Galle, Sri Lanka

LAROOBAA
Guy & Simonne SIGSTON
Mon 10 Jan 2011 14:25

06:02.06N 080:13.8E

 

After a brilliant Christmas and New Year in Phuket Laroobaa and her crew departed Patong Bay for Sri Lanka.  It was to be an eight to nine day passage.  But we did it in seven.  Not due so much to the wonderful trade winds that usually blow at this time of the year ensuring cruisers an easy run across the Indian Ocean but more the squalls and 40+ knot winds that sucked us in and spat us out the other side.  Then after three days the winds stopped and it was time to turn on the engine.  So we endured the drone of the Yanmar for too many days.  We were the fifth yacht to leave Thailand but the first into Galle, Sri Lanka.  The next boats arriving the following day.  This enabled us time to rest and clean up the boat before our fellow ralliers arrived.  In the past two and a half days we have been into town via Tuk Tuks, visited local families and had the usual hospitality lavished upon us.  Everyone adores Juliette and Hugo.  It’s the same everywhere we go.  Visited shops for items we required such as a bag for our five day tour which starts in three days.  The highlight so far has been the fantastic preschool we were taken to by our Tuk Tuk driver Bannett.  It is owned by his family and run by his niece.  After allowing the kids to play on all the equipment we were encouraged to let them attend the morning session today which we agreed to.  The kids had an absolute ball and are going back tomorrow.  As you can imagine they crave other kid interaction so this is just wonderful for them.  The preschool is evidently in a reasonably well off area of Galle as when we arrived thismorning all the mothers were immaculately dressed in colourful saris and their children likewise.  Quite a spectacle.  Tomorrow Guy and I are going to visit an old Fort ruin and hopefully an amazing looking Mosque we saw on our way up the channel.