Fish Dinner
The next day we surfed only in the morning, because the waves had completely gone to ruin and Wolf didn’t want to drive to Weligama in the evening. In the evening we went to our beach in Mirissa. The beach here is pretty good; we swam until it got dark. Swimming when the waves are so gentle and small is pure pleasure.
I realized that here on the ocean, the sunset hours are my favorite. The light is always different, but so beautiful. There are significantly fewer people on the beaches. And during the day, under the scorching sun, it’s very hot and the sun seems to burn away part of the colors.
Then the road to Moragalla awaited us. We drove 90 km; overall the trip went well, and we only got tired toward the end. It’s amazing that the road didn’t seem familiar or boring to me at all, despite the fact that we had already driven it; only a couple of times did I think, “yes, we’ve been here before.”
In Moragalla we thought we’d stay in the same artist’s house where we had already lived. However, it turned out to be occupied. We still had one more option — a rather gloomy hotel right on the beach that we had discovered last time (and the manager was ready to rent us a room for $15). But when we came to ask about available rooms, instead of the Sri Lankan manager we were met by a white woman, apparently from Europe. She told us that her room (which in fact was a dark little den) cost $45 and, of course, she had no intention of bargaining.
I thought we’d have to go somewhere farther, because last time we had only managed to find a room by pure chance (all the hotels here are expensive). Wolf turned into a narrow alley. I suggested we stop and think about our next steps. But Wolf kept driving and driving along that bumpy road. And then we came to a tuk-tuk stand, and beyond it the beach and the ocean. And then, out of nowhere, a man ran up and asked, “Do you need a room?” We nodded in unison (I was shocked at how this man appeared so timely, as if he had been waiting for us), and he led us up the stairs to show us his apartment. The room was great, a huge bedroom with a huge balcony, and on top of that a kitchen with a balcony too (from which, through a tiny gap between the neighboring houses, you could see the ocean). I immediately thought he was about to name a hefty sum. And so it was, but Wolf somehow persuaded him to rent us this place for just $18 a day. So we stayed here for two nights.
