Breakfast is included at our hotel, and it gives us a great start for checking out the iconic fort that became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

Being a spice gal, I always have a keen interest in the spice trade and Galle is part of the route and an important port.

In the old fort, make sure you hunt down Flag Rock. This was the perfect location for the Portuguese bastion as it is surrounded on 3 sides with water. This would be the perfect place to watch sunsets or during the day, catch people jumping off the cliff. To find this place, use the 18-meter lighthouse as your directional marker.

Galle was heavily damaged in 2004 by a tsunami but thanks to being a UNESCO site, they have restored the old fort.

Walking cobblestone streets at times felt as if I was in a time capsule. You can see the Dutch influence from the 16th century. Many of the old buildings now house upscale bars and restaurants. A perfect example is the Dutch Hospital. Sri Lanka’s share their love of the arts here.

I had only plans to spend an hour here but was enticed to pop into multiple shops to see the local artists at work.

My first purchase of this trip was a metal elephant. I could not resist. This art piece is much like this country, simple yet resourceful. Plus, I love supporting local artists.

This metal piece will make the journey home, can pack flat and take little room. Score!

We wonder thru the fort and soon find ourselves headed towards a park, we could hear a flute. We soon find ourselves staring at a man playing music to wicker baskets. He lifts the lids and fans it to taunt 2 cobras to rise and flare their neck. How amazing. FROM A DISTANCE!

He invites us with a wave to come closer, but we are perfectly fine where we are.

Galle – Checked off bucket list.

Now to get back to the job at task. FIND my #1 bucket list item.

We leave Galle and head toward Midigama.

Stilt Fishermen of Sri Lanka

With tourism growing many locals have now realize that posing as a fisherman is more lucrative than fishing. My quest was to find the REAL thing, I hope this is not a big challenge.

I took a turn off the express highway and I soon find that my huge vehicle was wider than the road. Confidence behind the wheel, GONE in minutes. There is a better route but then I would not have the adventures I love.

Remember, I am drive on the opposite side of car and road. This takes a bit to get use to and I have challenges figuring out where my left side is.

I have large mirrors by windows but also small ones at the front sides of my motor hood. I used these all the time to watch my tires as I slowly traveled rice paddy roads to the coast.

Am I on the road still? (look) Am I still on the road? (look) Oh the stress! I travelled down a very small rice paddy road. It is very interesting to stop and watch them work in the mud.

There were times when I would have turned around but that as well, was not possible. The narrow path I travel is a two-way road. YUP, you know what that means? If I meet another vehicle, someone is going to have to back up. Let the larger vehicle prevail.

My guess is we travelled about 35 minutes but honestly it felt like hours. While travelling though the small towns, I swear my mirrors grazed shoulders of the people walking. Infrastructure is NOT built for this beast I am driving!

I finally was close to my destination. As I pulled up, I saw nothing but stick crucifixes sunk out in the clear water. There must have been about 8 or 9 of them but not a soul in sight. All this way, CRAP! Oh, well.

I parked off in the sand and grabbed my camera.

As I headed towards the water, out of nowhere, a fellow dashed onto the scene. He splashed his way in the water, scampered up a pole, and he perched his behind in the wood triangle positioned with twine. He dropped his rod and line into the water. Tourism has truly hit.

I snapped pictures like crazy. sorry I was in love with this image.

The lighting is hard to adjust, and the man is pitch black. I did my best; the memories are much clearer. Once I am ok with photos, I wave my 10 rupees (.85$) in the air and he dismount as fast as he had gone up. We make our cash exchange, and both leave with a smile on our faces. (I believe at the time I travelled, the average monthly wage for workers was about $240.

Stilt Fishermen – checked off bucket list

I head back to the SUV. Yes, I needed to travel back to the express road and that means that wicked small road again. Funny how it took so long to get to fishermen, and the road back was a fraction of the time.

notice the snake wrapped around Buddha in the lillies

We were now on our way to Yala, and the National Park.

A safari is awaiting us in the morning. The drive was expected to take 3 hours and is 165 km away. Let’s see what happens.

The expressway ends shortly after I get on it, and the road that now lays in front of me narrows.

As we enter each town, a police stand is found. I soon discover that my driving is an oddity in the area and what that means is as I travel trough towns, I get a stern whistle and am pulled over. It was a bit unnerving, but they are very friendly, and I think more curious than anything. I have 3 strikes against me. BIG SWV, white driver and a woman. Oh, what fun this turned out to be. I am pulled over 3 times in my 2nd day. That make the trip longer for sure!

Once I left the more populated areas, it is smooth sailing. OK, maybe driving here would not so bad after all.

Oh, the sights you see.

We arrived at Laya Safari Resort. It is a bit remote (east of Kirinda), but very close to the park gates.

you would never know the resorts is down here, would you?

Our 5:30 AM safari driver would be picking us up from our hotel. Again, great service.

Our resort is like a ghost hotel. I love travelling shoulder seasons. I think there was only 1 other group, you can imagine the service. AMAZING!

I had booked a deluxe room with balcony and sea view. It was more like a large condo. There is a bed for each of us, and the sofa in living area makes into very comfortable futons with view to the sea. A basket of fresh fruit tempts us on arrival.

For a developing country, someone has vision. The resort is fantastic.

Once settled, we decide to go for a walk on the beach. The staff was excited to tag along and shared their stories. Even with broken English, we can understand.

The water is wild and swimming, not advisable. Good to know as we could be towed out very quickly. I guess this is how come they have an infinity pool that is large and beckoning.

As the hotel is so empty, I wondered how they would keep food fresh, so we decide to head to Jetwing Yala, which is a minute drive away. (you can see if from the beach we were walking on earlier)

The food is excellent. The chefs here are brilliant.They use spices that make every bite perfect. So yummy. Fresh fish and seafood is the dish!

What a great day we had and I know we have many more to come.

I left the windows open, so we can hear the crashing waves lull us to sleep. This is the beginning of the raining season, so I hoped we will have a day of sunshine. Fingers crossed.

What did I learn today?

The rules on the road; honk always, pass when you like, AND, the largest vehicle gets the right-of-way. I am learning the ropes quickly.

And let's not forget to factor in police stops into the travel time from point A to B.

Tomorrow the big safari adventure. 5 AM will come very fast. I can hardly wait!

Galle - check out this video

Stilt fishermen - check out this video

Laya safari resort - check out this video