Not much time for photography today – we were on the move.
After a few minutes on the side of the road, along came the 322 we were waiting for – packed to the rafters. We’d thought the packs would be a problem, but the conductor said to stack ’em on the engine bulge, right next to the driver. So that was one problem solved. No seats, so we held on as best we could as the driver set off like a lunatic: pedal to the metal, regardless, slam on the brakes when absolutely unavoidable.
After 20 minutes or so we got to Matara, where half the bus got off, enabling us to grab seats for the hour or so left of the journey.
When we arrived, as is our tendency, we spurned tuk-tuks, preferring to walk the half hour or so to White Villas. 15 or 20 minutes later we ruefully wondered whether this had been one of our better decisions. It was so hot, and the road proved to be not only further than we’d imagined, but also a lot more uppy-downy. By the time we got there we were so drained we could do little but lie around groaning for an hour.
Thus revived, we set out for Jungle Beach, where good snorkelling was rumoured to be had. Again, we walked (do we ever learn?), and again it turned out to be a pretty tortuous journey, ending up with a stumble down a path criss-crossed with roots and strewn with rocks. Finally we came down the last section to the beach, which proved to be absolutely humming with happy activity, the sea full of locals having a whale of a time.
We went in for a dip, discovering sadly that the water is yea cloudy, so unless things change tomorrow, that pretty much puts paid to our snorkelling hopes. But we still had a nice time, returning by way of the local town, where we picked up more cash, and a couple of bottles of beer (woop woop!)
