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shment followed by a harvesting demonstration which was super interesting apparently the skills required are passed between generations a cinnamon plantation the cinnamon branches are ready for cutting when they re about 1 25mm in diameter cutting suitable branches removing the outer bark layer the inner layer is the part which contains the cinnamon it s rubbed with a brass rod to loosen the fibres then split with a knife to remove the layer in large pieces this is where experience and real skill is required removing the cinnamon layer a lifetime of wear on the brass rod the lengths of cinnamon are then slipped inside each other to fill the space and bundled together to form the sales unit slipping the peeled cinnamon layer inside each other mrs j with a sales bundle of cinnamon i chewed a piece of the fresh cinnamon and it was wonderful far stronger flavour than the common dried powder i was immediately transported back to the early 1960 s when we used to buy dentyne classic cinnamon chewing gum from the school tuck shop as far as remember it tasted exactly the same amazing how a sound smell or taste can trigger old memories eh an utterly delightful way to spend an afternoon some technical information galle has a strong portuguese and dutch heritage and much of the early colonisation buildings and other structures are extremely well preserved traditional fishing boats were still in daily use parked up along the beach local fishing vessels the subject of the following photo caught my eye a biker cafe there was no evidence of it actually being frequented by bikers but it was a nice entrance in fact during our stay in sri lanka we only saw 4 or 5 motorcycles which could be classed as belonging to enthusiasts the remainder were simply cheap forms of transport oh really lunch on our first day in galle was in an old dutch building converted into a nice restaurant i was particularly taken with delftware porcelain attached to a dining room wall as decoration delftware wall art as with most restaurants we stopped at they had an elegant courtyard in the centre almost without exception there was a large bowl or pot full of lotus flowers just lovely an elegant touch during the walking tour of the old dutch fort area we visited the dutch reformed church built in 1755 it had been beautifully maintained stained glass work and decorative organ pipes impressive pulpit for delivering a sermon the old sea wall round the fort area had been constructed using cement and coral wholesale destruction of coral was apparent from the photo below large chunks of coral embedded in the sea wall the galle sea wall and lighthouse stonework from colonial days massive early anchor maybe from a tea clipper bird of prey over galle fort part of galle fort and clock tower we were scheduled to visit the galle international cricket stadium after our tour of the dutch fort it was amusing to note that one of the canons was perfectly aligned with one of the cricket buildings just across the road a perfect incentive for the home side to keep winning a nice alignment as a result of the 2004 indian ocean earthquake and tsunami sri lanka suffered a large amount of devastation the sea wall around part of galle helped to mitigate loss but the cricket ground suffered severe damage late australian cricket legend shane warne helped to raise money for the restoration and it clearly hasn t been forgotten by the sri lankan people inside the cricket club bar yet another magnificent place to lay our tired bones at the jetwing lighthouse with stunning views out to sea colonial themed room sunset from our room deck we were fascinated by the beaten copper figures around the large spiral staircase in the main part of the building apparently they depicted the portuguese phase of colonisation we really enjoyed the artwork but it probably alarmed young children slightly reminiscent of some of the characters from the movie the dark crystal fabulous spiral staircase it was at this final location that we solved a mystery at every place we stayed there was a tiny arrow unobtrusively located on the ceiling of our rooms this was a real head scratcher and we came up with all sorts of highly improbable and bizarre theories in the last room there wasn t one on the ceiling but i discovered one in a drawer here tis a secret sign unable to contain myself any longer i asked a member of staff a dead simple answer the direction of mecca for members of the muslim faith the dinner that evening brought the tour to a close with tour members going their own way every single tour group member was an utter delight and we all got on famously with great humour and support for each other can t speak highly enough of the tour organisation the delightful tour director and of course the wonderful sri lankan people who were helpful gracious and good humoured to a fault highly recommended for anyone who wants a destination a little outside the normal major destinations