10. Heading back to the East Coast again

 

Bay Vista, Arugam Bay

After all the exciting elephant action we turned our sights back to the coast. We were heading eastwards again to rejoin the coast at Arugam Bay. The Sri Lankan climate is actually quite complicated (I still haven't entirely got my head round it) but we gathered that it was currently out of season there and some reviews/blogs suggested that it would be very quiet with many of the resorts/bars/cafes closed. More specifically though, the really important question was precisely what that would mean for us in terms of the weather we'd experience. Worse case scenario was torrential rain and we were as prepared as we could be for that prospect - at least our new waterproof ponchos would get some use 😂.

For the first few miles cycling out of Monaragala, it was  downhill all the way and beautiful scenery, too 🤩. Overall, though, it was a surprisingly tough ride - probably because it was our third consecutive ride, and we were still reeling from all yesterday's excitement 😅.

There weren't any significant climbs, but it was rolling countryside most of the way, which eventually took its toll on us. We stopped for ice cream and a cold drink, and that revived us both a little. We cycled through the outskirts of another National Park (I had no idea there were so many in Sri Lanka) and saw the now familiar warning signs of possible elephants ahead. No such luck this time, though, and we arrived in Arugam Bay around lunchtime, tired, hot, and hungry! First impressions of the Bay Vista Hotel were good, and in no time at all, having showered and enjoyed a delicious bowl of pasta, we were already beginning to feel human again 😂. The hotel was perfectly located directly on the beach - the view was exactly as described - with a perfect vista of the whole bay. The view from the restaurant looking out onto the beach was fabulous - particularly at night when it was all lit up 🤩. This, and the fact that the food was also very good, meant that it was a no brainer for us to eat there both nights and it certainly didn't disappoint. They even had gluten free pasta for Max and it was absolutely delicious 😋.  

As we were only staying here for two nights we hadn't planned to do much other than rest and relax (and of course do our washing!). We went for a wander around the bay early evening to catch the sunset - which unfortunately wasn't very impressive but the beach itself was still lovely. There were lots of fisherman in action and a few surfers so the usual mix of local and tourist activity that we've seen in many places. The next morning we found a cafe that seemed to get good reviews so went to check it out. Making the fatal mistake of ordering a gluten free cheesecake without a price next to it we were stung for about £12 - I don't think I've paid that much for coffee and cake even in the UK but at least it was tasty! 

It's true to say Arugam Bay was very quiet during our visit and a fair bit of the resort was indeed closed. That said, I suspect in high season it gets very busy with surfers and might not have been our cup of tea! Anyway, we really enjoyed our brief, relaxing stay at the Bay Vista and felt very well looked after by all the lovely staff there.  The weather was also very kind to us so we had no complaints whatsoever and felt ready to tackle the next leg of our journey. We had four consecutive days of riding to tackle and, according to the weather forecast, the very real chance of rain at some point along the way.  Travelling up the east coast out of season we were still struggling to establish what that actually meant - all the locals we asked seemed to say the rainy season had finished, and, to be fair, none of the rain that had been forecast up to this point had actually materialised. 

Anyway, we set off prepared for the worst and hoping for the best. We stopped on the outskirts of Arugam Bay by Elephant Viewpoint (no elephants in sight though) to take some photos and chatted to a local guy who pulled up on his moped. We seemed to attract even more attention than usual - so many pedestrians, bikes, and tuk tuks, all smiling, waving, and shouting as we passed by. Often, the motorcyclists ride alongside us while they fire questions our way 😂. 

The scenery was quite varied again. We cycled through another National Park - there were several elephant signs, etc, but no actual sightings. After that, we were treated to rice fields lined with coconut trees for a while until the road moved closer to the coast. No rain materialised, and it became hotter than we were expecting with blue skies emerging intermittently. Max, in particular, was flagging and pulled up on sight of an ice cream van at the roadside. It was by no means Altobell's gelato standard, but it helped to cool him down and gave us both a little energy boost. 

