2-21-14
We boarded our beloved bus
early in the morning.
DARLENE
said a prayer for all of us
(Bless her heart!)
(Bless her heart!)
and we all placed donations along this wall.
Our dear YVONNE was yet again
ready to party!
(That girl just never wears out!)
She certainly didn't have to twist anyone's arm!
Our first stop of the day was
GALLE.
We got off the bus at
GALLE PORT
just in time to see the fish market in full swing.
You name it, it was there!
Big fish, little fish, stinky fish, crabs...
We all agreed it was a gorgeous morning
to be beach side!
Next stop was the
SIPNARA CRAFT TRAINING CENTER.
We enjoyed looking at all the products that were displayed.
This little lady was of particular interest,
because she showed us how to make doilies.
(I think that's what you call them.)
Anyway, it was amazing to watch how fast
and how accurate she was at it!
(None of us had ever seen anything like it!)
GALLE was a great area to walk around.
The big old BANYAN TREES were everywhere,
and there were charming buildings
all along the streets.
We even passed a mosque,
which made us feel right at home!
which made us feel right at home!
We walked down by the water,
and saw school children gathering.
(And licking Popsicles!)
AMY became one with the children
(Can you pick her out?)
(Can you pick her out?)
and stood waiting for a local guy to jump
off a steep cliff into the
off a steep cliff into the
INDIAN OCEAN.
(Not the best picture, but can you see him jump?)
He survived, and made some RUPEES along the way!
I became one with a nearby MONK!
(He was the friendliest monk I'd ever met!)
YVONNE became one with him as well!
We all loved it there in beautiful
GALLE!
It didn't take long for us to spot a place to
SHOP TIL WE DROPPED!
(Goodness knows, we hadn't done that in a while!)
SHERRY, YVONNE and WENDY
drove a hard bargain on each of their purchases!
Our next stop was at a wood carving place.
We got to watch the guys
chip away at pieces of various woods.
Fascinating!
And then we got to go into the store to, once again,
SHOP TIL WE DROPPED!
We were STARVING by this time
and we all had
one thing on our minds for lunch....FISH!
Except for AMY, of course!
(She thought a McDonald's or a Pizza Hut sounded good!)
Luckily, we found a place that suited
each and every one of us!
WENDY was served the world's tiniest glass of wine.
But she enjoyed every last drop of it!
After our spectacular lunch
(KATHLEEN and I had fresh octopus....OMG!)
it was time to go to the
SEA TURTLE HATCHERY
& RESCUE CENTER!
(I could barely contain myself, I was so excited!)
It was an amazing place
that had a very sad story indeed.
The operator of the center lost his entire family in the
TSUNAMI.
All the turtles at the center
were lost as well.
He has spent the years since the tragedy trying to rebuild.
(Please help him and the turtles, if you can.)
We learned that three different kinds of turtles
live in the area.
The center is a hatchery and uses the baby turtles
for educational purposes before
they are released.
We all had a blast picking up the turtles!
I.LOVED.EVERY.SINGLE.SECOND.AND.
DID.NOT.WANT.TO.LEAVE!!!)
SHERRY loved the babies...
and, of course, so did I!
(I wanted to smuggle one back to Dubai!)
CAROLINE wanted a turn...
but I just didn't want to give this guy up!
Next up:
RIVER CRUISE AT MADU RIVER BALAPITIYA!
We didn't know what we were in for,
but we were ready!
We jumped into our boats,
and saw this boat approaching.
OMG, he had a monkey!
And suddenly, we all had that monkey!
DARLENE loved the little guy!
YOSHITA loved the little guy!
And YVONNE loved the little guy as well!
We jumped out of our boats
(in pouring rain)
(in pouring rain)
and gathered inside a hut and watched this guy
make (and sell) cinnamon sticks.
(Man, did that place ever smell good!)
Next came the stop that we had all been waiting for!
Yes, it was high time for a
FISH PEDICURE!
Each one of us laughed
our way through it!
our way through it!
YVONNE
kind of shrieked through it!
SHERRY
was the first to get to hold the
baby crocodile!
(It is a crocodile, correct?)
Back on the bus,
it was time to chill and enjoy a cocktail!
We noticed that our Ipads matched our outfits for the day!
The sunset that evening was breathtaking.
We watched a dog as he watched the waves,
totally mesmerized!
CAROLINE
came up with the idea --
"LET'S CLIMB THIS ROCK!"
And so YVONNE, YOSHITA and CAROLINE did!
The dog joined in the fun, while SHERRY looked on!
When we got close to our hotel,
YOSHITA
had another surprise for us!
Her Aunt and family lived right down the street!
So we got to meet them!
WOW, that was the icing on the cake
after our amazing day!
It wasn't long before we all wearily said,
GOOD NIGHT, SRI LANKA!
