Arugam Bay Surf Competition, fun runners and barefoot pilgrims.

7th July 2009

What a week & weekend;
Arugam Bay has hosted the UK Professional surf association (UKPSA) Champion of Champions International surf contest. 5 days of top class surfing. Local surfers involved in the heats competing against the professionals, culminating in 2 finals, Sri Lankan local amateur final followed by the UKPSA Champion of Champions final.
Local winner was WLU Asanka
UKPSA winner was Richie Sills

I took reams of photos, finger blistered from the shutter button and the delete button on the laptop with all the ‘not quite’ photos having to go. Had an uplifting experience on a boat as we went out to shoot the finals from ocean side rather than shore, boat got lifted out of the water by an enormous wave, me sitting on the bow (pointy end) rodeo riding position, hands between legs gripping the boat keeping my butt firmly in contact with the boat, legs akimbo as boat plummeted down, anyone get a photo of my style I would love to see it, could hear the whole surfing spectators take a deep breath in shock of the manoeuvre followed by a huge whoop as the boat crashed back down! Fortunately for me I had my back to the whole scene so never saw how close to airborne we became, also fortunate the only injury was to my pride as I last the battle to remain at one with the boat and lay sprawled indignantly in the bottom of the boat, may have even got a point score for the ‘take-off’ style but lost it all on the landing!?
UKPSA last visit was 2005 after Tsunami as the BPSA, good to see them back. Thanks to Dave Reed and his team’s hard work.

Today is ‘Poya’ full moon day, falling on a Monday means a long weekend for many in Sri Lanka, 80% of the visitors this weekend are local Sri Lanka of which 99% are visiting Arugam Bay and the east coast for the very first time, cessation of hostilities has opened the door for all to see the beauty of Arugam Bay hidden for the past 30years. Every hotel is full, beach is alive with people optimism runs wild, and the week has been special. So many Colombo visitors, the Surf competition, first of the pilgrims walking through Arugam, Yala to Katragama from Jaffna, the inaugural beach ‘Fun Run’ from Potty Point to Arugam Bay Point. Almost seems normal?!

One intrepid crew came from Colombo to kite surf, general conditions (lack of wind) prevented that however they did set a record for Colombo to AbaY, 5.5 hours! Leaving Colombo 2am, night drive across on good roads.
The past still casts dark shadows but the week showed what could be achieved. Bright new beginning? Lets hope so.

For any competitors or spectators that want to buy photos they are on www.photographersdirect.com - Steve Jones or www.lookinglost.com steve@lookinglost.com

Steve

Crazy Journeys

Arugam Bay (AbaY)– Mutur - Trincomalee (Trinco)- Niliveli
14/06/09 – 17/06/09

A15, a very scenic route on what now must be the worst ‘A’ Road on the Island, the A4, Arugam Bay – Monaragala was the previous holder, infrastructure investment is changing the face of the roads here very quickly, the road from Monaragala to Arugam has been terrible for years but now the 80kms 3hr drive is down by half to 1.5hrs on new wide flat tarmac.

We joined the scenic A15 at Batticaloa (Batti) heading to Mutur, however we were not to complete the journey as planned, we had to double back from Mutur and Toppur to take the long round route to Trinco. We were taking a friend of ours from here in Pottuvil to Trinco where he was to take up a government post, it was a form of celebration and support as he had been waiting 6 years for the position & it took a court case to win on discrimination! The law here does work just takes time.

The problems at Mutur were two-fold, on the way up we had to cross a river on a very old ‘cable ferry’, this is a floating flat pontoon hull that people, bikes & vehicles are carried on, a cable (wire or rope) is strung from one river bank to the opposite river bank, the cable is ‘threaded’ through the ‘ferry’ and pulled across the river by the men on the ferry, like you were pulling yourself over on a crate only this is bigger. A tried and tested method around the world.

Well the Mutur ferry + 3 further ones that complete the last 25kms of the 300kms A15 route, finish running at 6pm, it was 6pm-ish! We could have waited till the morning, leaving early to get our friend to his new office by 9am, no problem to find someone to give us shelter for the night, Sri Lankans can be extremely generous in these situations, however a further problem was the landing areas of the ferry were due to be concreted that night meaning no vehicular ferries would be running until the concrete has set, 2-3 days!

