Sri Lanka - Follow the coast

Sri Lanka seems to be one of those rare countries that has everything in a small territory. In two short weeks, I walked from the mountains to the sea. Here is part 2.

Everywhere I go in the world, people seem to have a hard time guessing where I'm from. I am believed to be Spanish-speaking, Hebrew, or even from the Middle East such as Lebanon or Syria. My already dark complexion is obviously accentuated when traveling under the sun. Last year, I was even able to pay the price of a local resident of Baku in Azerbaijan, repeating the phrase from the local customer in front of me.

This time, in Sri Lanka, I look like an Indian. During a visit to a tea factory, a guide leaves his group running when he sees me. He wanted to tell me with passion that I was very similar to Virat Kohi. So here we are in the midst of the noise of the machines looking at photos of the captain of the India cricket team. “Not so distant as a resemblance! I say to myself.

A few days later, I am buying some food in a small convenience store when the man at the counter directly addresses the question:

- Are you from Pakistan?
- No, I'm from Canada.

Virat Kohli, my Indian alter ego.

Second part of the route, going up the coast.

Looking a little disappointed, my answer does not seem to satisfy him fully. He tries himself a second time ...

- Are your parents from Pakistan ...?

Tangalle

Tangalle is a small coastal town in the south of the island. It is touristy but not yet so developed. I rent a kayak there and set off on a lagoon at sunrise. If animals were everywhere in Udawalawe National Park (in my 1 part), they are almost as much here. Huge birds flap their wings like little gliders soaring with the sun.

Above all, these are the many monitor lizards who swim just a few meters from my kayak which seem to me the most impressive. They are almost as big as the famous Komodo dragons seen in Indonesia !

A monitor lurking in the forest.

A pretty big bird (p.-s. I am a good ornithologist).

Much of the body of the huge reptile is hidden underwater.

Galle

The name may be almost the same as the coastal village of Tangalle, but the vibe is quite the opposite in this old colonial town. The local village became an important port under the Portuguese, before reaching new heights during the time of Dutch rule on the island in the 18th century.

I think I liked the city ​​of galle because I visited it at the end of this little journey. Sri Lanka is very noisy. Music is everywhere there at a deafening volume, including on all public transport. Everything is much quieter as soon as you enter the walls encircling the old town. Due to its tourist attraction, a major effort is also visibly made to keep the fort clean of waste, which is far from being the case in the rest of the country, as in so many other less developed countries.

A zither player at sunset, it deserved a photo!

The bright hues of the sky are changing every minute.

Tourists travel to the westernmost point of Fort Galle.

Small cycling tour

Kavindu, my lovely cycling guide.

To end this little trip, I rent a bike in the countryside surrounding Galle. I wrote directly to the owner of Chameera Cycling, a hostel that also offers guided tours.

When I got there, the owner had already Googled my name out of curiosity. He asks me, jokingly, "Do you think you can do the 20 km lap?" ". Then he bursts out laughing and explains to me that he already knows what I did the year before on my bike, and that he is very happy to receive me.

Accompanied by my young guide Kavindu, we meet a fisherman installing his nets in the river, water in his chest. Then we visit a factory where the interior of a certain type of coconut is transformed into a rope reminiscent of jute.

Kavindu explains to me that the employees here - mostly women - get paid a daily bonus if they decide to work seven days a week rather than "only" six. The consequence is that almost all employees never have a vacation.

We then continue our relaxed but very interesting tour by visiting a textile fiber factory. There the threads are untangled and then dyed. The dyeing is done by hand in large outdoor vats. I am sadly not so surprised to see that what remains of the colors is washed by the rainwater directly into the river ...

The long threads are sorted ...

... and dyed in a noisy factory.

This little bit of a woman creates rope from coconuts, 7 days a week.

After this pleasant country tour, it is already the end of my two weeks in Sri Lanka. The next day I take the bus back to the capital. This is my last backpacking trip for a while. After a year in Malaysia, the road calls my bike and me again. See you soon !