 |
| Hanging Bridge |
Nixon picked me up at 6:30 am on his motorcycle, and we
drove off to meet the other boys at their home.
By 7:40 we set off on the bikes;
Kasun, Sophano, Saros, Ram, Nixon and myself. The morning
sunshine and the landscape was beautiful.
It was a real treat to be seeing this from a motorcycle. Along the road side (and sometimes even on
the road) there were goats and cattle wondering about. The most spectacular of all the animals that
we saw were the peacocks. I regret not
taking a single picture of one of these striking creatures. At one point we stopped to admire this enormous
male peakcock sitting up in a tree, with the largest and most colorful tail I have
ever seen; the morning mist was rising behind him as he sat waiting for the day
to start. Truly a site to remember.
 |
| Kasun, Nixon, and Saphanos |
The bridge reminded me of a small version of the hanging
bridge that you could be seen in the movie Indiana Jones, and the temple of
doom (which was actually filmed in Sri Lanka; a little unknown film fact). Nixon was rather scared of the bridge, and
rightfully so… he slipped at one point, and fell onto his bottom… and the snack
he was eating was sacrificed to the waters below. Thinking about it now, I realize how close he
could have come to falling off the bridge.
Yikes! As we walked across the
boys thought it would be great fun to jump up and down, to feel the bridge
swing from side to side. Lots of laughs and smiles were had by all.
After we left the bridge we set out for a few different
destinations. The first stop was a Roman
Catholic Church, called Our lady of Madhu. This church is famous for the Madona and child
statue, which was brought there in 1670 by Catholics fleeing Protestant Dutch
persecution in Mannar. The statue quickly developed a reputation for miracles,
notably as a protector against snake bites.
Madhu has been a pilgrimage site ever since. Stations around the church were set up to
light candles and say prayers. Since we came during the lent season, services were
taking at the different stations of the cross. As we walked around the grounds, Nixon told
me, during the war Sri Lankans came to the church believing it as a safe haven
from the shell blasting and mines. However,
the church was severely bombed by the LTTE and many people were injured and
killed. Today there isn’t any evidence
of the damage, as the church had undergone extensive renovations to restore it
to its former glory.
I got many stares during my trip to the church, and many
people asked Nixon where I was from. One
mother asked me if she could take a picture of me with her daughter. I felt like a celebrity.
 |
| Thirukketeeswaram Kovil, Hindu temple |
Our next stop was a Thirukketeeswaram Kovil, it is one of
the 5 historical Sri Lankan Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva. It was established to protect the island from
natural distasters. It is an imposing site, with a towering colorful gopuram
(seen in my pictures). Pujas (offerings)
can be seen throughout the temple, as men and women kneel praying. The temple was a glorious site of color and
usual statues. Nixon explained a few
things about Hindu religion to me, but since he is a Christian he was only able
to give me an overview. I asked about the
god with the elephant trunk and 5 arms, but Nixon did not know its significance.
We then asked two young hindu men, but
they couldn’t explain it either. It has something to do with each hand
signifying a lesson like greed, generiousity, kindness, etc.
As you enter the
temple you are requested to remove your shoes, and men as asked to take off
their shirts. For someone like myself,
who’s feet are used to the comforts and protection of sandals, the hot tiles
outside the temple were torture. I
quickly hopped along the ground until I could find come cool shade. In my defense, even Nixon said it was very
hot! The people praying the temple had a
good laugh at my expense.
 |
| We made it! Sporting my helmet hair! |
 |
| Fisher man seen along our travels |
We then hopped onto our bikes and went for lunch in the town
of Mannar. Nixon picked out a nice
little place, where we had rice and curry, BBQ chicken and fresh fish, and vegetables
(which I haven’t seen in a long time). One of the best meals I have had since I
arrived in Sri Lanka. It pays to know
where the locals eat!!
With full bellies we headed off to meet Nixon’s family. He introduced us to his mother and father and
two of his brothers. Nixon has 5
siblings in total. His parents don’t speak
English, but were happy to say hello and welcome us into their home. We had some refreshments and got changed into
our bathing suits. The house was under construction, an addition was being
added to the side of the house. House construction
is very interesting here. First, a slab of
concrete is poured for a foundation; then many dozens of vertical and sturdy
sticks are used as temporary support beams to hold up the second floor until
the cement has hardened within the wooden planks and side walls. I will have to remember to take a picture of
a construction site to show everyone.
 |
| Women cleaning fish to be dried |
Finally the beach! We
parked the bikes and walked to the sandy shores. The sand along the immediate shore was a
beautiful white color, but further back towards the tree line it darkened to a
black color. The beach was totally
deserted… which we soon found out why.
As we all walked towards the clear blue waters, happy to have reached
our destination we were greeted by a solider dressed in fatigues and carrying a
machine gun. Nixon explained to the man we
were here to swim and would be leaving in an hour. The solider and Nixon talked for several
minutes, and then Nixon said everything was ok.
We quickly set about to enjoy the water.
The water was incredibly hot. I
have been to many tropical countries, but this was the warmest water I have ever
swam in. It was like swimming in very
warm bath water. Everyone commented on
the temperature, we laughed and splashed away in the water. After about 15 minutes of lovely swimming,
another solider came over, and the next thing I knew, we being told to get out
of the water and leave: We did not have permission to be here. Nixon and Kasun had a lengthy conversation with
the soldiers about this matter; it was decided they would leave the 3 foreigners
(myself, Saros and Saphanos) with Ram (a Sri Lankan), while they went to ask
for permission from the army. Ram doesn’t
speak that much English, so he sat off to the side and proceeded to have a
lengthy and heated conversation with his girlfriend. I sat with the two
Cambodians to wait for Nixon and Kasun to return. About 20 meters away the two soliders with
their machine guns stood and watched us.
I was nervous, but knew nothing would happen. Nixon and Kasun returned and said we had to
leave. Apparently, since we did not have
life jackets we were not allowed in the water.
Nixon was very upset, and kept apologizing for the situation. I told him it was ok, and it wasn’t his
fault. He felt embarrassed and apologized
a million times more. I was just happy
nothing bad happened, and that we got to enjoy the water for a brief period.
After our experience at the beach we decided to make a
detour; we took the bikes and drove to
see the fishermen bringing in their catch for the day. This was a highlight of the trip for me. Nixon
knew many of the people we saw at the beach because his father was a fisherman. They all greeted us with smiles and curious
stares. A lot of the men and women
stared at me, and giggled.
 |
| Rising fish in the ocean before weighing |
Against the backdrop
of the crystal clear blue waters men were busy docking their boats; people were
folding up and repairing nets; large buckets of fish were being weighed on large
hooks with a scale attached; men were
carrying fish off to coolers by feeding a large stick between the handles of
the bucket and hoisting it onto their shoulders; groups of women were
sitting on the sands preparing the fish
to be dried; small fish were laid out on blankets to be dried in the sunshine;
dead and discarded fish could be seen floating along the shore lines; both men and women were laughing and staring
at the foreigners… mostly me. One man
came up to me and said “you are the same, but different color, see?” and put
his arm up beside mine. I smiled and we both
laughed. It was a busy site with lots to
see.
It was a great and very memorable day, and I am very
thankful that Nixon organized such a wonderful adventure. Thank you Nixon!
 |
| Fish drying in the sunshine |
 |
| Weighing today's catch |
No comments:
Post a Comment