Temperatures dipped this weekend and the forecast for the early part of the week is hovering just above single figures. The surf has promised a lot, but not really delivered and the Pointy Hat site has been full of peripheral surfing activities until today when I wrote of a stormy surf I had with Ross. We do, however, have our first clothing run! One of the boys has taken on a T-shirt design and order, which is great and I’ve designed another logo which Ross and I have organized to put along the stringers of the new boards we ordered this week. We’re very excited about these new boards, they’re 5’ 10” fish, wide and thick and very short, which should be just the trick for the prevailing surf conditions here. Even though the air temperatures have dropped, I still haven’t christened the infamous “Fireskin” wetsuit. My new steamer has become the source of a lot of jokes, as I’ve built it up to be the best thing ever to hit the water, Carl actually very unkindly referring to it as the “Foreskin”! (They’re just jealous of the fact that I’ll be able to stay out in all these artic type days ahead!!)
We’ve been busy again this week, with me trying to read articles and post responses online in an online forum for one of my courses and mark tests that my kiddies have done and write reports. Progress: articles…not bad, reports…pathetic! Cass has had a social whirl, but not really of her choosing, dining out on Thursday and Friday night. She met with her colleagues involved in the middle school play on Thursday at Pizza Rialto and got all dressed up to attend the romantically named “Candlelight Dinner” at school on Friday. The parents serve the teachers at this do and it gives the kiddies a chance to doll themselves up with every piece of finery money can buy. The food tends to be a little less than excellent and it is more of a duty thing than anything else. Cass and I had a decadent lunch out at the Moroccan restaurant on Saturday, having 4 courses and coffees! The sad thing is that the owners and operators are moving to Canada in February, so we’ll lose one of the few top class restaurants in the area. They are starting to sell off some goods, so we bought a tiny version of the Tajine oven as a decoration.
We are going to Sri Lanka at Christmas and hope it will be a great adventure. We’ll be based on the south west coast at Hikkaduwa, a village that has grown in the past few years owing to the fact that it has some world class surf right off shore. This was exactly the sort of place we were looking for: somewhere with a decent standard of accommodation and also a great surf nearby. I have bought some coral reef booties and the main reefs are just a paddle out from shore. Our hotel, the Amaya Reef, is situated right on the main point and in fact, the bar house is situated right out on the isthmus, with a great view of the peeling waves. The shoreline is dotted with all sorts of great little eateries and it is just a short drive to the town of Galle, which is famous for its shopping(!). We’re not sure what else we’ll do, but with 14 nights there, we’re sure to have a relaxing, interesting time.
Photos today are a strange mix: I'm wearing my protest bandana with Virg, little Camryn helped put up the Christmas tree, the police swooped on an apartment in the street that had some trouble last year: seemd a bit of overkill if you ask me! Finally a shot taken from the internet of one of the informal beach restaurants at the "A-frame" in Hikkaduwa..looks good!