Walking around Mirrisa

When I arrived in Mirrisa I dropped my things off at my accommodation and went to the beach to find some food. It was a long ride in (almost 4 hours) and I hadn't eaten since my flight. I didn't eat much on the plane either as airplane food isn't my favourite. After ordering food I wanted to use the internet and because I finally had smaller bills I thought I would pay back the internet charge I couldn't pay from earlier in the day.

I walked along the road for over an hour and still did not find the internet place. Along the road, here and everywhere else in Sri Lanka, there were stray cows just walking around and eating grass on the side of the road.. It was a really hot day and I eventually decided I couldn't go any farther or else I wouldn't be able to make it back. Of course I could have taken a tuk tuk (a very popular transportation in Sri Lanka and other places, I first saw them in Thailand), but I wasn't really thinking at the time. I decided to turn around and walk along the beach.

What I didn't realize was that you can't walk all the way back to where I was staying along the beach. I eventually came to these rocks that my judgment told me it may be unwise to try and cross. I noticed what I thought may be a path that lead back to the road at the top of a hill, in through some bushes. I decided that was my best bet.

Along the way, I started to worry about what I could encounter in the long grass and brush. I do not like snakes. Sure enough, I start walking down the path and I see an unfamiliar creature on the path. It was a monitor, a big lizard. Not too scary, but it confirmed that I had no idea what I would encounter and off to continue over the rocks I went.

I'm glad that I took the rock route. Not because of any impending doom from walking beside the long grass--I am sure I would have been fine--but because the rocks were peaceful. I took a break at what I assumed was the half way point (although I couldn't know for sure as the rocks went around a couple bends), and felt so relaxed just sitting with the ocean at my feet and hearing the waves crash against the rock cliff. The breeze of the ocean air and the mist of the waves also were quite refreshing.

Once I finally crossed the rocks, I continued along the ocean edge until I got to some more rocks. These rocks were right in the water and had a slime film on them. That meant they were slipperier and I would need to be extra careful crossing them. I also had my camera and my blackberry in my pocket, so I put them in my hand and my hand in the air. That limited me to one hand to stop myself from slipping. The water eventually got deeper and I decided I didn't want to go past the waist high water I was in. After all, my passport and wallet were in my pockets.

Thankfully I bought that passport wallet and my passport ended up pretty dry, my camera and phone also didn't get wet, success!