Bike Sri Lanka - 1st Week
We have begun our journey around Sri Lanka, 291.3 km biked! It is far to hot, just carrying enough water is hard, even the sea is warm. But the food is epic and cheap and almost every single person smiles and waves - lovely people!
26/12/13 (40km): After arriving at Colombo Airport mark "A" then taking a taxi to our first accomodation at 1am in Negombo mark "B" on boxing day we grab a few hours sleep before building our bikes and setting off to Hendala mark "C", just north of Colombo.
27/12/13 (75km): Hendala to Beruwala mark "D" via Colombo, riding through the heart of the capital city was a scary experience.
28/12/13 (74km): Beruwala to my old school mate, Sunen Bopitiya's tea planation up in the hills in Pimbura mark "E". This was a lot of climbing and most the roads were under going brutal road works - really hard going.
29/12/13 (day off): A well deserved rest day roaming Sunen's tea plantation, but also climbed a mountain to the secluded Buddhist temple Kukuli Vihara.
30/12/13 (25km): Sunen drove us to Sinharaja Rain Forrest mark "F" where we saw crazy animals like snakes, monkeys, lizzards and giant squarrels. Sunen then drove us back to the road where we had left the coast at Bentota mark "G". That afternoon we biked 25km south to Ambalangoda mark "H" where we saw an Elephant and our first white person for 3 days.
31/12/13 (75km): Ambalangoda to Mirissa mark "I" via Galle where we saw the old dutch fort, a young local was diving about 8 metres off the top of the fort into about 1 metre deep of water! New Years Eve in Mirissa brought the first rain, a power cut and a great party on the beach.
1/1/14 (day off): Minced in Mirissa - food, swims and snoozes. Soph did our first clothes wash and I wrote this blog.
Heading in land near Athweltota to Pimbura and Sunen’s Tea Plantation
Fisherman at Hikkaduwa hual in massive nets which they drop by boat
This guy, Riley (how his name sounded), was a local fisherman in Hendala just north of Colombo (background)
Arrived at Sunen’s Tea Plantation after the hardest day biking yet, tired dirty but stoked to find the place is a hidden gem!
Soph sips fresh tea in the very plantation it was picked
A fresh King Coconut at the top of the climb to the Kukuli Vihara Buddhist temple
Sunen, Soph and Sunen’s girlfriend Ama at the top of Kukuli Vihara
The last of the light on the way down with Sunen’s Tea Plantation in the background
Fish in the near by river cleansing our feet of dead and withered skin bite by bite
Planning the next few days travel over the locally favoured natural narcotic
Leaving Sunen and Ama
Back on the road cruising past rice paddies
A deadly Viper Snake in the Sinharaja Rain Forrest, its curled position means it is poised ready for a strike of which I was in range of I’m told
A land Monitor Lizard, about 1.5 metres long
Some type of crazy little lizzard critter
A Muslim with what we assumed to be his Harem on the beach at Beruwala
We assumed these to be buried victims of the 2004 Tsunami just south of Negombo
Soph in the last light on the beach at Beruwala
On the Beach in Mirissa ready for New Year’s Eve!
The first day of 2014 and the local fisherman are into it
If you would like to DONATE to our fundraising cause please go to our JustGiving site: https://www.justgiving.com/bikesrilanka, for more info and to donate,
or, you can donate to Ocean Stars Trust who facilitated the construction of the Karaveddy Pre-School our fundraiser funds. They do at great and honest job and looked after us well while in Batticaloa.
For more info on our expedition and fundraiser see our previous post.
Follow my Facebook Page for the latest updates and photos.