Saturday 16th November 2024

Today was largely a day of rest towards the end of our 10-night break away from Kurunegala, with the first 5 days being 'working' days in the Hill Country, followed by 5 'rest' days in Ella and at Erica's beautiful home by Rekawa Beach. We were still up quite early, but then had a very leisurely breakfast, before relaxing at Erica's. I took advantage of the time to sort out my photos, and to catch up at last on this blog and my diary.

We had an amazing lunch at Erica's, and for me this was simply down to the fact that she had some extra mature Cheddar cheese stored in her freezer (brought over from the UK), and was kind enough to share it with us at lunchtime. It's pretty impossible to get decent cheese here in Sri Lanka, and we hadn't tasted Cheddar cheese since we left the UK more than 6 weeks ago, so it seemed to me to be the most delicious Cheddar cheese that I had ever tasted in my life.

We had a bit of a siesta after lunch, and then had a brief stroll along the beach behind Erica's home. We didn't get that far, as we just went to the bar next door, and sat having a drink whilst we watched the fabulous Indian Ocean waves crashing onto the beach. It can only be described as idyllic, and probably just what we needed after much travelling over the past few days. Eventually, we returned to Erica's, had a swim, and got ready for the evening.

Raelene, from Canada, arrived with her friend Bonnie (also from Canada), followed soon after by Harold and his partner Raf, who are from Belgium. Apart from Bonnie, they are all part of a very friendly ex-pat community who live in this lovely area of Sri Lanka, and it was a pleasure to spend time with them. We had a wonderful dinner, with delicious food and a lot of laughter! We both felt very fortunate that Erica has allowed us to spend 3 nights here with her.

Today's photographs are just a few of Erica's beautiful home, our little excursion along the beach, and this evening's lovely dinner with Erica, Raelene, Bonnie, Harold and Raf.












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