We'd already decided to head straight for a late lunch on reaching Kalmunai - we'd spotted on google that there was an indian vegetarian restaurant in town that seemed to get good reviews. It certainly didn't disappoint, and we went back again for dinner and breakfast the next day 😉😋). We know a good thing when we see it 😂. 

Having escaped the forecast rain yet again I couldn't help thinking our luck was about to run out and our ride the following day was the moment it finally did 🤨. We set off with a cloudy sky and feeling quite good as it was pleasantly cool. It was only a relatively short ride, about 25 miles, so when it first started to rain, only very lightly, I remember thinking it seemed fine and, if anything, noting how pleasant it was to be cycling in cooler temperatures with the added cooling effect of the light rain. How quickly that changed though and in no time at all it became torrential and we were completely soaked!! It seemed too late to reach for our ponchos so we just battled on but it was pretty grim. It was definitely a day for character building and doing our best not to fall out with each other 🤣🤣. 

We arrived at our accommodation in Batticoala - a very basic room in a local family's house - feeling completely frazzled! A warm shower definitely helped to revive us and luck was back on our side because, the only food option in the area turned out to be another fabulous little Indian vegetarian restaurant - much like the one we'd found in Kalumnai. We trundled down the road in our ponchos but the rain soon eased off and suddenly everything seemed a bit brighter again 😂. The restaurant was so good we were back again the next morning for breakfast (also delicious 😋) before setting off again. This time it was a longer ride, 45 miles further up the coast - and, although there were a few spots of rain to begin with, nothing significant materialised. We made a small detour before leaving Batticoala to look round the old Dutch Fort, the Gate and Clock Tower - all reminders of Sri Lanka's significant colonial past. 

We passed through a beautiful nature reserve to get to our next destination for the night - Sallitivu Guest House. I hadn't appreciated that Sri Lanka is a haven for so many beautiful birds but we've certainly seen them aplenty. I still don't know the names of many of them but love the bright blue ones (of which there are several different types) in particular. Of course they're nigh impossible to photograph but cycling along (especially for me on the back of the tandem) is definitely a great way to simply experience them 🤩. Sallitivu Guest House was the only place we booked through air bnb. Another beautiful setting - on the edge of a small local village set within beautiful grounds directly overlooking a lovely coral beach. Totally deserted apart from a couple of local dogs - friendly if a little feisty! The guest house boasted a beautiful old colonial style verandah with mahogany styled chairs and after a walk on the beach we had it all to ourselves and just chilled out there until dinner. Our host was fabulous and also a brilliant cook - we enjoyed a delicious Sri Lankan curry and breakfast the next morning was also very tasty - I particularly enjoyed the fresh rotis 😋. 

Our next destination was Trincomalee and again, the weather forecast wasn't looking at all good. With the memory of our last soaking still fresh in our minds and with a long ride to get there we buckled and decided for the first time to opt out and asked our host to arrange some transport to get us there instead. It was basically a pick up truck with only one passenger seat in front but the driver had installed a sofa in the back which Max occupied along with the bike! Although it was raining quite hard when we set off, the weather overall wasn't nearly as bad as the forecast had implied but we were happy with our decision and arrived in Trincomalee around lunchtime at the Blue Wings Hotel where we'd booked to stay for two nights. We'd actually made a change of accommodation here based on reviews we'd read and it turned out to be a very smart move. Again the hotel was directly on the beach with a lovely open terrace on the second floor which our room looked out onto. The room was lovely - not particularly flashy but spotlessly clean and had everything we needed. The real highlight of this hotel was both the staff - who were all friendly and utterly charming - and the food. I'd read from the reviews that the food was very good but it still surpassed our expectations. We ate in the restaurant both evenings and enjoyed the best seafood of the trip so far. Max had a fabulous tuna steak and I had grilled prawns - both were served with a simple salad and rice. Delicious and also very healthy - washed down with a not quite so healthy (but absolutely necessary for me!) Lion beer 🍺). 

