We always try and get away for a week at the end of January in order to recover from our hectic time in the shop. I suffer from Raynaud’s syndrome which means that my hands (in particular my fingers) turn white, then grey and go numb, more often than not it is accompanied by chilblains appearing. In my case it’s caused by having a very low resting heart beat and low blood pressure. This means that we head to find some winter heat so that my hands can return to normal (or at least what’s normal for me!).
This year we headed to Sri Lanka, which means “resplendent island”, and it certainly is! We decided to concentrate on the southern half of the island, as we weren’t going to be able to cover the whole country. One day we’d love to be able to go back and explore the north. We spent a few days in Gal Oya which is a National Park on the eastern side of the island. The bird wildlife was stunning and we thoroughly enjoyed walking around the area being accompanied by peacocks!
It was then on to Yala which is famous for its wild leopards. We were fortunate enough to see a couple, alongside water buffalo, elephants, crocodiles and of course, more peacocks! During one drive we were asked if we wanted to detour to buy some some Sri Lankan cheese which (obviously) I was totally intrigued by. However when I asked our guide what it was like he informed me that it was similar to Laughing Cow, so we decided to stay on track! It got me wondering about cheese in Sri Lanka and I discovered that there are several cheesemakers using their local milk to produce European style cheeses. There doesn’t seem to be a particular uniquely Sri Lankan option and we didn’t come across any Paneer, the classic Indian cheese used in cooking. Instead the locals we met tended to make curd using buffalo milk to add to their dishes. We had this daily as part of our breakfast and it had the consistency of yoghurt with a hint of lemon.
The final leg of our trip took us past an ancient Buddhist temple called Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara. Climbing up the 600 plus steps to the temple was well worth it as the views from the top were magnificent. To be fair, the temple itself was also stunning! Built partially into the rock face, the walls inside were covered in murals, all depicting the life of Buddha as well as other temples around Sri Lanka.
Our last couple of days were spent on a tea plantation near Galle on the south coast. We are both big tea drinkers but have never learned how tea is grown, plucked (the method of picking the leaves) and dried. But we now know that is harvested all year round as only the top 3 leaves are taken from each plant. These are then withered on racks for nearly 24 hours during which time they lose moisture before being ready to be rolled. This process allows the leaf to aerate before it is dried, ready for packing. It was fascinating seeing it all in action. The plantation specialised in a Virgin White Tea which cannot be touched by human hand during any stage of the harvesting. It is meant to be fantastically good for you, but having tried it, I think I’ll be sticking to my good old cup of builder’s brew!
So that was our trip – a whirlwind tour of an amazing place. The people we met along the way were all super friendly and it was wonderful to see a bit of their way of life. I really can’t wait to go back at some point. |