Such is the way of things, the A15 had turned the van into a rattling, clunking, wreak, even changed its colour to ‘desert red’ with all the dust, now we had to turn around, backtracking the last 2 hours drive to get us onto the A6 and a flat clear run into Trinco. I can hear the Harry Enfield character of the 90’s flat cap, driving gloves, sheepskin driving coat ‘You don’t wanna being doing that route, you want to be going…) Yeah we know…Now!

A15 has the interesting sights of an ‘LTTE’ graveyard?! Areas off of the road lined with red coloured skull & crossbones flags, signifying the possibility of landmines, all of them together in straight lines all very close together, how did they get put there without setting off the mines?? (No toilet stops on the side of the road here!) Landmine ‘flaying’ machine. Perhaps the ‘Enfield’ character was right “You don’t wanna being doing that?”

We took the an alternative route back to Arugam Bay A6 –A11-A4; Total time 10 hours, 7hr driving, 1hr for lunch & 2hrs for all the checkpoints enroute, necessary for ongoing security and always courteous but extremely tedious for tourists. Would not want to do it by local bus either, train from Colombo, yes; bus, no. Every checkpoint and there are many, whole bus has to disembark walk through the checkpoint, bus is completely searched, you then board the bus onwards to the next checkpoint where the same happens again, must add 5-6hrs to the same journey we took. Far less checkpoints & buses on the A15, scenic, remember?
5 years past since I was last in Niliveli the beach resort north of Trinco, 4 hotels open all empty or only a few guests, apart from Niliveli Beach Resort with Russian tourists, package tourists from Russia are the new phenomenon for Sri Lanka, hope a few independent ones will find their way down to Arugam Bay soon!?

Last time I was in Niliveli the A15 route and Mutur were closed due to fighting between LTTE & government troops, today there is a Hindu festival with water being sprayed on passers-by, refreshments given out and a lot of smiling faces. Local fishermen had reason to celebrate as night fishing was again allowed, this being stopped after Tsunami. Today there are many happier people but I fear many a lot worse off with as many as 250,00 reported IDP’s “Internally Displaced Persons” We can only hope that the Island comes together as one to support all that need help and help build a community for all who have lost theirs over the years of conflict and trauma.

Niliveli beach was as I remembered it, slow lapping waves, wide white sand beach, fishermen going about their business hauling in the nets, teams of 20 or more working together for a meager return by what I saw in the nets. Pigeon Island on the horizon, (sadly no Scuba diving allowed as yet), gentle sloping beach that you can wade our quite a way before the water gets higher that your shoulders. It lacks the ‘drama’ of AbaY with its crashing surf breaks and the surrounding jungles, forest and hills. It has a relaxed gentle feel.

Optimism is high for the future of tourism here in Sri Lanka, whatever words you choose to use, civil conflict, war, terrorism, it is declared over ‘one nation under a groove’ sort of thing. As usual I will stress this is not a platform for politics but review on how things are here in AbaY, Arugam Bay.

Niliveli, Mutur, A15 are all great extension to the Island, helping to build the local & foreign travelers itinerary of Sri Lanka, the opening up of the East will help in getting an element of normality back to everyday life that most locals I spoke to felt was missing ‘normal living, normal life’

SURF COMPETITION IS ON 1st July – 5th July UK Pro Surf tour returns to Arugam Bay after 4yrs. Fantastic, warmly welcome, they were here after Tsunami and now back after ‘conflict’ ends.

Footnote crazy journey. I would love to know how this example is calculated; I fly back to the UK mid July, Colombo – London return direct with Sri Lanka Air is £450Best I found on Expedia.india is Chennai (Madras) London return is £280. A whopping £170 saving; flying with Sri Lanka Air!? And oh yes it stops & you change planes in Colombo for the direct flight to London. Go figure and Colombo – Chennai return is £65.

