Oh we do love to be beside the Seaside – Matara

We have learnt our lesson! We don’t have to put up with dangerous driving at all!After our breakfast and wedding watching at Tissa we got in the car to move to the coast and again, after an initial steady start, our driver turned into a crazy man. As soon as this happened I politely asked if he could slow down as I was a nervous passenger and he did with immediate effect. 😊I felt quite empowered and apart from a few situations such as dogs, chickens and children crossing the minor roads and cows on the central reservation of the dual carriageway I generally enjoyed the rest of our trip along the south coast.

Arriving at Malee Villas and being right back on the beach was so lovely. Although both Rob and I really enjoy the mountains, for me, being by the sea definitely makes me feel most relaxed.

We were placed in the only room on the top floor, the rest of the area was dedicated to an open air yoga studio. Every morning at 7 and evening at 5.30 yoga was offered at under £5 per person. After having a walk around the town, checking out the beach and snorkelling area and spending a little time by the poolWe climbed the four flights of stairs to our room, changed quickly and took part in our first restorative yoga session with a very lovely, young Slovakian yogi who was standing in for Eliza, the regular teacher. Rob and I were delighted to be the only members of the class as we bent and flowed our way slowly through various poses and prolonged stretches. We also did some alternate nostril breathing (it may have had a catchier name but if it did I can’t remember it) which was the most effective tool I have ever experienced for clearing my mind. Our lovely yogi told us it was extremely effective to prepare for meditation and to aid sleep. I am pretty sure I will be using it again as I’m not very good at either of these things.😴

Although we had originally felt slightly aggrieved by our placement, yet again, on the top floor with no lifts, this feeling was soon replaced by delight as from our balcony we could see the sun both rise and set and apart from for one hour in the morning and evening the whole space was our own. On that first evening, in our yoga like trance, we missed most of the sunset but didn’t worry as we knew we would see others.The next day, to Rob’s absolute delight, we had another early morning. As soon as we’d arrived to Malee Villas we had booked with our hotel to go whale watching the following day. We had then, over dinner, done a little research and been horrified by the tales of overcrowding on boats, up to twenty boats, ‘chasing’ whales and getting much too close and stories of how this could disorientate the whales and interrupt their communication. The only positive stories from our google research were of a company called Raja and the Whales who apparently were very aware of this plight, were the only ethical company and also carried out crucial whale research on all of their trips. We finished dinner deciding we would cancel our trip, try to seek out Raja and if we were unable to find him we would reluctantly forego the experience.

Returning to the hotel we realised we needn’t have worried. Our host assured us that Raja was the only company he endorsed because of all of the reasons we’d researched. He reiterated all of our concerns regarding other companies and we went to bed partially reassured that what we were doing was okay.

Rob seemed to be becoming slightly acclimatised to the early mornings. We were both wide awake and ready to leave by 5am and the tuk tuk ride to the boat shook away any lingering sleepiness. We were only the second couple to arrive on the boat and consequently were able to occupy prime whale viewing positions on the top deck on comfortably placed gym mats. We settled down for a short wait for the boat to fill up.We didn’t have to wait long as Raja only allowed forty passengers on his boat. There was a lovely feeling of space and as we headed out to sea we were brought drinks and an amazing plate full of standard and exotic fruits. One of the staff explained that it would take a short while for the boat to reach where the whales were most likely to be, he expressed the need for patience and informed us that we would be served a cooked breakfast at a convenient time in between whale spotting.

As we headed out and the sun rose we were unable to see any other boats apart from the occasional lone fishing boat. It was beautifully peaceful apart from Rob and his new best friend, an ex army man with a loud shirt and a voice to match. I tuned in occasionally to hear snippets of a, ‘seen everything, been everywhere life story’ but mostly just focused on the sound of the birds and the waves. I was very proud, mostly surprised, at how attentive Rob was being, when I questioned him later, despite my impression, Rob said he was really interesting and that he’d enjoyed the prolonged exchange.