Again Trincomalee was relatively quiet at this time of year but still enough activity for us to get a sense of what it's like. It's certainly got a very laid back vibe and, chatting to one hotel owner in particular, apparently it's a very resilient and welcoming community. Although I'd say the same applies equally to pretty much everywhere we've been in Sri Lanka 😉. I think we'd ended up at his hotel in search of a massage for Max (his shoulders always seems to need repairing after a few days cycling 🫣🫣). The hotel owner was able to help with this and arranged for someone to come over right away to oblige 👍. In the meanwhile I went back to our hotel and sat on the terrace enjoying a Lion beer and watched the sunset 🤩. Just before I left we also met and chatted to an Italian tourist who was staying there for a while. It turned out he had a similar lifestyle to us and sells ice-cream during the summer - on Lake Garda no less - and then spends the winter travelling. He was really interested to hear all about Max's ice-cream venture but we were more interested to hear about his experience in Jaffna which was where we were heading. He gave us some really good tips on where to go and what to expect - all of which were duly noted 😉. 

We decided to do a whistlestop tour of Trincomalee on our second afternoon and agreed a price with a local tuk tuk driver. We spent three hours taking in a few of the main sites. He drove us along the old Harbour Road and up to the naval base. We had a guided tour of the naval museum which has some very eye catching old cannons on display at the entrance.  We climbed up onto the rooftop and enjoyed a superb view across Dutch Bay. The guide explained the history and crucial importance of the port which was really interesting (I had no idea just how significant it was and, to some extent, still is). We also visited Koneshwaram Kovil - one of the most sacred and historic Hindu temples in Sri Lanka. It's beautifully located on Swami Rock overlooking the Indian Ocean. Coincidentally on the day we visited it was important Hindu festival celebration so it was absolutely heaving - mainly with locals and just a few other tourists like us. To get to the site we passed through Fort Frederick - which is yet another reminder of the colonial past and passing through the fort was certainly like stepping back in time. It was built by the Portuguese in 1623 and later rebuilt by the Dutch and British. I've since learnt that it still serves as an active military base - which presumably accounts for the grounds being remarkably clean and quiet. We've certainly noticed that wherever there's a military site in Sri Lanka - army or naval base - it usually means there's a very pleasant setting and a good local restaurant or cafe too 😉. While here we also saw Lovers Leap - a granite pillar on top of Swarmi Rock - which according to legend marks the site where a Dutch woman named Francina van Rhede, abandoned by her lover, leapt into the sea in 1687. Legend says her grieving father erected the pillar in her memory 🥲. 

It was a great little tour - just enough for us to get a flavour of the area without tiring us out too much. It can be challenging to strike the right balance when we're only stopping briefly before our next stint of cycling but I think we managed it on this occasion. Being there out of season didn't seem to matter and being there during a local festival was an unexpected bonus 😁. 

Taking the scenic road to Arugam Bay 🤩

Arugam Bay 

The view from our balcony at Blue Wings 

Night time view from the restaurant 

Gluten free pancakes for breakfast 😋 

Looking back over Arugam Bay 

More lush paddy fields 

Presumably erected since the last Tsunami 

The ice-cream pitstop 

Max's idea for a photo op 😉

Delicious dosas for lunch in Batticoala 

Clock tower in Batticoala 

The old fort in Batticoala 

Batticoala Gate

We're never far from colourful fishing boats 

Back to more rugged landscape again 

Loved this colourful hut/church? 

The verandah at Sallitivu Guest House 

Eyeing up the sea but no swim today 

Lots of coral on this beach - footwear essential! 

Relaxing on the verandah 

Delicious Sri Lankan feast at Sallitivu 😋

Not my best look 😂

Pretty cactus 🌵 

A nice coral display 

View from the terrace at Blue Wings, Trincomalee 

Ditto 

I cannot remember the name of this temple 🫣

Nilaweli beach, lots of locals were there as it was a public holiday 

Looking back across the bay from Harbour Road  

Royal Gate, Orll's Hill

Naval Camp, Trincomalee 

The rooftop view from the Naval Museum 

Impressive cannons on display

Huge budda at Thirukoneswaram Temple  

Frederick Fort 

Our best seafood meal yet - Blue Wings, Trincomalee