Whale Watching 11th February 2009-02-12

Not only the largest land mammal, the Elephant, Sri Lanka having but also the largest mammal, in fact the largest known creature ever on this planet is here and swims 8 miles off the south coast of Sri Lanka; The Blue Whale.

Just when you think you have seen it all, Sri Lanka surprises you again!

Over the last 18 months or so I have been reading articles about whale watching in Sri Lanka, it has been known since the second world war that whales & especially Blue Whales seasonally inhabit the waters around the island with frequent sighting around Trincomalee in the north east but it was not known that the south offers close encounters of the Baleen kind.
A day of magnificent sightings, only 1 hour out & we saw our first Blue, or Pygmy Blue? How something so huge can have a title of Pygmy astounds me, a sub species of the blue whale that inhabits the Indian ocean; first we saw a pair of turtles mating in the vast Indian Ocean, who would have thought that a boatload of humans are going to disturb your lustful morning! Sorry.
4 times in 2 hours we spotted the tell-tale ‘blow’ of the whale, not sure if we saw the same whale 4 times or a number of different whales? You really won’t care. 4 times we drew up a respectful distance to watch the, beautiful, massive, mammal gracefully swim along side or in front of us ‘blowing’ jets of water high into the air before arching it’s back, heading to the depths bringing it’s tail up into the air like a huge triangular kite in front of us, then slipping into the ocean with just a hint of disturbance at the Ocean surface.

The trip was organised by Mirissa Water Sports; www.mirissawatersports.com I will be contacting them to arrange further visits that they can be assured of.

Rocco’s Arugam Bay 03/02/2009

Believe it or not a semblance of a new road is appearing along the main street of Arugam Bay?!

Having been away for a few months travelling India (www.lookinglost.com) I got home last night & I do mean Home!

Home also to a new style restaurant, some wag has called it Rocco’s Mk111, fact is, it is! First one was knocked down or drowned in Tsunami; 2nd we never found the money to fulfil the potential of a 2 storey bar & restaurant with observation deck, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, helicopter pad etc. So Mk 111 is a cooler place temperature wise & dude wise, clay tiled roof, traditional canoe planters, gardens around the building, all make for a relaxing spot. Gardens have flourished as well; all looking very good I must say.

Enjoyed India but Lanka is where I feel most ‘at home’ especially back here at Rocco’s. Drive time from the airport 8hrs, 1-2hrs shorter than my usual time, which means a local Lankan driver, will have you here nerves frazzled, in 6-7hrs! The reason that the travel times are dropping is the road conditions are improving. Flat wide sealed tarmac roads all the way from the international, Bandaranaike airport to Monaragala (250kms), the 80kms from Monaragala to Abay is the killer, however the evidence is clear that a new road will be arriving soon but not just yet, by the beginning of the season we hope 3-4 months. That will take another hour off the journey time; this puts Arugam Bay back on the map, the same distance time wise as other attractions in Sri Lanka.

If you travel from the airport to say Unawatuna, it will take you 4-5hrs to cover the 155km; first you have to travel through the Capital City, Colombo, then there is the coast road, one of the most manically busiest roads in Sri Lanka. If you come to Arugam Bay you will have missed Colombo & all that entails, you would have been over the ‘foothills’ through Uda Walawe National Park, Jungles & forest land, may even have spotted wild elephants en-route we often do. Splitting the journey is also an option, Kandy & the ‘Hill Country’ is a popular choice.

The fact still remains that if you take other destinations in Sri Lanka the same applies Arugam bay will be getting closer, Mirrisa is 7hrs from airport, Tangalle 6hrs: Arugam bay at 6-8hrs is closer than you think.
Safety here is, as I have stated in the past, safe no immediate dangers, check points are all over the country, no different here, police & military are evident all over the country, no different here in Arugam Bay. If you have made the decision to come to Sri Lanka, you will not be disappointed by going that ‘extra mile’ and slightly off the ‘beaten track’ that is rarely followed by tour groups.

Steve 03/03/09

I’m sitting in the restaurant at Rocco’s admiring the gracefulness of the sea eagles flight, as they cruise looking for a fish to swoop down on. Contemplation on the year past and the year ahead, 2 months before the ’season’ kicks off. Arugam Bay or ABay is operating in its normal lethargic hive of activity. Fishermen out to sea, hotelier’s repairs & maintenance after the monsoon.

