We arrived in Sri Lank in the evening and by the time we got to our hotel at Bentota beach, a 5 hour drive had elasped due to the heavy rainfall and clogged (small) roads. On check in at the Taj, we were surprised to find a message from friends who had just checked out. Apparently they had seen our names on the "incoming" list as they checked out. We ordered room service which was fast and of good quality since it was already 9 at night. We were nearly starving by the time we arrived so that made it all the better. After dinner we had a shower and collapsed into bed to the sounds of the sea lapping at the beach. We could not see anything due to the thick foilage and pitch blackness...

The following morning we awoke to the chirping of birds and discovered that our room was overlooking the beach and Indian Ocean. This was a very nice surprise since we almost always get stuck with a room on the back of the hotel overlooking something not-so-nice. (We later watched in horror on TV as the hotel room we were in was wiped out by the Tsunami).

Anton had to wake up early as he booked himself two boat dives further down the coast from Bentota in a village named Hikkadua. The dive shop was run by a real nice man named "Some." I took the opportunity to relax at the pool as the previous evening was very tiring for me with the travel and being 5 months pregnant. The pool was great, nothing but sunshine, fresh air, a good book and snoozing at the pool! In the afternoon it started to rain heaviliy for a few hours, that type of monsoon rain you can only get in jungle areas of the Indian Ocean... gorgeous! I thought, poor Anton, hope he still has a good time on his afternoon dive. As it turned out, he loved it, saw all types of different fish, manta rays, corals, turtles, etc. even with the afternoon rain, which they only noticed when they surfaced. Unfortunately his small camera did not function too well that day soonly a few photos were made that turned out good. In late afternoon, Anton returned and we went for a stroll down the long (miles) pristine beach. Beautiful is all I can say, the sand soooo fine and the palm trees swaying in the wind. The palm trees there are much different that the type of palm trees we are used to in the Arabian gulf or in the US/Europe. They are not short and stocky, but tall and thin. It is amazing that they do not break off with all the strong windows coming in from the Indian Ocean.