jennie and i headed back to colombo for a day before catching our flights back to new zealand however there was still a surprise in store for us when we rocked up to the singapore airlines desk at the airport we were checked through for the first 5 hour leg from colombo to singapore but we were told that they couldn t check us through from singapore to auckland as the 10 hour flight wasn t leaving for over 24 hours we thought there was only 3 hours between flights instant stress as we assumed that we were simply transiting through singapore as per the outbound flights keeping it simple we didn t pick up the dates due to the late pre trip changes to our route because of the middle east conflict and the impact of the international date line neither did we have accommodation in singapore or the necessary official clearances in short i spent most of the first flight on the internet arranging clearances and emailing back and forth to our nz travel agents to arrange accommodation hugely grateful that they took care of the accommodation with no dramas not long after landing jennie and i were eating street food not far from our hotel tucking into delicious street food with the locals the final flight home went without a hitch and business class food and comfort made for a relaxing end to the holiday pre flight champagne duly downed roast duck spiced orange dressing and an excellent sauvignon blanc there was one delightful incident during the flight which jennie told me about later with a rather self satisfied smile i might add we weren t able to sit together on this leg because of the late pre holiday bookings she said that the young male flight attendant flirted with her for most of the trip despite her saying that she was old enough to be his grandmother got to make the most of these occasions when they arise posted by geoff james at 14 33 4 comments labels sri lanka saturday 11 april 2026 kiwis curries and coconut palms nz to sri lanka part 6 nuwara eliya to yala en route to yala national park there was a visit to a tea plantation the sri lanka high country has perfect conditions for growing tea and a wide range of vegetables with its rich soil and great climate perfect conditions for horticulture vegetables galore i ll have to admit that tea growing and processing was not something i d thought too deeply about but it turned out to be a fascinating couple of hours and a lot more complex than i d imagined it s also made me appreciate how nice tea without milk is but the rider is that it has to be a high quality tea to get the most from it as with the botanist at the previously mentioned botanical gardens the owner of the business was both enthusiastic and extremely interesting tea plantation the owner explained that the very best teas come from the very tips of the tea bushes and the pickers are skilled in selecting what to harvest the top couple of leaves produce premium teas a ceylon tea guide a huge area for screening the raw leaves the drying and crushing process is critical to the flavour and requires a great deal of skill larger darker leaves constitute the premium teas whilst the powdery remains tend towards tea bag use the factory owner was circumspect in his comments about tea bags as they re convenient to use and have market value as a result if i can paraphrase his remarks they re at the bottom end of the taste ladder grinding the dried leaves this is the moment when jennie indulged in a bit of eye rolling and less than complimentary remarks about engineers the photo below shows some residue on the floor from a screening process which grades the dried leaves in terms of size and quality all i did was to remark that there was less volume generated by the higher quality grades and they could be interpreted as a tea leaf based pareto distribution i thought that it was a perfectly natural and normal observation but apparently not according to mrs j a visual display of a common mathematical principle or not various teas awaiting packing tea tasting came next and yes there was a marked difference in flavour we chose an orange pekoe which was delicious for when we re having high tea at home yeah right tea tasting arty shot of some packaged leaves the outstandingly high standard of lunch stops has been remarked upon previously and the latest stop was no different however the view from the terrace was better than anything previously encountered with world class views down a valley not a bad view whilst eating lunch not far down the road towards yala was a beautiful waterfall which was well worth stopping for now that s a decent waterfall our destination that evening was the yala hilton located not far from the national park entrance if we thought that uga ulagalla was the pinnacle of accommodation part 2 yala was next level up with individual units situated in tree covered park like grounds and a central admin dining area it was a masterpiece of understatement not at all glitzy or over the top this is something which sri