Last season was a very quiet affair; some say the ‘worst’ yet, certainly the quietest since 2004.

Those that did visit enjoyed appreciative welcomes, shared in the relaxed atmosphere without hassle or danger. We had visitors from Europe, Dubai, UAE, Maldives and Australia.

Special mention to the Irish contingent; Magz & co for drinking us dry on a few occasions (bad planning, my fault) along with a future famous artist, Zayo. The painting outside room 4 adds to the style of Rocco’s a complete contrast to the graffiti wall on the beach rooms (Banksy it ain’t, although if he wants to pay us a visit…….. Plenty of political material here for him!). I have resisted putting the room rate up on the soon to become an artists pilgrimage but will charge for photos once Zayo is a name all art buffs are talking about, funds will go to stocking the bar in case Magz & co descend on us again!

Once again the road ‘curfew’ is back, 6pm - 7am, the political situation has worsened, security is high, many more check points around the Island, Colombo especially.

I have spent time in Tangalle helping to open a scuba diving centre; www.tangalledivingcentre.com with my friend Rohana, Tangalle suffers in a similar way from lack of tourists as we do here Arugam Bay. Both effected by the political situation, closure of Yala and not being on the west coast.

Driving around I found it to be no different even with the extra checkpoints, foreigners treated with courtesy, papers checked a few “which country?” & “what’s your name” “you like Sri Lanka?” A smile then on your way.

Living here is way different to visiting here; living here you are drawn into conversations about the politics, the conflict, peace coming, most are quite negative for the immediate future, optimistically we hope for a long peaceful future if only the powers that be on all sides would put the country and its people first.

This season? Who knows? Negumbo is packed; first time ever I had to look around for a bed as my normal haunts full?! Few venture outside of Negumbo to see the real Sri Lanka or Negumbo ‘traps’ visitors with how dangerous the rest of the Island is, good propaganda & business sense in lean times but not so good for the country as a whole, me thinks.

For those that do venture Arugam Bay is still open, still considered safe, still the most relaxed natural place in Sri Lanka, little hard to get to, we like it that way, little basic compared to ‘developed’ areas, we like it that way too, most of all it has, surf, wild elephants, nature all around, quiet, relaxed, laid back, friendly, beach, sand, ocean, good food & plenty of places to stay, Rocco’s first choice of course!

Steve “The Muse” Jones
Arugam Bay
East Coast
Sri Lanka
21/02/08

Tsunami warning – Arugam bay- 12th September 2007- 6pm

The last major Tsunami warning we had was the night of 28th March 2005, 3 months after the devastating Tsunami occurrence of 26th December 2004, the effects of which are still apparent in certain parts of the Island.

Last week I was in Kandy up in the hill country; around 6pm I had a phone call from the Manager at Rocco’s telling me the Army were on the beach evacuating the area as a Tsunami had been predicted to hit the coast between 8pm & 9pm!

This was unusual as we have never had official warnings before, March 2005 I was warned by friends calling me from UK & Dubai saying a Tsunami was imminent! On that occasion it was up to us to evacuate the area, which we did in 20 minutes, everyone working together. That one was 8.9mg & 35km.

Underwater earthquakes were and are the cause of the Tsunami and the evenings warning.

After March 2005 I subscribed to the US Governments Earthquake centres warning system - http://earthquake.usgs.gov - You would be amazed at the number of earthquakes that take place around the world; record so far is 72 in a day including “aftershocks”.

You can even have the warnings sent to your mobile phone as I do, you can even set parameters of what warnings you get; where in the world, strength (magnitude or ‘mg’ to be correct), depth of epicentre, a Tsunami warning if deemed possible and all for free!

Duly I checked the messages, just as I was doing so it arrived, earthquake in Southern Sumatra, initially measured at 7.9 at a depth of 15km with an accompanying Tsunami warning, I was concerned.

Manager & staff headed for the higher ground, did not have to worry about guests they had left earlier in the day, we were empty at the time.

