well well weligama

Had we taken note of the Lonely Planet guide’s wishy washy review of Weligama and not instead trusted our friend Luis’ advice, we may have simply passed through this utter gem of a place. The Lonely planet pretty much writes off the whole place as having a bit of a crap beach and loads of fishing. In fact, as we approached, I felt the need to warn Tom about the impending fish slaughter that we would be faced with 24/7.What we actually experienced was 5 days of utter joy. We had only planned to stay a couple of nights, but extending it to 5 was a no-brainer. Weligama is very popular with surfers, as is its sister towns of Mirissa, Unawatuna and Midigama. Strewn across the coastline are hostels, guesthouses and restaurants all offering lessons and boards to sun kissed foreigners in surprisingly skimpy summer-wear. Many places offer cheap and basic accommodation right on the beach, which is pure bliss for surfer dudes and dudettes (Tom and I are neither of those, yet). If however, you drive away from the main strip, towards Jungle Beach you end up at the glorious Dinsara Pearl Villa, a family run guesthouse named after owner Noyel’s 3 year old son.Because the guesthouse is positioned up the hill, it has the most wonderful view over Weligama Bay. A sprinkling of coral reefs means that although the water flows across to the beach over to the left, the waves break quite far out, in front of the guesthouse. Sea views really don’t get much more tranquil. So inspiring was the view that we both felt compelled to get creative. I wrote a tune and Tom made a video of the place for Noyel to put on his website, for which we were rewarded with a free night’s stay and some free grub.Our room was lovely and clean and came with a pet gecko in the bathroom (his name was Buddy) and each morning we ate a scrumptious breakfast out on the terrace.We saw loads of wildlife kicking about in the garden of the guesthouse and out and about.Here is the video Tom made of Dinsara Pearl Villa:[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPOIfTIJn2s[/embed]What we really fell in love with though, were the adorable, kind and caring family who run Dinsara Pearl. Our main man Noyel became a friend for life. Nothing was too much trouble and every tuktuk ride came with a smile and a good amount of banter. Highlights included a trip to a local roti shop where we worked our way through a pile of rotis as high as our faces. “We can’t possibly eat all that” became a distant echo as we ploughed through the stack, scooping up dhal and veg like absolute scavengers. Every now and then we had to remind each other to eat with our right hands. (Your left hand has another important job)We also had the pleasure of joining Noyel on a visit to his Buddhist temple. The day we went was Poya, a Buddhist holiday. This occurs when there is a full moon, which is regarded as the most auspicious day in the lunar calendar. Poya occurs around 12/13 times a year and each full moon means a bank holiday in Sri Lanka (westerners be jel). Practising Singhalese Buddhists visit their temple to observe the specialness of this day. The walls of the temple we visited with Noyel were adorned with beautiful artwork describing how Buddhism came to be. The story (#googleit) resonated with us both in a number of ways.  Surprisingly, the temple was on several different levels, which you reached by climbing funny little wonky sets of stairs. People had left several offerings for the Buddha, such as hand-made rosettes, flowers and little ornaments. Most people were dressed in white. Noyel explained to us that he meditated each day and that his belief in cause and effect enabled him to make the right decisions in life.We had most of our meals at the guesthouse, as Noyel’s mother-in-law is an incredible cook. In Sri Lanka “rice and curry” refers to rice and a selection of different curries. Spice combinations are intricate, delicate and very varied. If you order “rice and curry” you’ll usually be presented with around 5 or so little bowls of joy and a humungous bowl of rice. This is a very typical meal. Other great food we had in Weligama included an avocado rotti. In the UK, avocado runs through our veins, so imagine our little faces when we found out we could have it sandwiched between hot, chewy delicious rotti. We also had our first veg kotthu. This is basically Sri Lankan style veg mixed with loads of chopped up rotti. SO good.On our third day we went snorkelling with Noyel’s father. Needless to say he can swim like a fish and tom and I felt like big fat Brits. Once we realised our hearts weren’t going to explode and that we wouldn’t necessarily inhale water and choke, we began to explore the beautiful world beneath us. Bright purple coral and charming, busy fish took no notice of us as we floated over them like stale eggs with little breathing devices that exposed our gums like something out of a horror film.    We also visited Galle fort, an old Dutch fort which is also a UNESCO heritage site. Within the walls of the fort, there are narrow streets lined with pretty little villas, fancy boutiques and eateries. The ocean backdrop glistens and entices swimmers. It's a very lovely area to be in, but it's not about the fort so much as the places that have either been preserved or renovated within it. We wandered around and when it got too hot, we stopped for some fancy tea (for which we waited approx half an hour. No biggie). As we were bumbling around, we saw a monkey on a lead wearing small monkey trousers and a huge python doing an impression of a scarf. These are things we will have to get used to as we make our way around Asia. Can't imagine they will get less upsetting to see though.During our stay in Weligama, we whiled away many hours at the nearby Jungle Beach, thrashing about in strong waves like children. Each time we went, the same kid lay face down on the sand, waiting for the waves to go over his head, laughing like a maniac as he fell all over the place and water went up his nose. Us adults looked on, wishing that we’d never become so self conscious as to do something so bloody fun.