Finding paradise between the lagoon and sea
Having had the wonderful experience of camping on a mountain, now we thought it was time to get our feet wet. Our country is blessed with beautiful beaches, so after much thought we chose Kalpitiya, the beautiful peninsula in the Puttalam district as our destination.
Based on our past experience we needed a contact person and this was, Sugath Emmanuel, a boat owner from Kudawa in Kalpitiya and President of the local Boat Owners Association, who told us of the islands where one could camp. The boat charges were heavy though, and hence he suggested some good spots on the beach.
Our trio of Minol Peiris, Suran Perera and I chose the second weekend of July for the trip. By 4.30 a.m. we were at the Kapuwatta station to catch the train which arrived at 4.50. The train ride was quite peaceful and after Negombo the scenery was just amazing so we sat on the foot board of the almost empty train and watched how the wet zone transformed to the dry zone. Another stunning sight was the ghosts of the railway; the rusting train carriages after Nathandiya.
At 8.15 a.m. we arrived at Palavi, the gateway to the Peninsula. We inquired about the train times for the next day and were glad to find a train at 10.05 a.m. After breakfast in the town and gathering our supplies we took a bus to Kurichchanpitiya junction as instructed to by Mr. Sugath. It took about one hour to get there. The road to Kudawa beach is from this junction and we took a three-wheeler to his home near the beach where we kept our bags and went with him to scout out the location.
He showed us a nice spot under some coconut trees to make camp, but it did not seem very quiet as there was a construction site near by for a massive windmill. This was at the beginning of the Kalpitiya lagoon and from here starts the isthmus called the sand route connecting a larger part of the peninsula.
When walking towards the lagoon we were surprised to find a large number of foreigners “Kite-surfing”. We were told that there are kite-surfing schools in the area and it takes a couple of weeks of practice, and many foreigners stay for 2-3 months to learn! Continuing along the isthmus passing the “wadiya” with some small huts, there was a stretch where due to the strong winds for about a foot high the sand from the beach was being blasted like a little sand storm. It was like needles being thrown at our feet. After this the sand route became a bit narrow and Mangroves started to appear on the banks of the lagoon. Here hidden among the mangroves, was the perfect camp site! But we had come too far almost 3 km from the Kudawa beach, so in the hot blazing sun we walked back to the house. Mr. Sugath said he could arrange a three-wheeler half way there to the wadiya. So after lunch we had a swim in the beach near by and took the tuktuk to the wadiya and from there hiked to the “most beautiful camp site in the world”.
The mangroves were such that we had a separate place for the tent, kitchen, living area and a We had a hard time getting the camp fire going due to the wind and at one point we almost ran out of firewood. Finally to our relief it caught and we had a late evening Marmite drink and dinner of baked beans and fried chicken. It was a Poya and with the moonlight we did not need our torches. Relaxing on the bank of the lagoon surrounded by mangrove forests we were astounded by the beauty of nature.waterfront verandah on the lagoon with the sea on the other side. It was paradise. We even had neighbours; Hermit crabs. We set up the tent by 5 in the evening and then came our signature: we went to the beach and to the setting sun waved the Lion flag at the success of our adventure.
We woke up early the next day, had bread and chicken for breakfast, and broke camp 7 a.m, and then headed for the wadiya to catch the tuktuk we had arranged the previous day. We made it a point to take away all what we brought to the camp site adhering to the principle “leave only footprints”. After a refreshing cup of tea at Mr. Sugath’s place we bid him farewell and came to the junction to take the bus to Palavi and then the train back. We were home for lunch! Though this was a very short camping adventure, with the company of friends in a double water-front camp site in the wilds, it was memorable!
(The writer is a past student of St. Joseph’s College of the 2013 A/L batch)