Scorpion Encounters

Deepa jumped back with a fearful look on her face and I had my little laugh like a naughty school boy scaring the girls, with the dead scorpion hidden in a piece of paper. She smiled after seeing it was dead and made me through it in the garbage, I obliged. Then asked her if they are deadly and with a hand gesture she showed me how an arm would swell up, looked pretty painful I thought.

Black Scorpion 

Deepa was not the only one the dead scorpion startled that day, I had leapt myself upon leaving the shower to find the kittens playing tennis with the carcass on my bedroom floor. Presumably, they had found it under my bed, who knows when it had died or how long it had been there, but it could not have been long as the ants had not claimed it as a prize yet.

Forward 3 weeks and a torrential downpour filled the garden with water and soaked everything else around. Gem and Ike my Scottish friends were over for dinner, unlike other nights where we enjoyed dinner below the stars out in the garden, we were huddled in the sanctuary of the covered restaurant listening to the rain pelting relentlessly on the corrugated roof.

My Hot Tip; DialAFlight

"We don't know yet, we have to travel to our airlines head office in Colombo first" 

Galle Fort Lighthouse 

That was the answer I received whenever I enquired about friends progress on extending their return flights, for an extra month's stay in beautiful Sri Lanka. This always brought a sly smile to my face and made me happy that I had again used DialAFlight to book my plane ticket.

Dawn at Coconuts, Midigama, Sri Lanka

Holding the board in both hands I lunge forward, springing off the soft sand, before landing stomach down. The board sails through the cool blue water, using my arms I begin to paddle, gently gliding across the liquid surface.

The sun, slowly rises to the east, evaporating the darkness, painting a picture with it's rays of colour, oranges, yellows, reds, fade into blue. Silhouettes of coconut tress, which give this break it's name, greet me with a wave.

Dawn at Coconuts, Midigama

Alone, yet I am not alone, below fish scourer the reef, turtles surface for air and seagulls dive bomb the unsuspecting marine life, morning has broken.

Paddling, excitement rustles deep inside, I admiringly observe the rolling waves, like mercury, they creep along the seabed, mapping the depths before reaching the shallow reef and curling into the blue sky, breaking with a crash of thunder and a trail of white water.

Thanks to Daya & Deepa of Bay View, Weligama

Hard at work.

In two weeks time this place, Bay View, Weligama, where I have spent the last 2 months of my life will become only a wonderful memory. I have had an amazing time staying here with two people who have become more than just hosts, they have become friends, people who I have joked and laughed with, who have helped me, who have taught me their language and culture, looked out for me and even worried about me when I went missing for a couple of days.

To thank them I have asked some of the past residents who have also become my friends from staying at this beautiful place, to help explain why it has left us all feeling this way about this wonderful place and the people who run it Daya and Deepa. 

Groovy Vs The Leguaan

The lessons in life are sometimes best learned the hard way, a burnt finger, a slight fall, these small acts bring attention back to the task at hand and the memory is stored for future reference. Through-out our lifetime we make experiments to see what works?, what can be harmful? and what can be beneficial down the road?

Without a mother to help guide them through the hiccups of life, the kittens are having to discover on their own and learn the hard way in the game of life through trial and error.

Groovy Approaches

Yesterday I sat and observed one of these lessons as a leguaan (monitor lizard) slowly tacked its way across the garden, dragging his tail over the soft green grass, the sun heating its cold blooded body. Groovy, the male kitten, decided he should investigate the strange creature, a dinosaur type lizard, though only young, it would still leave a nasty bite if provoked and of course they are also a carnivorous reptile.