Saturday, March 25, 2023 - Colombo, Sri Lanka

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March 25 – Colombo, Sri Lanka – Day 1 

No more tender ports for a while which is nice. Being at a dock is far better. That said, although we are technically at a cruise dock, it is buried in the middle of a very busy container port and we are not allowed to walk more than about 100 yards from the ship. When you observe the activity at this container port, you wouldn’t want to be in the middle of all that. 

These two shots were taken from our stateroom veranda. It was fascinating to watch these HUGE machines at work. 

The 18 wheelers were constantly in motion.
 

The Island Nation of Sri Lanka is at the southern tip of India. They were on the very early trade routes between Europe and Asia. They are also one of the “Spice Islands”. They grow rice (a very major part of their diet) coconuts, and rubber as well as tea. For a long time, the island was known as Ceylon. The Portuguese were the first to have settlements here (starting in 1588), followed by the Dutch in the mid-17^th century, then the British. Recent years have been difficult with a very corrupt government and an economy on the brink. Just before we got there they received an infusion of money from the International Monetary Fund of $3B. A year ago, gasoline prices were about $1 / liter. It is 4 times that now. 

The initial itinerary had us in Sri Lanka for just 2 days. When Myanmar was removed from the itinerary an extra day in Sri Lanka was added. We elected to take an optional excursion to go south of Colombo to the southern tip of Sri Lanka and see the historic Dutch fort at Galle (pronounced Gaul). 

The fort was originally built by the Portuguese in 1588. In the mid-17^th century, when the Dutch took over the fort was heavily fortified. It is on a peninsula of land at the southwestern corner of the island. There are about 130 acres within the fort. We walked most of the way around the ramparts. By the end of the day, we had in over 4 miles. There are great views from the ramparts and the water here is quite clear. Galle harbor is a natural harbor and continues to be a base for the local fishermen.

Local fish market. These are ones that did not sell yesterday, they are now dried and will, more than likely, be sold today.

Typical fishing boats.

Russ and the old cannons that used to protect the port.

More of the fort, looking towards the natural harbor.

 

From the edge of the fort fortifications, seeing how clear the water is.

The fort, luckily, was not heavily damaged by the 2004 Tsunami that devastated much of the island. Our guide did comment that he lost both family and friends to the tsunami. 

We had a great buffet lunch at a nearby hotel, then returned to the fort to visit the maritime museum and for shopping. Every tour has shopping time built in. Then back to Colombo and the ship. We were gone about 9 hours.