltering sun but the sides were open so we got a great breeze as we drove along the narrow roads. Although it was quite a long ride out to the country it was actually a fun adventure. We arrived at the rubber tree plantation were we watched how cuts are made in the bark of the trunks and a coconut shell is used to collect the latex. The latex slowly flows down the cut bark and into the scooped out coconut shell. l The latex is collected a couple of times each day from the coconut shells then shipped out to other countries to process into rubber products since Sri Lanka does not have the technology to process it.
Our final stop for the afternoon was at none other but another Buddhist temple :) Once again there was a huge reclining Buddha ad a temple with ornate and intricate details. We had to remove our shoes inside the temple. At one point our guide led us outside to see the elephants. However, he forgot to let us put our shoes back on and the ground was COVERED with pebbles, rocks and other debris. Bob and I were the only ones to venture out, but it took us so long to walk the short distance without our shoes that immediately after we got near the elephants our guide was calling for us to leave! We were so slow on our return that they brought us our shoes so we could get back to the Tuk Tuk quicker! Sure wish they would have brought our shoes to us BEFORE we made the trek out to the elephants!
On our return to the ship we made a very brief photo stop at a village home to see their water collection system and rice paddy fields. We had planned to spend some time with the family inside their home but due to time restraints we had to race back to the ship. We thoroughly enjoyed our brief visit to Sri Lanka. Based on comments from many other passengers who have been here preciously there are still many sites to be seen in the area. I am just thankful that we had an opportunity to spend a day in this colorful, clean and delightful country. Now, on to India for the next two stops.
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