Mirissa: "Hello, Good Morning, Tuk Tuk?"

Our quiet little beach

Amanda Resort provided us with a delicious breakfast. Sri Lankan style omelette, toast, red papaya, banana and a big pot of tea. A great start to our food journey. By 10:30am we had seen all of the recommended sights, that is, Kandavahari Temple. Climbing the steep steps to the top was made worthwhile by the fantastic views of the beach. The clouds had cleared turning the water to its famous turquoise colour. The temple itself was quaint but the monkeys seemed to enjoy it.

We dropped in at Amarasinghe Guest House to check if they knew Claude Amarasinghe who Pete stayed with in the 70s. No luck. We'll continue the hunt in Unawatuna.

Most of the day after our morning stroll was spent literally lazing under a swaying coconut tree, getting up only to swim in the calm ocean, then return to our spot on the sand.

We had an overpriced mango lassi at a reggae restaurant on the beach before going in search of a traditional, cheap rice and curry. And we found it at Dimali's family "restaurant." All you can eat fish curry, spiced cabbage, dahl, wonderfully delicious spicy potatoes and rice for 250 LKR each. We were flat out getting out of there as Dimali kept insisting we eat more. And more. And more. By the time we finished up and waddled out, Chris had turned into one giant bead of sweat. So, back to the beach we went for more swims and more lazing on the beach.

Back at our hotel we rested up for an hour or so. Napping is obligatory during holidays isn't it? Then we were back at it. We took in a pretty average sunset from the headland before going in search of a cheap dinner. At another road-side "restaurant" we found roti filled with curried vegetables, samosas (which are actually folded up roti filled with deliciousness that have been breadcrumbed and fried), dahl, some spiced greens, rice and some unidentified 'other.' Needless to say we ordered way too much food, ate way too much and have now vowed to go a whole day tomorrow without eating until we feel as though we'll explode. With such good food around though it is likely that this plan may be harder to stick to than it sounds. Stay tuned.

We finished up the evening taking photos on the beach. The weather is so balmy one could sit there indefinitely.