Saturday, June 11, 2011

Filial bond


Beaching an outrigger canoe

'Beaching' an outrigger canoe above the high water mark, after a fishing trip, takes a lot of effort. Helping hands are always available. I took this picture at Tangalle Bay in the south of Sri Lanka on a morning.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Sea turtle tracks and nest, Rekawa, Sri Lanka


There are five varieties of sea-turtles which come to the shores Sri Lanka to lay their eggs. The Greenback and the Leatherneck varieties come to the south coast to lay their eggs. The mature females come every two years. They dig a wide shallow pit in the shore and then a deeper narrower pit where the female lays about 80 to 100 eggs each time. It returns every two days about eight times to repeat the procedure.
You see the tracks of the turtle on the sand and the pit in which the eggs have been laid. I took this picture at Rekawa close to Tangalle, in Sri Lanka. Rekawa is a protected zone for sea-turtles.
After laying their eggs the Green-back turtles go northwards in the deep oceon and the Leather-neck turtles go south as far as South Africa to feed. On their return journey to lay their eggs each turtle is fertilized in turns by about 6 to 7 males in the high seas close to the shore.
The tiny turtles coming out of the eggs run on the sand to the sea in the night hours and swim very fast to the deep ocean to escape their predators. They come back as adults to lay their eggs in the same vicinity. It is claimed that hatching the eggs in a nursery and releasing the small ones on the shore, seems to delay their ability to swim fast. They thus fall easy prey to predators.

Whispering House


We found this house with 5 beds, a swimming pool, and a lovely ambiance for a stay of 3 days near the Tangalle bay, Sri Lanka. We had to prepare our own meals. We had a lovely time there

Monday, June 6, 2011

The waves

Watching the waves on a beach at Tangalle was a very soothing experience. The slow silent build up, the rolling over of the crest which becomes white and then the shallow water makes the crest to roll over and slam on to the outgoing wave making a bang was a beauty to watch. The sound of the bang could be heard in the chalet a few hundred yards inland, throughout the day and night. It formed a lullaby to my sleep at night.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Tangalle Bay Hotel, Tangalle, Sri Lanka

The Tangalle Bay Hotel was rebuilt on a design resembling a ship, facing the Tangalle Bay. It was built at the site of an older hotel which stood there more than 50 years. Each of the rooms has a lovely view facing the sea. I took this picture one month ago.

Coming home

I took this picture about a month ago from the beach at Tangalle, Sri Lanka. This was in the morning and the boatman was returning with the mornings catch.