Dotted at various points on each deck were staff on lookout, one of them gave a shout to look out at 11o’clock, not the time but the position in relation to the boat, with bow being 12 o’clock and stern being 6, as he’d spotted a whale. The boat turned gently in that direction and we proceeded slowly. It wasn’t until at least fifteen minutes later that I managed to focus on what had been spotted so far back. We were the only boat in the area and a whale was slightly to our left evident only by the plume of air and water intermittently being expelled from its blow hole. As our eyes focused we were able to see the stunning shade of blue depicting the vague outline of the largest mammal on earth and as at first it’s nose to blow hole, followed by blow hole to dorsal fin and finally fin to tail emerged momentarily from the water it was possible to gauge a more accurate understanding of its sheer size.

As we had been watching, oblivious to their approach, several more boats arrived on the scene. As described in our previous evenings research, many of them approached much closer than our boat and we listened to shouts and loud exclamations as the overcrowded vessels gave chase to get their perfect camera shot. As the whale was surrounded, our boat and another boat peeled away from the fracas with our crew explaining that this wasn’t how it was done. Us and our fellow Raja and the whale boat set off to observe other sea life from a comfortable distance without causing undue stress.

On our trip we saw mating turtles, flying fish and two more beautiful whales, fairly briefly before they were again surrounded and hounded. In between sitings we were informatively educated in whale anatomy, statistics and characteristics and encouraged to ask questions if any remained unanswered. It was an amazing morning, I don’t think I’d ever truly appreciated a whales extreme size and majesty until I saw them with my own eyes. I still don’t know if what we did in joining a whale watching trip was okay and know we won’t do it again but we both feel privileged to have had such an experience.

Returning from our whale trip Rob and I decided we would try to extend our two night stay for a couple more nights as we both felt relaxed and happy and sure we could enjoy ourselves here a little longer. A room was available but not our room😩we accepted an inferior and cheaper room deciding to just be grateful for our first two nights in the best room in the house. It really made little difference as so little time was spent there and we could still enjoy the extended fourth floor balcony for yoga and any other time we fancied.We spent the remainder of our time in Matara swimming, snorkelling, trying more yoga, eatingand enjoying more sunrises and sunsets.We also borrowed bikes and cycled around the local area to watch fishermen working individuallyand those working in teams on small vessels hauling their catch straight from their boats to the adjacent fish market where local people and restauranteurs rushed to buy them for their lunch time menu.We also saw timid puppies hiding in a small home behind a garage door and further down the road their exhausted mother basking in the sun enjoying a few minutes peace.

Nearly every local person greeted us with a smile, wave or hello and those with children encouraged them to wave or practice their developing English. As we cycled back towards our resort we were greeted by a family and stood chatting for a while. The family consisted of a baby boy, a little girl, their mother, aunt and great uncle. The uncle was the most talkative with very good understanding and vocabulary. He explained that it was his great nieces 4th birthday that day and that they would love us to attend her birthday party at his house that at 5pm that afternoon. We told them we would try and listened to their simple sounding directions to the uncle’s house before progressing on our way.

Although we had initially decided to do yoga that evening the opportunity to attend a Sri Lankan celebration over ruled and at about 4.30 we headed to the large modern supermarket to buy gifts. Happy with our purchases we cycled to where we were sure we would find the uncle’s house. We thought we’d followed the directions to the letter but having no name apart from that of the four year old Hana or address available we knew it was a fruitless search. Not wanting to deny Hana and her family the gifts, we resolved to return via the house we had seen them at that morning and leave them safely there. We did this a little despondently but were pleased when, through the help of a neighbour, we found the correct house scribbled a message and my email address and left the present safely inside the gate. That evening we were delighted to receive an email with this photo and an invitation to dinner the following night. Unfortunately as we were leaving the following morning we were unable to accept the invitation but assured them we would accept if ever we return.

This was definitely one of our favourite Sri Lankan stays, the position of the villa, the beautiful views, the seas, the pool, the yoga, the local people and the hotelier, his lovely Scottish wife Fiona and their two lovely children all contributed to a wonderful stay. We could have stayed longer but both know that it’s time to come home really soon. There will be other times and other adventures. I know deep down that if I try to prolong this one I run the risk of it losing some of its magic for both of us.

We’re coming home!😊