We woke to a beautiful clear morning on Lake Castlereigh this morning after all the rain yesterday - so it was an extra sad sight to see the boat approaching to take us away from our beautiful bungalow at the Ceylon Tea Trails - but hopefully not forever!
We had a six hour drive ahead of us, taking forever through the narrow, windy, slow moving roads and spectacular landscapes of the central highlands until we get to the faster moving main highway heading south to Galle on Sri Lanka's SW coast.
We eventually arrived at our hotel in Galle Fort a bit after 3.30pm. The fortified old city of Galle where we are staying was established by the Portuguese in the 16th century, expanded during Dutch rule and then consolidated by the British. The architecture of Galle Fort reflects all of its European past.
Its about a 2 and a 1/2 klm walk around the ramparts of the old city's fort walls so we set out to go as far as we could before sunset. We started at Aurora Bastion looking out to Lighthouse Beach.
By now we were feeling extremely hot and sweaty - the late afternoon sun was baking hot.
So we did the only sensible thing and stopped for a Lion beer at the Rampart Hotel to wait it out until the magical sunset hour .......
We are staying at the historic old Fort Printers Hotel in the centre of the old town. We are staying in our own wing of this boutique hotel with a small kitchen and living/dining area for our own use. Galle Fort is another UNESCO World Heritage Site so there are very significant restrictions on the ways buildings can be altered or renovated. Our hotel is full of quirks and character!
It hasn't taken us long to realise that Galle Fort is an extremely popular tourist hotspot now.. The streets are filled with British and Asian tourists and every second shop sells jewellery or wooden elephants. We're glad we only have a full day here .......
However, along with the tourists Galle Fort does have some excellent gelati vendors, friendly cafes and great opportunities to drink beer at sunset, so all is not lost!!
We eventually arrived at our hotel in Galle Fort a bit after 3.30pm. The fortified old city of Galle where we are staying was established by the Portuguese in the 16th century, expanded during Dutch rule and then consolidated by the British. The architecture of Galle Fort reflects all of its European past.
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