Diary of Wayfarer- Balapitiya & Mirissa

This is Sarah Pfisterer' s memories of the days she spend in the pearl of the Indian Ocean. This is her own words with full of experiences.

Balapitiya & Mirissa

The trip started with our way from Colombo Fort to Balapitiya by a local train at 6:50 am.

When we arrived in Balapitiya by the bus.We went for the Madhu River Boat safari. This was a really cool experience. We were in a boat with 9 people and we drive over the Maduganga Lake. On the one side you could always see the jungle with all the beautiful plants and on the other side, there were the typical mangrove trees.

On the lake, there was a man inside a boat with a little monkey. He asked if we want to hold the monkey and so everyone could hold it, which was a great and funny experience. The boat tour took around two hours. We saw a lot of small islands inside this lake.

When we stopped at the first island we had a fish therapy for those who wanted to try it. Fish therapy means that you put your feet inside the water were the fishes are. The fishes start to eat your dead skin and so you get a good and fresh feeling afterwards. When you are ticklish it might make you laugh a lot.

After the fish therapy, we were inside the island to learn something about the process of making cinnamon. The people on this island make the process of making cinnamon by their own. First, they cut the branches of the tree and afterward they peel the rind of the branch. They collect the rind in small pieces and put them together to dry it and after a few days they have the dry cinnamon.

Out of this they make different cinnamon products like cinnamon powder or cinnamon oil or they leave it as the normal cinnamon stake. They give us some fresh made cinnamon tea and it tasted really good and it is really easy to make. You only need one spoon of cinnamon powder and boiled water and then you brew it for 10 minutes. Fresh cinnamon tea is a healthy thing. It can lower blood sugar levels, reduce heart disease risk factors and has a plethora of other impressive health benefits.

Their cinnamon oil is only for outer usage. It has an anti-inflammatory effect and improves blood circulation. So cinnamon as a real health booster.

After our fish therapy and cinnamon instruction, we went back to the boat. Our next stop on the lake was at the Kothduwa temple on an island on the lake. The temple is believed to have once sheltered the sacred relic of the tooth of the Buddha, circa 340 CE. We had to take off our shoes before touching the holy ground and put some extra clothes to hide our knees and shoulders.The outdoor facility of the temple is really beautiful. As you can see on the picture it shows the history how the Buddhism came to Sri Lanka by monks. In the temple there was a monk who put a small ribbon around our wrist while saying a blessing. Afterwards we could donate some money if we wanted to. Then we went back to the boat and got back to the place we started.

After  two hour break, we went to our next event by tuktuks: the turtle release event in Kosgoda.

First, we got introduced in the different types of turtles. There are 5 different types of turtles in Sri Lanka:

1. Leatherback turtle: It can reach a length of 2m, a width of 0,75m and a weight of 250 kg. It is the biggest turtle art in Sri Lanka. The weight of the eggs is around 70-75g and the hatching period is around 65 days.

2. Green turtle: It can reach a length of 1.5m, a width of 1 m and a weight of 200kg. The weight of the eggs is around 30-50g and the hatching period is around 48-50 days.

3. Hawksbill turtle: It can reach a length of 1.25m, a width of 0,75m and a weight of 100kg. The weight of the eggs is around 20-25g and the hatching period is around 53 days.

4. Loggerhead turtle: It can reach a length of 1m, a width of 0,75m and a weight of 100kg. The weight of the eggs is around 40g and the hatching period is around 49 days.

5. Olive Ridley turtle: It can reach a length of 1m, a width of 0,75m and a weight of 50kg. The weight of the eggs is around 40g and the hatching period is around 47 days.

Then Fernando, the owner of The Turtle Protection Centre, told us how lucky we were, because there were some turtles which currently broke out of their eggs. He removed  sand from a small sand hill and then we saw four baby turtles. This was really impressive to see Mother Nature at its finest.

After we went to the different tanks where the turtles stayed and  there were volunteers who were caring for the different types of turtles. In the first tank, there were little baby turtles which were like 2 days old. We were allowed to hold them in our hands – this was so cool! And a few of these baby turtles were supposed to release by us later. In the other tanks, there were a lot of different turtles as you can see on the following pictures. 

We began to release the turtles. Every one of us got two baby turtles and we made a small competition which turtle would reach the ocean first. It was incredible to watch them finding their way to the ocean to be free. We donated some money for Fernando’s work, because he put a lot of effort in his protecting center and he really loves it. You can feel this love in the way he talks and behave with the turtles.  Our next day started with a bus ride to the Jungle beach in Unawatuna. It took around 1.5 hour from Balapitiya to the Jungle Beach. The Jungle Beach is call like that, because when you want to reach the beach you first to make a small hike through a jungle and there are some stairs and not only rocks. After the hike you reach the beach – it is a nice, small beach. You can swim in the ocean but be careful with the rocks or corals in the beginning, because it can hurt you. When there are too many people, it is like any other crowded beaches. But when you get there early you can enjoy it and have a good time. We stayed there for about 2.5 hours before we head to Mirissa by Bus. 

And after the sunrise, the view of this place is still just amazing. A lot of people came later. So, if you go for the sunrise you might have the chance to have this coconut tree hill just for your own.

We stayed there for about 2 hours till we went back to have some breakfast and  coffee in one of those small cafes, before we went back to Colombo.