Island Hopping

Words aren’t enough to express the grateful joy of living alongside Nature . The feeling will be lasting with you for a very very long time.This time we choosed an isolated island belonged to Sri Lanka where you can have a remarkable experience with the sandy beach. It is located 38 kilometers or 20 nautical miles away from the town of Kalpitiya, Off the Dutch Bay lies the island of Baththalangunduwa. Where fishing & religion rule the lives of Island and fishing has become their religion which makes their livelihood.The islands can be grouped into broad clusters and, while many are inhabited, there are also plenty of smaller islands and outcroppings in the ocean that have no-one living there at all.
Apart from Baththalangunduwa being a thriving fishing island recently it has become a tourist destination which helps to the people on that island to make their lives better. Sri lanka Navy and Police taking care of the costal security of the Island. Five of us reached to the Kalpitiya bay around 7.30 a.m and we had our breakfast, got some supplies from their for us to survive for 1 and half days on that island. Boat was scheduled to leave from there by 8.30 a.m. We got onto the boat and made ourselves comfortable, but not for so long. Its a 3 hours boat ride where you have to cross 38km which you can feel the time has been slow down for a bit passing numerous uninhabited islands dotting the area and fishermen rule the area.While the sea can get little bit rough some time throwing passengers about, and getting wet due to sea spray, travellers should be mindful of one’s belongings, especially, electronic equipment,mobiles,power bank etc. And those who can’t find some leg room, the journey could be really uncomfortable. We were lucky to witness few Dolphines along the ride.

And finally we reached to the island around 11.30 a.m and found some good spot to place our camp. Because we had to make sure high tides don’t ruin our camping site, if you are going there for camping wait for some time before you set up your camp and make sure everything is sound. We made some tea to refresh ourselves from the boat ride. We brought some breads, noodles and chicken. And we bought some fish from people on the island for a very reasonable price. So we prepared those for our lunch & dinner. There were few other groups along with us whom helped us to exchange few stuff.

The beach over there was awesome, you can enjoy as much as you like. The best time to have a bath in sea over there is either in the morning before 11 O’ Clock or in the evening after 5.00 p.m . From 12 noon to 4.00 p.m you can see pretty high tides that will be bit risky to have some fun in the sea unless you are pretty good swimmer. You can find variety of colourful Seashell on the beach.

We made a camp fire & had some BBQ Chicken as usual and some BBQ Fish for the dinner. And since all of us were from the same high school so there was nothing to be worried for us to do some crazy stuff. We had some light shots of rum in the night and went to sleep after singing some songs.

Next day morning we witnessed a beautiful view of the ocean from the window of our tent. So back to the routine ,had some tea & noodles and again we were in the sea. Then we packed ourselves to get ready for the boat that leaving from the island by 1.30 p.m . We got onto the boat and look to the island untill it disappears from our sight.We had a superb fun after a long time.
But in the bottom line i really felt for those people on that island. They have nothing to do but fishing. They have to struggle between beach and the ocean every single day for survival. Majority of the people represent Tamil. Even though they are isolated from the main island Sri Lanka they are very kind hearted people. And i think whoever governs this country there are many more things to concern before gets the credit of having the highest tower in the South Asia or whatever. I don’t think any of thse politicians even bother to go there. The children over there don’t have proper education, no sanitary facilities. Sri lanka Neavy operates a one school but that is not enough.I loved my time there. The locals were so warm and friendly, travelling on a budget wasn’t horrendous, I doubt I’ll ever go anywhere as spectacular as Baththalangunduwa, and I’m already plotting my return! If you’re looking for paradise, head to this island.

Bon Voyage!!!!