Our trip's first hostel began in Mirissa, a small fishing village and tourist resort around 150 miles from the capital Colombo. Upon arrival we were met by a young man Sam, his wife and their toddler. The man was very thin, with a friendly face and clear visible scars on his stomach. He extended his apologies and explained briefly that he had been in an accident. We were wondering what had happened to him but didn't want to intrude and quickly expressed that it was okay, before he let us choose our room.
Over the 4 nights we stayed, we were treated with so much kindness and we were introduced to a few other members of the family including his father and 4 pet dogs. Sam asked me if we would like to go on a whale watching trip as he could organise this for us. I knew Jake was keen to do this so we quickly agreed and Sam arranged for us to be collected at 6am the following morning. Unfortunately the boat trip was long, bumpy and involved no whales and only a few Dolphins. Once we arrived back Sam apologised and encouraged us to go on the tour again the next day - free of charge. We were undecided as the day had been so long and we were planning to move on the following day. He managed to persuade us to go and then began to tell us a bit of his back story.
Sam explained that he was driving a tuk tuk and he had fallen asleep and crashed into a lamp post. His brother had died in the accident and Sam suffered severe injuries due to the handlebars impaling his stomach. He broke 4 ribs and burst his intestines and now has to live with a colostomy bag. He said he used to be like Jake, a fit and healthy young man but with dreadlocks to his backside. Now he finds it difficult to walk and has to stay in his house all day. Before the accident he had his own whale watching boat and used to take tourists out on the trip we had just been on. Looking at this young, smiley man, it was hard to imagine the tragedy him and his family had been through.
We went on the whale tour again the next day and managed to spot a fin whale and a few more Dolphins. We asked Sam to arrange our transport afterwards to take us to our next stop, Dikwella. His father took us in his tuk tuk and I have to say it's the most sensible driving I have seen so far in Sri Lanka. He gave us a running commentary throughout the 1 hour journey along the coast - telling us all about the tsunami which hit Mirissa over 10 years ago, and he even pointed out where Sam had his accident. We chose to stay in a hotel in Dikwella, which is absolutely beautiful, with an ocean view from our balcony. As beautiful as it is, it means we miss out on learning about the locals here and hearing their stories. Sam's story really struck a cord with us, and showed us that you need to live your life to the full as you never know when something could change it.
Pav & Jake
xxx
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