Tuesday, October 6, 2015

October 5 Matara
Buddha
We had engaged a Tuk-Tuk for the whole day. We did some shopping in the morning and then visited our first temple. The temple had the history of Buddha's 550 previous lives in paintings on the walls of several tunnels. Our guide was smart enough to condense his narrative down to 3 lives, the last one being the one we know. The temple is famous for it's 34 meter high Buddha.
Matara beach and temple
The area we are in is a hot surfing spot during November to March. In October it is empty because the waves are too choppy. After lunch we walked the beach in Matara and then took a small bridge to an island temple. The waves were fierce and the sound of the surf is like airplanes going over all day long. I took a lot of wave pictures. We wanted to watch the sunset from the most southerly point in Sri Lanka so we got there at five and climbed the 220 steps of the lighthouse to the top. We could walk all around the lighthouse on the outside. The sun set at 5:58 but the clouds were too thick for good pictures. The climb down was an experience. The lighthouse wasn't closed but there were no lights on the stairs. I just happened to have 2 flashlights in my photo kit.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Losing a wallet, forgetting a rucksack and falling asleep when you should be taking pictures. I get the impression you didn't do enough training for this trip. Hope you get over the jet lag asap.
Jean & Tim.

nancy b said...


You both got off to a lucky start. If anyone watches the realty show "Amazing Race", this is what I thought of when you told the experience with your wallet, money exchange and having to return to airport to get your camera packsack. Someone was watching out for you for sure :):) I love the photo of Matara beach waves; one can almost feel the warmth of the ocean winds.. I decided to google Sir Lanka tourist map and I guess you are at the most southern part. Take care, enjoy yourselves and always travel safe.

Anonymous said...

Wow the beach photo is great.