Beyond the Tsunami – To the Beach at Mirissa

A morning’s drive through the spectacular mountain views of Ella Gap brought us to a midday stop at the “Elephant Transit Home.” Contrary to what it might sound like, this does not mean it is a place where people transit on elephants, but rather a halfway house for baby elephants who have lost their mothers and need to learn to live in on their own in the jungle again. Young elephants from 6 months to 5 years can roam freely within the grounds which include a large lake where they spend a lot of time cooling themselves down but they always appear at lunchtime for a feeding of milk from a long tube at a feeding station and for some nice green onions as a snack. We could not get close to them, of course, but they were cute and entertaining and it is a good place with a good cause.

Several hours more of traveling in our “private” bus (which was more uncomfortable than a public bus, without air-conditioning, windows that were hard to open and some that were shattered) we finally arrived on the southern coast of Sri Lanka at Mirissa, a perfect curve of soft white sand against the quintessential turquoise water with enough surf for board-riders. Surprising that the Indian Ocean here could be such a pure and gorgeous color while on the west side it is somewhat dark and murky.

We were led into what appeared to be a somewhat upscale beach resort until we got to our little bungalow rooms. Sweet and homey with porches and comfy chairs that looked out on the sea, inside they were stifling hot, small and dank with no air-conditioning, just a fan and a skinny window with no screen. But other than the heat at night and the lack of space to unpack, it was actually okay, decent beds, lights etc. and the most perfect location ever, just steps from the beach and with an amazing view at all times.

During this trip I have had to share rooms with Stella or Aiofe (that’s Eva in Gaelic) – two nights with each and the two nights alone and then we rotate again. They are both young (26 and 33), slim and pretty and can drink most people I know under the table quite quickly, always in a multi-mix of cocktails, beer, wine and and straight hard liquor. The first night in Mirissa, Stella stayed out with a glass of local red rum to walk the full moonlit beach (there is a very low-key late night scene) and literally came into the room after midnight, dropped her pants, fell on the bed and passed out. Then got up at 5:45am and went on a whale watch. And then slept off both the rest of the day. Oh, the stamina of youth. Both Stella and Aiofe were excellent roommates, polite and respectful and it was really never a problem sharing, and despite our age differences, we have become quite close in an offbeat way, Stella reminding me quite a bit of Genevieve.

We actually had a day off to relax at the beach, no speeches from Indika, no forced marches to see sights, and I did mountains of laundry and took the big pieces to the laundry service to be done.

Like all the south coast of Sri Lanka, Mirissa was devastated by the tsunami 9 years – everything in the entire village had to be rebuilt and many people died. Apparently right before it hit, the tide suddenly went out about a mile and people started running out excitedly looking at the fish and crabs and sea life that were all suddenly exposed and then the wall of water suddenly appeared and they could not run away fast enough to save themselves. It is shocking and sobering to think about as you sit enjoying the peace and beauty of the beach.

Beyond our “resort” the beach was lined by other small restaurants and hotels, several of which were reggae bars. This was the first place in Sri Lanka where the smell of ganja smoke was a regular occurrence. In every country I have visited, Indonesia, Thailand (especially) and now Sri Lanka, Bob Marley is the celebrated and adopted as a hero. I don’t think we totally understand the far-reaching effect his revolution had. And the other welcome card I have gotten everywhere is – “USA? Obama! Yes!” with a big thumbs up. Everyone thinks it is so wonderful that America has Obama now – it is always a shared joyful moment.