2. Negombo and the West Coast

 

Farewell to Urban Bliss 

Whilst sad to say goodbye to our lovely accommodation and wonderful hosts in Colombo, we were quite relieved to escape the city and more than a little excited to start the real adventure!

We're hoping for plenty of nice scenery and good quality roads to cycle on as we make our way round Sri Lanka. Our first day on the road certainly gave every positive indication that this will hopefully be the case 😊🤞. We enjoyed a relatively easy day cycling along the coastal road - it was pleasant scenery all the way with lots of glimpses of nice sandy beaches and coconut trees 🤩. We stopped briefly at one lovely spot in particular to take some pictures. There was a pretty little cafe on the beach and it was so picturesque and unbelievably quiet and peaceful. For reasons I can't really explain though, instead of getting off and making the most of this perfect pitstop, once I'd taken a few photos we simply carried on. Needless to say I spent the next half hour on the back of the bike regretting it! I guess with it being our first ride we were keen to get to our destination without any mishap and experience has certainly taught us that you can never be sure what's round the next corner and to always stay ahead of the game a little just incase 🤔. 

The cafe pitstop we should have taken 🤩

The bike is going strong anyway and hopefully we'll be doing likewise after a few more days. Soon enough we arrived in Negombo, passing through the harbour full of fishing boats and then past the tailend of the daily fish market which was still a hive of activity and a fascinating sight. Shortly after, we stopped along the high street for a nice cold drink before heading to our accommodation to check in. We arrived at Olideb Gedara and were greeted by an Australian host, Debbie, and her very friendly and enthusiastic dog, Dingo 🥰. The grounds and pool all looked very inviting but when we saw our room we were a little underwhelmed. It was certainly a bit of a come down from Urban Bliss!

We cycled alongside a canal for a while; past umpteen fishing boats and stalls galore

The harbour in Negombo

The pool and gardens at Olideb Gedara

After a quick shower we headed straight back into town for an early dinner. It was a pleasant walk down some quiet lanes and across an old railway line. On reaching the high street though it was like stepping into another world, much busier with a lot of tourists about. Hardly surprising as Negombo is a popular destination - not least because of it's relatively close proximity to Colombo airport. We liked the feel of it though and I could have easily done some shopping/browsing but I knew that would go down like a lead balloon with Max and anyway, we were both starving so soon dived into a nice indian restaurant that seemed to get very good reviews 😋. 

Heading out for early dinner in Negombo 

After dinner - a classy bar on the beach 😃

The original plan was to stay in Negombo for two nights but we decided to press on the next day, mainly because heavy rain was looking possible in the days ahead as we inched closer to the mountains - rain storms would present an added challenge we weren't at all keen to take on at this stage. It was an easy decision to make, particularly as we weren't loving the accommodation. That said our host was very reasonable and accomodating when we explained we were moving on. She didn't charge us for the second night, which she was perfectly within her rights to do, and we were very grateful. Not only that she came to my rescue with a needle and thread when I noticed a tear in both my shorts and one cycle glove after only one proper day's cycling 🫣. 

We had another easy day cycling along the coast and only 23 miles. It was mainly cloudy with a nice breeze so very pleasant. There was still plenty of fishing action - we passed through a number of small villages where the road was lined with fish stalls. At times it became quite tricky for Max to navigate as tuk tuks and pedestrians kept stopping in front of him to eye up the best catch of the day 🐠.

About a mile from our destination we reached a bridge over a very large lake that we needed to cross to get to our hotel. Unfortunately it had been struck by the recent cyclone and the far side of the bridge had completely collapsed 🫣.

Without the bridge we faced a 25km detour around the lake - which rather proved my point about never quite knowing what's round the next corner! Just as I was bracing myself for the extra miles Max spotted some lakeside action which, on closer inspection, (and to our huge relief), turned out to be a makeshift (presumably temporary?) ferry in operation. We could see motorcyclists queuing up to get on which seemed to indicate they'd take the tandem - and sure enough they did - all for less than a quid 🥳🥳.

We were instantly wowed by our accommodation for the night. Run by a lovely Swedish couple (Elisabeth and Max) it was so stylish and chic - we almost couldn't believe our luck when shown to our huge deluxe room! We were so well looked after during our all too brief (less than 24 hour) stay and we tried to make the absolute most of it. 

We'd missed lunch but the chef russelled up a simple but delicious fried rice with vegetables. Then we joined a yoga class in their studio overlooking the beach with a dutch couple (also staying at Spice of Ceylon) and our host, Max. That then left us just enough time for a quick relax, shower and change before dinner which, needless to say, was also delicious. We enjoyed prawn curry sri lankan style with rice and a few other side dishes. We literally wolfed down the lot in a flash - and I've since seen from several reviews on booking.com that seems to be what most people do 😂. 

It was such a fabulous experience and we just wished we could have stayed for at least one more night. In fact we're already trying to figure out how we can tweak our plans to make another stop there on our way back to Colombo in March. For now though our main focus was on our next move as we're heading inland to face those fast approaching mountains 🫣. 

The outskirts of Negombo 

Typical roadside markets with lots of fish stalls 

I asked if it was okay to take this picture and she was thrilled 🤩

More fishing activity 

The lake we needed to cross

The bridge damaged by the cyclone

The makeshift ferry (just two pedalos tied together and an outboard motor 😂)

Max on board; compulsory life jackets being the only mitigation against a very likely sinking 😂

Work is well underway to repair the bridge but it's a big task! 

Our fabulous room at Spice of Ceylon 

Wolfing down the delicious dinner 😋