Trincomalli

Marte and Ely VSO from Netherlands
Cows working on their tan
The lovely Kamal, VSO psychologist from London

Oh, we discovered paradise. Trincomalli is a coastal town on the north eastern coast of Sri Lanka. Two VSO volunteers, Marte and Ely, from the Netherlands have been posted there and they invited us up for a visit. I am reluctant to admit this flaw in our characters, but Bill and I simultaneously displayed bright green envy for their placement. White sand beaches, hot lovely sun, a three bedroom house with large kitchen, dining areas and lovely patios with a garden area; they had a stray cat to feed and monkeys to greet them in the morning.  Marte and Ely played hosts extraordinaire!

Trinco is the favoured spot for tired, lonely and for Bill and I, cold, VSO volunteers. It is a long trip (about 7 hours for us from Nuwara Eliya), but an easy drive, as once we got to Kandy, the hills flattened out and the drive became flat, and the landscape drier, more like grassland. We left behind the rows and rows of lush vegetable fields entering a land of wheat coloured rice paddies, the elephant corridor and the ancient cultural triangle of Sri Lanka.

However, as Trinco was meant to be a much needed get-a-way (we seem to need many such get-a- ways), we didn't tour Trinco much. Actually, to be perfectly honest, we didn't tour Trinco at all. Perched on the white sand beach, a little palapa conveniently sat outside a beach restaurant, and this palyapa served as the focal point of our weekend. We pretty much vegged. Another VSO volunteer from the UK, Kamal, vegged alongside of us. Marte and Ely met us each day at the beach after work, as poor Marte had to work that weekend.

Cows sauntered on the beach. We swam in the glorious warm surf, sipped cold white wine and diet coke and indulged ourselves with garlic butter seafood. We drank strong coffee and watched the sun sizzle into the vast ocean at sunset and scuba dived amidst rock formations below an ancient Hindu shrine.

We had a hard time controlling our envy on the journey home as the crowded bus climbed into the cold mist of Hill Country. Penance on earth comes to mind.




 

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