Main reason for my concern was it’s depth 15km is very shallow but compared with the “Big One” of December 2004, 9.2mg & 5km this could not have such a devastating impact. Nether the less a warning is a warning! & I am no expert, Zulu theory or no Zulu theory!

I scoured the Internet for reports of a wave forming; nothing at first but the report was revised to 8.2mg & depth 45kms much less worrying for us. I called friends in UK & Dubai to see what was being reported.

Indonesia dropped its Tsunami warning 1 hour after the “Quake” as no wave had come ashore. A 9ft wave, equal to a lot of the waves we get every day in Arugam Bay especially in “Surf season” (although they are very different forms of waves) was reported coming ashore in Padang & a 55cm one on the Cacaos Islands. Tsunami did arrive but small & not our shores. In fact the March earthquake did produce a 30cm & 35cm Tsunami to come ashore in Sri Lanka, just we did not notice.

8.2 is 10x less than 9.2 on the “Richter Scale” I am told, also being 9x deeper means there is a lot of “earth” to soak up the energy created before displacing the Ocean, forming a Tsunami wave.

In my surfing of the net I did discover the “Indian Ocean Tsunami Detection System” should be operational this month.
.

Downside – all the mobile lines went dead after the warning was given, then landlines went, Internet & text messages were still getting through? I enquired with my supplier “Dialog” the first 3 times I posed the question the person or persons I asked put the phone own on me, when I eventually got through asking for a supervisor before posing the question, I was told “Network Issue” when I asked “what was the issue” phone went down on me again!?

The up side of all this is the fact we were given warning, 2 hours warning, enough time to be well out of any danger posed if a major event ever happened again, takes the panic out of it, meaning we can organise procedures and rest more securely in our hammocks. A great step forward in my opinion, well done to the authorities.

Steve (A little Knowledge is a dangerous thing) Jones

Warning notice as sent to e-mail or phone.

Magnitude 8.4
Date-Time

* Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 11:10:26 UTC
* Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 06:10:26 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 4.520°S, 101.374°E
Depth 34 km (21.1 miles) set by location program
Region SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
Distances 130 km (80 miles) SW of Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia
410 km (255 miles) SSE of Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia
620 km (385 miles) WNW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia
695 km (435 miles) SSW of SINGAPORE
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 6.1 km (3.8 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters Nst=286, Nph=286, Dmin=809.9 km, Rmss=1.11 sec, Gp= 29°,
M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=V
Source

USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Event ID us2007hear

Unawatuna - Arugam Bay- Sri Lanka
Shooting stars, AK47s, 3 men on a bike!

10th-12th June 2007

I do this trip many times and on most occasions it is a straightforward 340km drive or 200 of your imperial miles. Of course, I would not be writing this if the last trip had been straightforward; “Nothing happened” is not entertaining reading and even I can not abuse the spelling and grammar of such a short statement.

I was in Unawatuna to look at and test an air compressor I had purchased off eBay - just love it; £50 delivery, Falkirk to Wood Green, £41, Wood Green to Sri Lanka. I am starting a dive centre further along the south coast in Tangalle later this year when the season starts, November.

I was also in Unawatuna to collect wood samples for another project, that of exporting coconut wood to Dubai, USA & Europe. Four great samples of 2′x4′x 4ft, each one brilliantly coloured from 50+ year old trees and heavy, 20kg apiece. Four months I have been trying to get the right quality; watch out for “Coconut Wood Flooring” - awesome! They play a part in the story to come (if you read on that is).

Anyway, set off at 9.30am, 6hr drive, home by 3.30pm - yeah, right. All goes well, making good progress until I pass the “gateway to the east” Monaragala; 80kms, 50 miles to go, 2.30pm.

There are three checkpoints on this section of road, all good security, the last of which closes its doors at 6pm until 8am; therefore if you do not make it by 6pm you will be sleeping in or on your vehicle; bus, van, lorry or bike, whatever.

