Tag: Food and Drink

Post 5 Last days in Sri Lanka…chilling!

On By anneandchrisbIn Bird watching and Nature, Food and Drink, History and Architecture, Museums, Sri Lanka, Things to do!, Uncategorized2 Comments

Our last few days in Sri Lanka were spent in 2 contrasting places. We treated ourselves to one night of relaxation at the Turtle Bay Hotel at Kalametiya. Situated on an unspoilt beach, it was very peaceful, topped off by a delicious dinner by candlelight around a twinkling pool! Of course, we can’t sit still for too long, so at dawn we were taken for a punt on a small local boat around the bird reserve. It was stunning. So peaceful. Just us, a multitude of birds, water buffalo and some monkeys!

Then it was off to Galle. A delightful town inside 17th century dutch fortifications. Our hotel, Fort Bliss, was a charming 4 room old colonial house inside the walls. We did the 3km walk around the ramparts with Tissa explaining the Portuguese/Dutch/British history. We were also retracing the steps of Chris’ father, who visited here on his way to his posting on the Cocos Islands in WW2. It is still partly used as a military base, and at 6.30 am a large group of army guys came running past, shouting motivational slogans, Platoon style.

The town is charming, with museums, historic buildings and cafes. We had an excellent meal at Chambers – a Lebanese / Asian fusion of delicious mezze for about £10 pp.

It looked so delicious we ate half of it before we remembered the photo!

4 poster bed Sri Lankan style!

We were intrigued to see Morris minor cars dotted around, in apparently jolly good condition. Turns out the Morris minor repair shop is down the road, making spare parts for them… and sending them to the UK too!

Then to the airport. A sad farewell to Tissa – he has been amazing. We can tell he disapproves of us going to India! He is a Sri Lankan Buddist, so the Indians have always been the Invaders!

We won’t say anything. He is kindly looking after a suitcase for us while we are in India so we can ‘travel light’. We come back to Colombo for a night before Australia… and it turns out that in a complete coincidence, we have booked an air bnb with a good friend of his!

We absolutely loved Sri Lanka, and I really hope we can return.

A few other things we loved… the children in their school uniforms, Post boxes from the British era, and the FOOD!

Breakfast!

Lunch

Dinner

All along the Algarve!

On By anneandchrisbIn Bird watching and Nature, Camping locations, Food and Drink, Parking, portugal, Things to do!, Uncategorized, Walks1 Comment

From the SW corner we have travelled east through the Algarve. We confess to thinking this would be the least enjoyable part of our trip, with images of endless tourism development. Well we were so wrong. The development is concentrated in the cities of Lagos, Albufeira, Porto Maio and Faro, but in-between are beautiful beaches, stunning coastal scenery, and, amazingly, some superb wetlands with great birdwatching.

We played tourist to visit the glorious rock formations at Ponta da Piedade. Wow!

Then a hot but splendid cliff top walk from Praia de Marinha to Benagil, followed by a wonderful night at Lagoa dos salgados. We were parked at the lakeside and our only companions were the myriad of birds including flamingo, glossy ibis and spoonbill. Sunrise across the lake was enjoyed while still in bed… lazy birdwatching indeed! 

Sunday saw us walking to Praia Salgados, then meandering to the riverside town of Santa Luzia for an Octopus based lunch.. their specialist dish.

 Another walk then onto Camping Rio Formosa to get organised ready for the journey home. Good campsite where we met lots of people who had just arrived and would not go home until March! Standing in shorts, in the warm sun, it seemed like a jolly good idea!

Our last day in Portugal was a cracker. We visited the charming town of Tavira before meeting Luiz, the owner of Pernatur, who runs guided birding walks. He took us for a superb walk around the Rio Formosa wetlands near Faro. The highlights were an Osprey with a huge fish, purple swamp hen, and a Little bittern, which posed briefly before slipping back into the reeds. A great end to our stay in Portugal. Then a quick getaway to drive across the border for a lovely visit with Maria-Luisa in Seville…..   and a real bed for the night.