Galle to Tangalla

Galle to Tangalla

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It's a Christmas miracle and beaches that rival those in Hawaii

11 hours of sleep is wonderful and after we enjoy a breakfast of fruit and toast we are on the road with our driver.  We decide to skip Mirissa and drive on to Tangalla (our original plan was to make the short drive to Mirissa for whale watching, but our driver suggests that whale watching is disappointing at this time of the year).  

It is about a 2.5h drive to our hotel on Marakolliya Beach (about 10km outside the town of Tangalla).  On the way we stop for roadside bananas and dried fish – thankfully only the bananas are for us, the fish is for our driver to take home to his family.  Since we are not staying in Mirissa we are without a hotel reservation for the night and our driver has taken care of making the reservation.  On first arrival the “hotel”, Manahara Beach Resort made up of a few rustic cottages seems adequate, not great – far from a resort, but completely fine for one night.  We settle in and hit the beach…that’s right…it is around lunch time and we have nothing to do until the next morning, except hang out on the beach (I declare a Christmas miracle!!!).  The beach is truly breathtaking – it is how I imagined the beaches of Hawaii (for more on Hawaii, please see the blog Archives!).  

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The near-empty beach is several km of sand and surf, backed by huge palm trees.  There are more fishing boats lined up along the beach than people enjoying the beach.  We walk from end to end as the waves roll over our ankles (MG) and legs (me).  At one end of the beach we climb onto the rocks, careful to not step on any muscles or crabs (which scurry away from us as MG tries to snap pictures).  In maneuvering from rock to rock, MG slips and drops the camera…but after a brief moment of panic, the camera seems to be in perfect working order.  We enjoy the time but are both (yes, both) ready to get on the road again as the afternoon turns into evening - beach time can be checked off the list. 

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We eat both lunch and dinner at the hotel (as there are no other options).  The food is standard at best, but again, fine for one night.   Back in our little cottage, we get ready for bed and discover the air conditioning doesn’t work and the fan is incredibly loud.  After I discover the first cockroach, I insist MG perform a circle check of the room and he kills several more (plus some ants and a beetle).  Needless to say, between the bugs, the humid room, dirty bed and moldy bathroom, we don’t have a great night sleep.  It is still dark when we both wake up to the frantic cries of stray dogs or cats roaming the property, we are reminded of the old number 2 bus in Hawaii (again, for more on Hawaii, please see the blog Archives!).  In the end it is the poor price-value of the hotel that bothers us the most and are more than happy to get back on the road the next morning.