Because of the current “Conflict/Political” situation we have become “Prisoners of Pottuvil”. I’m all for vigilance and security in these uncertain times but given the recent history of calmness in the Pottuvil area, Arugam Bay especially, we never see or hear of the LTTE; this is unnecessary propaganda but, hey, “it is what it is” (shortly to become the “strapline” for Rocco’s Hotel).

With this in mind I am very happy with my progress - until the rear tyres screech to a halt on the downward section of narrow, potted road, jokingly called the “A4″ halfway between the towns of Monaragala and Siyambalanduwa.

Years as a mortgage broker are fun & lucrative but it is the years of being a Kwik-Fit fitter (”they’re the ones to trust”, jump & shout “Hey”) that prove to be of most benefit in these circumstances (if only they knew). An inspection of the rear end indicates that the main leaf spring has snapped, if any other of the 5 leaf springs had snapped I would have been able to limp home the remaining 40kms, however the main spring is the one that holds the rear axle in place, 1991 Nissan Caravans were not designed with a “floating” rear axle, therefore it was imbedded in the rear wing!

Sri Lanka is a wonderful place to break down (vehicle not mentally!) especially in the countryside/jungle, no one is going to pass by the opportunity to help an obviously in need visiting foreigner. Before long I have a crowd of sympathetic looker-on’s all humming and haa-ing at the predicament, some even diagnosing the “spring, problem, having”.

I am a member of the AAC “Automobile Association of Ceylon” (free parking & cheapest members’ bar in Colombo, worth every rupee). £9 a year and valid with the RAC in the UK? Card in hand I contemplate a rescue service 300 miles from their only office on a Sunday afternoon… contemplation over, no signal on phone to call, dawn!

It’s 3.30pm before I realise the only solution is to strip to the waist (commando so not going any further) and set about removing the offending spring and get a replacement. This is fairly easy to do for someone of my mechanical background - if I had the tools!

As I jack up the van & remove the rear wheel a gentleman announces: “I am director of education for the Monaragala district, what seems to be the problem?” I am lying on the dirt-covered A4 trying to smash the axle back in place with a large rock so I can at least unblock the road, sticking my head up from under the van I now have at least 20 “lookers-on” all with their vehicles waiting to pass!

No-one is cursing or abusing me, well not that I can understand anyway, then another voice says “Rocco’s”. Two guys recognise me from Arugam Bay, insurance salesmen we insure the hotel with, young guys who now explain to the crowd what a wonderful individual I am, what I do and where I live - or at least I hoped that is what they were saying.

After explaining the situation, the three of them depart on their bikes to search out the required tools for me. In the meantime, I carry on trying to get the axle in a position so that I can roll it off the road. With the help of the crowd we eventually succeed.

Traffic flowing again, my new-found saviours return not only with the required tools but also the owner of the tools, a local mechanic. He gets to work immediately after the 20-minute introduction and assessment of the problem, removes the spring, hails a tuk-tuk out of nowhere -”Welding doing,” I am told.

My three saviours introduce themselves; they get me water, biscuits plus a chair to sit on, converse best we can about their jobs, why I am in Sri Lanka and why I am not married - “How do I survive?”

Mechanic is back, spring welded, he will fit, needs large rocks or wood to prop the axle…. Ah, those 4×2 samples, looks of astonishment as I produce the required “props”, casually bringing them out of the van as though I knew this would happen. They mutter amongst themselves making gestures, looking around. “Rope” the director of education informs me, he needs rope to tie axle; strange but true I have 5 lengths of half inch blue rope in the van. More looks of astonishment, “torch” the director of education announces, again I go into the van and produce a large diving torch! Can never be too prepared!

6.30pm I am back on the road, 30 miles to go at 10mph so as not to stress the welded temporary repair, 9.30pm home if I can blag my way through the check points………To be contd………

Part 2.

2 hours, 20 miles on I make Siymbalanduwa, last town before Pottuvil taking me through elephant-infested jungle, 8.30pm, checkpoint closed at 6pm. Mmmm… I know, go to bus stand find nice policeman who is heading to checkpoint, give him a lift, he will get me through, great plan. Also phone Naleem, brother & business partner let him know of problem so he can pull a few strings. I find said policeman, all covered, home by 10pm.

