The South Coast of Sri Lanka is famed for its stunning coastline and relaxed vibe.  During our trip we visited Unawatuna, Mirissa, Weligama, Dikwella and Hiriketiya. 

Unawatuna

We visited this beach from Galle on 30 Dec  with Uncle Anil, Aunty Roshan, Aunty Shanela, Uncle Shanik, Aarya and Rhadik. We had fun  on the beach swimming in the warm shallow sea. Radhik had broken his arm a few days before and had to be careful not to get his sling wet. Aunty Shanela knew a nice restuarant and bar on the beach that she'd been to before where we had drinks and some snacks. 

Mirissa 

We spent one night in Mirissa on the night of 1 Jan. Unfortunately not in the Airbnb we had initially booked as when we turned up there it was full of damp and possibly bed bugs............the caretaker said they could "srape scrape and then paint paint"  but mummy was not too happy about staying. The straw that broke the camel's back for mummy was when the caretaker said that the mattress was clean - he'd changed the mattress protector only seven years ago.  Daddy had wanted to call Ajeet go back to the Galle Fort Hotel  (Ajeet was heading back there for a night).  Mummy thought it would be a bit embarrassing to go back there and it was also in the opposite direction to where we were ultimately heading. 

Luckily, but not for our wallets there was a very nice hotel, the Sri Sharavi, a hundred metres up the road. We arrived there at 11.30 at night and had cheese toasties for dinner as that was all they could make at that time.

We had hoppers for breakfast and a swim in the salt water pool. During the course of the morning Mummy found us a new AirBnB in Welliagama. We couldn't get an Uber as we were  outside Colombo so the hotel organised a fancy (but to Daddy's dismay) expensive car to take us there.

The new place was really nice. It was modern and really close to the beach. The caretaker Danushka was also a Tuk Tuk driver which was very handy for getting about.

Welligama

We found a lovely place to have breakfast / brunch  in Welligama called the  Nomad Cafe..........

In the afternoon of the 3 Jan we had a surf lesson at Lucky's where Aarya and Radhik had learned to surf.  We were pretty good at it. Daddy less so......

More surf lessons on the 4 Jan and dinner in Mirissa.

On the 5th Jan we left Weligama for Dikwella. On the way there we visited Suzanna who had looked after Mummy when she lived in Sri Lanka as a child. Suzanna lives with her brother and his family. They made us a huge lunch with many dishes which was very kind of them. They get up really early in the morning to cook - 3 or 4 am.  It get's too hot to cook later in the morning.  After lunch Suzanna's family took us to their paddy field where they grow rice. During the economic crisis it was very helpful to have access to the rice when other food stuff was not available.

Dikwella

We arrived at Hotel Smerelda later on the  evening of the 5th Jan. As Orien had his mock Classical Civilisation GCSE exam to prepare for we decided to stay there for 10 nights.  After we had unpacked we went to the pool and then had dinner on the beach.

On the 6th Jan we explored Dikwella,  We went for a walk along the beach in the morning. We went for a swim in the sea unfortunately Daddy lost his glasses and had to go to the optician to order a new pair.

Later in the morning we went to Hiriketya and had lunch at Malu  Poke. You can guess by the name what we had. We then came back to the hotel to do some homeschooling. Before heading back to Hiriketya to have dinner at the Garlic Cafe. 

Jan 7th - we went to the market in Dikwella and then to Hiriketiya - to a laundry. Just near the laundry  we walked past a  tiny roti restaurant. Someone who was leaving said you must try the banana rotis - so we did! They were delicious. We tried to have dinner at Smoke and Bitters which is famous restuarant but they were full. 

8 Jan - we went to Mana in Hiriketya for breackfast. There was nothing very exciting on the menu but it was a very cool and hip kind of place. So we had a croissant and then headed to the Garlic Cafe for a hopper breakfast! On the way back to the hotel bought some Sri Lankan candy floss which Mummy loved eating when she was a child. At the hotel we started learning about Sri Lankan bird life in anticipation of our trip to Kalametiya bird sanctuary the next day.

9 Jan - Kalametiya - we made an early start for the Kalametiya bird sancrtuay - see the wildlife tab for more pictures. On the way back we visited the Hummanaya Blow Hole where the tidal pressure of the ocean builds up and shoots water into the air.  

Our driver for the day was very nice.  We were particularly excited that he had an iphone 14 Pro Max...... he also had a mac book pro. Both of which his father, who worked in Italy had bought him.

The driver dropped us off in Hiriketiya. We went to the roti shop for dinner, an added bonus was that the owner showed us how to make banana roti.

10 Jan - Udawalawa - see wildlife tab for lots of Elephant pictures

11 Jan - we went to a small place in Hiriketiya for breakfast and Smoke and Bitters for dinner (good food but very small portions).

12 Jan - Orien did quite a lot of homeschooling work and spent some time on the beach

13 Jan  - Breakfast at the hotel. Orien's exam and fun on the beach.