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| Three Wheelers in Colombo |
I’m here!
Did you know that you can purchase a fridge, stove, washer/dryer, microwave, on your way through the Colombo airport? ‘Hello? Hello Madam? Come see come see!!’ As I walk down the long hall towards immigration at 11pm I have the option to do some serious shopping. The airport smells like frangipani flowers its humid and I can’t help but feel a huge smile spread across my face… relief that I am finally back!
The drive into Colombo takes 40 minutes in the middle of the night… during the day it can take up to 3 hours. I arrive at the hotel that Lal booked for me in Mount Lavania – a quaint beach town area of Colombo that is known for its sprawling white governor’s mansion which sits on the cliff looking out over the Indian Ocean. The mansion has been completely renovated and is now one of Colombo’s most prestigious and British colonial hotels – the grand terrace on the cliff is garnished with palm trees and tiny sparkly lights is one of my favourite spots in the city to take visitors and share a meal with friends. I’m staying just down the road for a 2 nights until we finish up our work in the city and head down south to the children’s village tomorrow.
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| Mount Lavania Beach in Colombo |
Today I met Lal (national director of Global Action AIM’s partner organization)at Global Actions new office in the middle of the city. Recently funding for their projects has taken a cut due to the economic situation in the states - their main source of funding. The new office is quite a bit smaller but the tall ceilings, white washed walls and large windows make it a very pleasant place to spend the afternoon. After a couple hours of planning and organizing we headed to Armour Street to check on the roof sheets that we’ve ordered. They will be taken by a lorry (truck) tomorrow. Armour street is Sri Lanka’s answer to Home Depot except its one long narrow road with many little higgly piggly shops. I have no idea how you’d begin to start sourcing materials and tools for building here but Lal has it completely under control. He’s calm cool and collected as we duck in and out of trucks and steel rods and busses, piles of coil, bins of metal bits and pieces. Amongst it all I did find a place to get a new sim card so my mobile is all ready to go :011 94 72 262 1321 (call me!) All is ready for our trek to Galle tomorrow.
This evening I took a long walk along the sandy beach watching the sun go down while children play cricket, families picnic and a group of young men push a fishing boat down the beach and into the ocean. I buy a king coconut for dinner and sip its sweet juice as I burry my toes in the sand and enjoy the last moments of the day.
Tomorrow afternoon we head to Galle to coordinate all the materials and meet with the Buddhist monks that have been helping us with the programs at the Village. I’m looking forward to the 3 hour drive along the coast it’s a chaotic journey along Galle Road but the views of the rolling ocean, palms, temples, stilt fishermen and guesthouses make it all worthwhile.
Hugs,
Eden