Wishful thinking; spring gets me 10 of the remaining 20 miles before giving up again. Now I am really in the middle of the jungle, again in the middle of the road, admittedly not a lot of traffic around but still. Dark as dark can be, no moon, no lights anywhere other than the van’s.

Luck would have it that there is an exposed rock of the right size that if I reverse hard against should push the axle back in line so I can get off the road. It works! I get out of van to be greeted by sounds of chatter and giggles.

If I was in the same situation in France, the only French I can remember of my schooling is “Je m’appelle Steve” or “Ferme la porte” others I can remember were learnt behind the bike sheds and would be classed as insulting, so I am greeted in the jungle by unseen people trying desperately to remember their English schooling, “your name?”, “my name”, “what country?”, “Gold Leaf”, “Married?”, “Children?”, “Problem!?” - think the last was about my predicament not my lack of spouse or could have been a statement about his spouse??

Eerie to be talked at and reply to a black space, you can sense the presence of people but believe me it was so dark I could see no-one! I turned the van lights on, another crowd of people looking on with concern and a touch of excitement at having a foreigner in trouble on their doorstep.

This time it was not how to fix the van, no point dealing with the impossible, now I just wanted to get home, a night unprepared for jungle sleeping, mosquitoes, elephants - way to extreme for me, even with wood, rope, baked beans, sausages etc in the van (did some basic needs shopping in Galle before leaving Unawatuna).

One of the on-lookers has a tuk-tuk but cannot take me to Arugam Bay, just the checkpoint. We unload van into 3 wheeler tuk-tuk. Policeman has left as late for duty because of my slow progress, hope Naleem has made those strings jangle!

No evidence of the checkpoint being pre-warned of my and my belongings’ arrival, however mention Naleem’s name and “OIC” - Officer in Charge - gets me a chance of a phone call… No signal! Sergeant even tries. Now how does this work? My Sri Lankan, Dialog SIM card shows no signal; calls are 3p a minute, my UK 02 roaming SIM shows Dialog, full signal, £2 a minute!!! Works; Naleem is coming to get me, local tuk-tuk driver is not allowed or happy to go through checkpoint, so Naleem will collect me from the other side as I am allowed to walk through. Job done, thank God for that.

Sergeant takes pity on me when he hears the full story from Naleem, sends his crack troops to get me water, chocolate & fruit juice, supplies a seat and storage for my belongings. Tell me where else such generosity would happen? Not just here at the checkpoint but all the people who have turned what should have been a 14hr horrendous experience to one of fun, adventure, learning and simple humbling at how I have been helped.

Sitting at the checkpoint drinking my juice, looking up at a brilliantly clear night sky, shooting stars scratch a line across the blackness, clinking of AK47s, sound of a transistor radio broadcasting Sri Lankan music cuts in with the National Anthem, every soldier stands to attention salutes an imaginary flag, I sit not knowing if I should join them. Then I hear “Steve Jones”.

Naleem has arrived…. On his motor bike 150cc Honda Hero, I hate riding pillion, something about the position starts off an old injury created by a horse called Wurzill (not going to explain); but wait, Naleem is not alone, he is riding pillion, Mushraff a good friend has come as well!

Three men on a bike! I’d guess at 270kg, 40-odd stone to travel 10 miles on the worst the A4 has to offer, not to mention sitting that close with my legs straddled around another guy. Saving grace was I was not the one in the middle!

11.30pm, home! Beers with Naleem, Mushraff, a couple of guests and discuss events of the day and arrange to get to Monaragala next day, buy new spring, shocks and fit them.

Following day we did exactly as planned, guess what? As I got stripped for fitting action a mechanic rode by and offered his help to remove & fit spring. See, get your kit off and everyone rallies round to prevent you from having to. What complex? I don’t have a complex, yet.

9am we commenced journey, 5.30pm we arrived back, van spring & shocks replaced, new friends made, belief in people’s generosity renewed, not a bad couple of days. Power steering went on the way back but that’s possibly a tale for tomorrow

If you go down to the Peanut Farm today, you’re in for a big surprise!

