Colombo Sri Lanka - 5/13/2026
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Today we woke up to monsoon type rains on a day when we were scheduled to go to a resort to have some beach and pool time. The weather called for all day rain but since we had been on the ship for the last 3 days, we decided to go anyway. We got off the ship in Colombo Sri Lanka and took a 90 minute bus ride to Wadduwa. The bus was mostly empty since so many people cancelled due to the rain. The ride was through the main part of Colombo, and then some smaller towns and eventually rural areas. The guide talked about the history of Sri Lanka, the mix of cultures and religions. The area is primarily Buddhist but also has Christian and Islamic communties. There was a long civil war in Sri Lanka but he explained that it wasn't drivin by religion but rather was political in nature. He felt that the different cultures and peoples live very harmoniously side by side.
We saw cars, and motorcycles but the most prevalent thing we saw were motorized Tuk Tuks. The guide said that there are 1.2 million Tuk Tuk drivers in Sri Lanka. That's the second largest amount of any country behind only India.
We arrived at the Blue Water Hotel and Spa and it was still raining. The hotel staff met us and set us up in a large open air covered lobby where we could sit, have internet and relax. The rain slowed down pretty quickly and many of us decided to swin in the huge beautiful pool even though it was still lightly raining.
The rain slowed down pretty quickly and many of us decided to swim in the huge beautiful pool even though it was still lightly raining. The hotel's pool was gorgeous spread across 2 pool areas, connected by a thin river, surrounded with palm trees and other plants.
After swimming we were offered a cooking demonstration where the chefs of the hotel showed us how to mkae 2 different curries, chickel and dahl (lentil). They used a large number of spices, and we got to taste them when they were done, Both were very good.
We were then treated to a huge buffet lunch of traditional Sri Lankan dishes which was very good, Had we tried a small spoonful of each item it wouldn't have fit on pne plate there were so many dishes. After lunch we had some time to stroll around the grounds and do a bit of bird watching as well.
We boarded the bus for the ship, and shortly afterwards the rain started again. Had we listened to the weather forecast we would probably not have gone on the excursion but it turned out to be a really fun day and we were glad we went. We haveanother sea day tomorrow.