Hikkaduwa (2)

So here we are, back in Hikkaduwa after a four year gap. The prettily thonged beach bunnies have been replaced with middle aged Russkies who put their towels on all the sunbeds before breakfast, leave them until after lunch, try them out for 20 minutes, decide it's too hot, and scuttle back to their rooms. What is it about the monkey human race and its territorial need to possess sunbeds? I should really re-title this post "Missing Mirissa" (has a nice ring to it, don't you think?)

A few things have changed in the intervening years. Gone are the Coral Sand's fortress walls so we can all see the beach now. Unfortunately, they've moved all  their sunbeds up to the strip of grass facing the beach so we're all chummily pressed together in a row. There's a nice walk along the beach to the right that leads to a rocky reef at the tide line that's home to hundreds of fish. Knee high in the water and you are surrounded by all colours. Hire a snorkel and you've got a nice little safe area to play with your own private aquarium. Walk the other direction and you can play with some giant turtles that still venture up to the edge of the water.

We went back to Mama's Restaurant a couple of buildings down from the Coral Sands. Gone are sandbags at the waters' edge and the old cobbled-together iron Anchor Beer tables. They've been replaced by wooden decking and proper tables and chairs. They've also built a new decking area the other side that offers live music on Tuesday nights. *Sigh*. We've shifted our sunset drinking allegiance to the Tigri Bar, a charming little restaurant down the road with tables on a balcony overlooking the tiny remaining strip of beach at high tide with the waves and the sea in the background as the sun disappears. Passthegin would also like to make it known that the friendly woman serving the drinks is the only one thus far to serve the gin 'n tonic correctly: separate bowls for ice and lime slices with generous portions of the local gin (Ascot Gin, Ginge -- apparently, you need to know this).

Breakfast at the hotel is a mediocre, buffet affair but the food at the local family restaurants is cheap and delicious. They're not so hot on the meat dishes, by and large, the pork can be chewy and, of course, decent beef is rare. You've got to be a fish or seafood fan to get the best of it here. Linda's devilled calamari at Sea Shells Restaurant last night was spicy hot and tender (I had the more conventional Sri Lankan chicken curry, itself quite rich). Together with a gin 'n tonic and a beer it came to ten quid. Not hard to see why the fish is so plentiful, though. Look out to the horizon after sunset and you'll see what Linda calls "the necklace": scores of fishing boat lights strung out evenly with mathematical precision. We saw the same in Mirissa as the local harbour is just the other side of the headland in the picture. No Common Agriculture Policy quotas here, methinks.

Well, this our last day here. Negombo tomorrow. The rain they forecast never arrived although it's been a little overcast (just as well since we've both burned a bit). Onward!