Mirissa

Click on the above photo to go to my Picasa photo album of Mirissa!

Last week I attended an Internations.org (a online network for "global minds") event in Colombo and met an awesome Canadian named Jaimie who is interning at the Asia Foundation here until August. She had been travelling every weekend since being in Sri Lanka with another intern who is from the US. Anyhow, the other intern had to work last weekend so she was planning on finding a beach and R&R time. I asked if I could join her so her, myself, and another intern Jaimie works with (Grace), went on a 3.5 hour bus journey to Mirissa after some advice from the coordinator of the local Internations group.

It's monsoon season here on the West Coast of Sri Lanka so it is also the low tourist season (May - November). That means, the waves are bigger at the beaches on this coast and smaller on the east coast. Then it's the opposite in December - April where I've been told the waters are super calm on the West Coast and the water gets really clear. Didn't matter to me. The low season meant the beaches of Mirissa were deserted and we got dirt cheap accommodations. We paid 1000LKR (about $9 CAD) per double room with a private bathroom when it usually would likely cost around 3000LKR in the high season.

Personally, when we had arrived in Mirissa I felt this feeling of euphoria. I had been deprived of nature since getting back from New Zealand and have been a bit frustrated that way. Living in Vancouver, nature was always only a short distance away and not having that convenience has been hard to adjust to. Spending the weekend in Mirissa was really energizing to me. I was in such a good mood at work on Monday; I felt amazing.

What was also refreshing were how nice and welcome the locals were. Whereas in the city boys tend to be really obnoxious (like today, walking home from the bus stop a boy steps right in front of me, bends down, looks and me and says "hello lady" like I'm stupid) these guys seemed like they've embraced the beach bum life, listening to Bob Marley and are just chill. They weren't looking at us like objects, but were genuinely interested in showing us their way of life and learning a bit about ours. I'm sure it helps that it's the low season and they've got a bit more spare time to just hang out and not have to work. You'll see in my photos of them showing us a blowfish with their smiles that they are a really happy and laid-back bunch!

I also think that it's a town that has mostly been untouched by major tourism. There are no major resorts in Mirissa ... mostly guesthouses. However, I don't think it will remain that way for long. Despite most locals being nice, there are signs that some are becoming more aggressive with tourists. We had one guy who really was trying to get us to follow him to some accommodations. He ended up following us to where we were staying and wanted to pretend that he showed us there and I think wanted some commission from the place we were staying at. In any case, I do plan on going back at some point to enjoy more peace and quiet on the beach where I can hear no honking or shouting. Just the waves.