March 22, 2025
Cycle day 4 - Galle to Matara
Galle to Matara = 40km (Total distance on this trip so far = 202km)
Weather = last nights low was 23 degrees with todays high around 30ish degrees probably hotter! Sunny today with not much cloud about except for late afternoon where we had thin cloud cover. Wind was coming from the east so a headwind, but not too hard to affect our cycling.
Accomodation = Sand Ford Residence = 4600 rupees ($24.75 AUS)
We slept in this morning since we knew we only had a short days ride and our check in wasn't until 12pm so we didn't want to get there too early. As it was we were only away 30 minutes later than normal. Not many people around so getting out of Galle was a breeze. Not sure if there is work today as it is the weekend as to why there was hardly any traffic in Galle. Just on the outskirts I just happened to see a group of kids with quite recent MTB type bikes and one was showing his mates that the handle bar turning was really loose. So when it was safe to pull up just a bit ahead I told Neil about it and recommended we turn around and he can fix it as it is just a 6mm allen key to tighten it. We got there and they were still there milling about the local bakery and Neil said that he could fix it for them, they just look at him like stunned mullets as they can't speak English and are shocked that a foreigner is talking to them, but sort of understood and so Neil did a quick job of fixing it and the kid was happy as larry and thanked him!
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3 days ago
It is nice riding early in the morning and as you can see there is no one on the road but that didn't last long!
Just after Unawatuna the road joins the coast for quite a while (basically all the way to Matara). It is nice to see the ocean again and this time we are in the surfing area and we quickly realise that of the foreigners along this part of the coast Neil and I are the oldest foreigners here! – definitely all young and surfing or trying too!
Compared to Australian surf where every wave is guaranteed to be rideable – here there is alot of waiting as you can see in the photo above and more below! We stop for a break and enjoy the ocean breeze under the shade of a tree. I can also see these poles sticking out of the water near the shore and I know they are used by the stilt fishermen. They use these to fish when the tide is right.
You are suppose to pay them when you take a photo but there was none around but in saying that no less than 100m around the corner there was a whole area devoted to them and foreigners pull up and the fishermen go out and pretend to fish so you can take a photo and pay them. As we rode past them a coach load of foreigners got out to see them!
We keep riding along and get to clearly what could only be termed the mecca of surfing along here and I think it was Ahangama (they don't label the towns like have a welcome to .... type signs!) and there were just scantily clad young women and men carrying their surf boards or walking or mopeding etc. I stopped to take a photo as they were actually surfing rather than waiting
As you can see from the photo above the local certainly do cater for this very young crowd and offer boutique type cafes, juice huts, surfing paraphernalia etc and it certainly is popular.
We continue on and I have to mention there is becoming a problem of people in tuk tuks and moped entering the road not looking before joining the road. This is fine when they are not doing it to us but today I got fed up and had a go a guy in a tuk tuk. Normally you can guess when it is about to be done to you and you can either slow down or commit to continue on but sometimes you watch them and they are just not moving and then as you are level with them they decide to pull out. This one I gave plenty of room for a pull out without looking and then he just got closer and closer and next minute I am level with him and scream “hey” at him and the look of horror on his face that it came from a foreigner and a woman at that! Well he should damn well look before entering the traffic!
Unlike in Bendigo where you curse and stew on it all day – here you say it and move on and it is forgotten within 5 minutes!
Just before Weligama we find the perfect pull over point to have a break, it is under a tree and we can sit on a small wall and look out over the bay.
We stayed there for a while as it was cool and we were still too early for our accomodation. The last photo of a small island – apparently according to my 20 year old Lonely Planets Sri Lanka guide book (I use it so I know what to expect in the villages mentioned rather than the price of things!) this island can be walked across at low tide. You can stay on it at the budget price of US$1000 – remember that is 20 years ago! Its name is Taprobane and was a writers retreat for Paul Bowles in1950 he wrote The Spider's House as well as formerly owned by a French Count de Maunay-Talvande.
Also note how thin that outrigger is!
The traffic momentarily clears for us just before Weligama as you can see the highrise in the distance in this photo
We get there and it is positively teaming with people, a mixture this time buy alot of foreigners but all still young or in their 30’s. I see a break in the hoards of surfing outlets that are offering lessons or hire and manage to get to the beach, I just walk down still with my helmet on and take a photo and video and skidaddle as I am drawing attention to myself with my funny helmet visor! And the fact that I can confidently say I am the oldest one on the beach and the only one modestly dressed!!!
It is around 15km to our accommodation from Weligama and we know the small street we have to turn down to get to the beach road as it is opposite a supermarket so we duck in there to get some water, papaya, bananas, 1 litre tub of strawberry ice cream as it is on sale and we find some powdered cordial (liquid cordial comes in glass bottles which are too heavy to carry) just like Raro or Refresh (for you Kiwi people). We sit under the tree with out ice cream and polish of the 1 litre before heading down to find the accomodation
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It was easy to find along the narrow beach road
We are early at 11.30 and someone is still in the room with all their gear – check out is 11.30. The people haven't returned yet to check out and it is 4 pm now and their bags are still outside out room as the guy packed them up and put them there and proceeded to clean our room so we could check in. So we waited up on the top floor balcony that overlooks Polena beach and the water (Indian Ocean) looks nice to swim in and we can see plenty of locals in there too all enjoying themselves as it is a stinking hot day. We sit there watching and drinking our strawberry tea as there is a kitchen on the top level to make tea and coffee and cook if you want.
As you can see from the last photo rubbish can be a problem. Since leaving Galle we noticed a lot more roadside rubbish that were quite big piles of it and clearly been there for a long time! Maybe they don't have garbage collections along here.
Our room is ready within the hour and it is small but nice. The bathroom is quite modern and we have a small balcony that will get the afternoon sun so we can dry our clothes over the railing and they will dry quickly.
We dump our bags and decide to go for a swim in the ocean. We are not sure were to swim as we can see that the locals are in one area and the foreigners are in another area but not in the water instead they are laying on their beach lounges under some trees in the shade. So we being us we jump in with the locals and there is all sorts there – kids, mothers, fathers, grandparents, teens – everyone and we are getting stared at as per usual until 1 young man braves it and comes over to talk to us. He asks where we are from and naturally we say Australia and instantly the conversation goes into cricket – they are cricket mad here and now everyone that has been on the Australian, Indian and Sri Lankan teams over the last 20 years (no mention of NZ cricket team). He tells us his favourite players etc and he is a lovely person and tells us where he is from and lives and why he is at Matara (Grandfathers funeral and he is there with his family and extended family and they are all watching him chat to us). He finishes and says something really strange – he thanks us for talking to him as no foreigners talk to the locals! We said no worries it was nice to chat to a Sri Lankan (his English was very good). Once gone we both look at each other and think why bother coming to a place like Sri Lanka and not bother to attempt to talk to the locals, yeah sure their English is very limited (and you never know some can speak it better than the English!) but they appreciate the effort you put in to try to communicate with them.
Anyway we enjoyed our refreshing swim in the Indian Ocean that was incredibly warm I suppose being this close to the equator the water won't get cold like it does down south in Australia.
Tomorrow is a slightly longer day – over 70km so an early start. Just a note, tonight we are eating out and we are hoping to try Chicken Kottu -which is chopped up roti with chicken curry. The past 4 out of 5 nights we have had fried rice!
Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 351 km (218 miles)
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Funny about the cricket as I think it was when you left for Sri Lanka or shortly thereafter our NZ Women cricket was playing Sri Lanka Women here in NZ 😃
6 days ago