Under the Sri Lankan Sun

 

Our home until mid-February is Hiriketiya Beach in southern Sri Lanka. Here we eat fresh fruit, watch monkeys play, read books, walk barefoot, take wild tuk tuk taxis, spend rupees, work on our Sinhala, and swim like our lives depend on it. The weather is consistently hot and sunny and the blue waters of our home beach hover at 28 degrees Celsius.

Every day is full of surprises, but the flora and fauna might be our favourite. As you'll see from Rosalie's garden tour, we've been learning all kinds of new plant names. Yes, there's lots of insects, but there's also peacocks and cows on the street. It's a jungle everywhere we look.

But it's the people who make the place. Sri Lankans are warm, generous, funny and they love kids. We've met some wonderful folks so far and we are so thankful for the hospitality we've felt. It's a laid back culture built on family and devotion to Buddha. After a few weeks, it's starting feel like home.

By all accounts, it's frigid in our actual home of Cow Bay, Nova Scotia. The girls are missing the snow a bit but they've embraced the Endless Summer vibes down here. We're sure they'll never forget that one winter they skipped.

Enjoy the snapshots! Hugs from the Shaws

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1. Home Sweet Home

"This is our place in the jungle. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a basic kitchen (and A/C, phew). Our favourite spot to spend time is at the outdoor table with the birds chirping and the incense burning. Lots of reading, card games, writing and breakfast chats." - Ryan

2. Garden Tour

"We have lots of flowers in our yard and they're all so interesting." - Rosalie

3. To the Left

"It's hard to show you just how close we are to the beach, but we've timed it and takes about 3 minutes. Then the path opens up and if you turn left (like we did above), it's onwards to Peter's Place and many great spectator locations for when Dad goes surfing." - Genny 

4. Always Be Swimming

"Basically all we do is swim. We swim in the morning, we swim in the afternoon, and sometimes at sunset. The water is warm and clear blue." - Rosalie

 

5. Hiriketiya Bay Sunset

"Our bay is a sheltered notch in the coastline, so the sun arcs across it in a lovely way. It's flat in this picture, but the wave is a left that can hold pretty big swell. I've enjoyed staying out until I see the huge fruit bats flying over." - Ryan

6. Typing it Up

"Typing up a manuscript is slow going. I try to hack the keys for two 45 minute sessions a day. My goal is to have the typed draft done before we hit the hill country. Now I know what all those 'digital nomads' are talking about." - Ryan

7. Elin Bar, Our Local

"We walk through Elin Bar to get to the beach. It's a very nice place to sit and watch the sunset while having a cold Coca Cola. They play Bob Marley all the time." - Hazel

8. Math Club AKA Crib

"We're really stretching the boundaries of what constitutes home schooling. If learning cribbage isn't a form of math enrichment, I don't know what is. Hazel's an old pro, but we're so proud that Rosalie is catching on quick." - Ryan

9. Outdoor Classroom

"This is me working on my cursive at the beach. We do our school work in all kinds of interesting places. It's fun!" - Rosalie

 

10. We Love Rice Hoppers!

"This kind woman made delicious rice hoppers for us. To make a rice hopper, you fry batter into a bowl shape and eat it - with sugar of course!" - Rosalie

 

11. Monkey Hour

"There are so many monkeys here. Every day, they come to eat flowers from our garden. They love playing on our roof." - Hazel

 

12. Tuk Tuk

"Our main source of transportation here is by Tuk Tuk. Sometimes we need to squeeze into them (like above) with Rosalie sitting on us, but mostly we file in and fit like a perfect pack of sardines! There is always something to experience while in a Tuk Tuk… cows meandering across our path, road side vendors and fruit stands, and of course the high speed buses and other vehicles zipping by with a few honks and no indication of braking." - Genny 

13. Dickwella Market

"Dickwella is our closest town and they have a great Saturday market. So far, we've bought papaya, mango, passion fruit, bananas and jack fruit. All local, all super affordable. We are turning into fruit bats ourselves." - Ryan

 

14. Blue Beach

"One of the most spectacular things about Sri Lanka is that there are so many unique sites to explore. This double beach is about 20 mins from where we are staying." - Genny 

 

15. Sri Lankan Street Dogs

"Dogs are everywhere in Sri Lanka. Most of them don't have owners. This one is resting. I think they're all so cute!" - Rosalie

 

16. Great Food

"There are so many cool new foods to try here. We go to new restaurants all the time. These banana pancakes are so yummy." - Hazel

 17. Galle

"This is the Dutch colonial era Galle Fort, a walled city from the 17th century. The architecture here is different from the rest of Sri Lanka. We spent the morning wandering the narrow streets and checking out the views." - Ryan

18. Biggest Buddha

"This is Sri Lanka's largest Buddha at 50m! We ventured out to visit 3 cultural sites in 1 day and this was our first stop." - Genny 

 

19. Image Houses

"In case you didn't know, in Sri Lanka, most temple sites have (1) Image Houses - these look like temples/shrines from the outside and have huge murals and statues and scenes like the one above inside;  (2) Dagobas - a white domed structure that houses relics and/or offerings; and (3) a Bo Tree Enclosure - unique to Sri Lanka, where a tree is surrounded by murals, a railing and prayer flags." - Genny 

20. Mulkirigala Temple Monastery

"This stunning place dates back to the 3rd century BC, when Buddhism was taking root in Sri Lanka. It was restored in the 18th century AD and now it's open to visitors, who must climb steep stairs to access the temples carved into the cliffs. There used to be an actual king cobra in this room to guard the Buddha statues. The ceiling, which looks like a tapestry, is a painted fresco directly on rock. We had a great day exploring this spot." - Ryan

21. Surf's Up

"Our beach is a great place to try surfing. Mom, Rosalie and I all got up on our first wave. It was so fun." - Hazel

22. Ground Swell

"It's here. The swell is happening and Ryan's been on it. The girls and I sometimes go watch; other times we go swim and play in the waves. On this occasion, we sat on the sea wall, popped a Coca Cola and snapped away as Ryan caught some nice waves. We were also seeing if he'd have a run in with the urchins again… but that's another story!" - Genny