ABay remains quiet, with a trickle of interesting, adventurous, curious visitors. Good news is that looks like picking up in June with a good number of enquiries plus a Dubai surf tour company looking to book with us, www.surfingdubai.com

The idea being to bring Dubai’s overheating ex-pats (It is 40 degrees C there and can reach 50 over the coming summer months!) to cooler climes (35ish) and teach them to surf on one of Asia’s top 10 surf points; “The Point” Arugam Bay!

However “The Point” can be a little daunting for beginners & newbies, that’s where the other “Breaks” around ABay offer milder waves once the sand has built up. Potty point, Crocodile Rock & Peanut Farm all are great spots to surf once they are “working”

With this in mind, myself, Naleem, Ralph & guests; Rosie & Andy, took the potholed road down to Peanut Farm to check out it’s current state.

As we drew in 2 surfers were leaving, boards tethered to the roof of a “Tuk-Tuk” after a day surfing on their own; so break is working.

Peanut Farm is beautiful rocky bay, no guesthouses or hotels just a few tree houses for those that want the full “Robinson Caruso” experience.

The surfers leaving must have had some good advice because on walking back to the van, Rosie was marching ahead of us disappearing around a bend in the path , then she reappeared, marching faster towards us back around the bend, flushed, urgent whisper of “Elephants!”

This is the first time I have met up with Elephants on foot at close range; other “scary” incidences have been behind a protecting windshield?

Between us and the van was a family of two juveniles maybe 3 & 7ish plus two guardians/mothers, one of which was a large stature of a mother. We moved forward with caution, Naleem at the head with a piece of plastic pipe (makeshift stick or blowpipe!?) Ralph with a rock & me with a camera (heavy but not for throwing!)

We could see the larger mother give a typical warning, throwing grass and dust over her back; I’d witnessed this behaviour elsewhere, before being charged by protective mothers! So we were more than a little twitchy! Slightest signs or sounds in our direction had us scampering up a 3foot rock escarpment! Not sure it would protect but sure made us feel safer at the time!
Eventually Naleem, communicated “please go away, we mean no harm” i.e. hollered at them and waved his arms up & down, not recommended, an impression of a screaming pelican holding a piece of plumbing but it did the trick!.

Conclusion- They is big, they is scary at close range, they is prowling around dusk & dawn and Peanut Farm is working also a beautiful place to chill!

Steve “Elephant” Jones

Photo’s posted on www.roccoshotel.com & www.lookinglost.com

Well I have just driven over to ABay from Airport via Colombo, Unawatuna and along the coast road. Nothing to report really, nice scenic drive, apart from the 48hr of torrential monsoon rains on the West Coast! Never seen anything like it, just standing still visibility was zero, like looking through an opaque bathroom window, (smells to match in some places!)
Met up with friends en-route and all is calm on the ground.
Night flights have been suspended and the road to Pottuvil (Closest Town to ABay that you drive through, is closed from 5pm each night to 7.30am)
Security is tight in Colombo but as a foreigner I was not stopped or hindered in any way.
There are many police check points en-route; the majority are “drive through” to slow you down so the police can have a look.
One check point on the way to ABay you have to pull over and be checked out.
The bay is quiet, waves are long rolling 3-6 at the point, other breaks are working as the swell dictates. Sun is out & I am a very happy man, in a bizarre and confusing country!

Latest photo’s of hotel & recent trips into Yala West earlier in the year, are in the photo gallery.

Those of you who have visited Arugam Bay, Rocco’s Hotel or Tsunami Hotel will have been jumped on, entertained and generally amused by the lopping Rhodesian Ridgeback; Buckley.

Unfortunately, he died 3 days ago, still a puppy at 2 years old.
A hero in his day, helping our local cook Amir, regain his feet after a wall had collapsed knocking him down during the Tsunami December 2004, possibly saving his life.

His animal “Sixth sense” giving us the “All clear” on the day of the second earthquake 28th March 2005 as we waited in the dark watching a very agitated Buckley, once he fell asleep we knew danger had passed.

He will be missed “Man’s best friend”

“Asleep in the sand with the ocean washing over”

Dream Brother, Jeff Buckley