lanka excels at we were advised to call for a golf cart to take us to the central complex as wild animals are often encountered in the grounds our unit lounge bedroom bathroom utility area between lounge bedroom and bathroom lounge bar in the central complex two trips were planned into the national park one in the morning and one late afternoon as the mix of animals changes during the day our guide was a young sri lankan ranger nicknamed sarge part of his education and work experience was in south africa and his knowledge was phenomenal yet another guide that the country can be extremely proud of his ability to spot things was uncanny and when asked about this ability he explained that it wasn t a case of actually spotting something but being aware that something was out of place or didn t quite fit in the overall landscape that s the same as heightened situational awareness for advanced riders drivers pilots or yachtsmen a selection of photos from both outings follow entrance to yala national park our ranger guide sarge outstanding guy leopard tracks on the edge of the road water buffalo wallowing apparently the most dangerous creatures in the park painted stork white throated kingfisher a small herd of elephants large monitor lizard large freshwater crocodile samba stag note injury to hindquarters lesser adjutant stork and ibis we didn t really expect to see an elusive leopard but right towards the end of the day we saw one partially camouflaged in a tree we were grateful for what we saw especially as we had taken some million dollar shots of one on the serengeti a few years ago partially hidden by leaves yala national park in particular is a must see wildlife destination and we left the park completely enthralled with what we d seen the sunset was magnificent and the clouds looked like a greek god throwing thunderbolts a fitting end to the day part 7 to come posted by geoff james at 14 47 4 comments labels sri lanka older posts home subscribe to posts atom contact me geoffdotjames74 gmaildotcom language translation blog archive 2026 10 april 7 kiwis curries and coconut palms nz to sri lanka kiwis curries and coconut palms nz to sri lanka kiwis curries and coconut palms nz to sri lanka kiwis curries and coconut palms nz to sri lanka kiwis curries and coconut palms nz to sri lanka kiwis curries and coconut palms nz to sri lanka kiwis curries and coconut palms nz to sri lanka march 1 february 2 2025 9 november 1 august 2 july 1 may 2 march 2 february 1 2024 16 december 1 november 1 october 1 september 3 august 3 july 1 june 2 may 1 april 1 february 1 january 1 2023 14 december 2 november 1 october 1 september 1 august 1 july 2 may 2 april 1 february 3 2022 14 december 1 november 1 october 1 september 2 july 2 june 1 may 2 april 1 march 1 february 1 january 1 2021 13 december 1 november 2 october 1 september 1 july 1 may 1 april 2 march 1 february 1 january 2 2020 21 november 2 october 2 september 2 august 2 july 1 june 1 may 4 april 1 march 5 february 1 2019 22 december 2 november 1 october 1 september 2 august 1 july 2 june 8 may 1 march 2 january 2 2018 18 december 2 november 1 october 3 august 2 july 1 june 1 may 2 april 1 march 2 february 1 january 2 2017 25 december 2 november 1 october 1 september 9 july 1 may 3 april 1 march 4 february 1 january 2 2016 14 december 1 november 2 august 2 july 2 june 2 april 1 march 1 february 2 january 1 2015 11 december 2 november 1 october 2 september 1 june 1 may 1 april 1 march 2 2013 16 october 1 august 1 july 1 june 1 april 1 march 4 february 6 january 1 2012 41 december 2 november 2 october 4 september 5 august 3 july 3 june 6 may 6 april 4 march 1 february 1 january 4 2011 77 december 6 november 10 october 4 september 6 august 10 july 3 june 5 may 7 april 7 march 5 february 8 january 6 2010 67 december 5 november 3 october 5 september 5 august 6 july 6 june 12 may 9 april 7 march 5 february 2 january 2 2009 18 december 18 who geoff james coromandel north island new zealand grumpy old curmudgeon on some occasions mental age of 5 on others retired professional engineer and career in operations and technical management mainly in the pulp and paper industry have been riding since i was 16 and joined the nz branch of iam in my 60 s and was honoured with life membership in 2021 still young enough to really enjoy life and love motorcycling fishing sailing kayaking and travelling with my soulmate and long suffering wife jennie moved to nz from northants in the uk in 1975 and have 3 grown up kids whom we re very proud of and love dearly we also love irritating our kids by doing stuff with the grandkids that they normally wouldn t get permission for a cynic and optimist in equal measure depending on the moon and what day of the week it is growing older as disgracefully as possible view my complete profile followers copyright unauthorized use and or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog s author and or owner is strictly 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