From deluxe to basic…
Aug 13, Day 18 – From Gondakawela to Deniyaya
65km …much consisting of mud and uphill!
A massive breakfast at our new favourite accommodation… and you know they don’t see too many foreigners when the brekky guy asks for a selfie with two scruffy aging cyclists…
So off we set with full tummies for what we knew would be quite a bit of “up”. What we didn’t know was that our chosen route, zig zagging up a mountain pass, was also a major construction site… non-stop roadworks, mud, more mud and heavy machinery for about 15km. This was after navigating through some tiny sandy paths on the “shortcut” to the highway, so we really didn’t do well with our planning today!
Somewhere around 4 hours later we’d covered not much more than 20km. And covered ourselves and our bikes with mud and grime… we had to stop constantly to clear out the mud from the mudguards and derailluers just to keep peddling.
It did improve eventually and we made it to the bustling township of Deniyaya…where they also clearly don’t often see a “foreigner” 🙂
Slim pickings for accommodation and we rocked up at something called the “National Motel” which from the outside was nearly enough to make my tired little self cry…
The outside of the lodging was rather underwhelming, inside the entrance was worse, piles of broken and dirty food display cabinets. Beyond these was a large iron gate and an arrow pointing down a steep dark staircase- we really couldn’t do it justice with pictures! With little alternative accommodation around, we rang the number propped up in one of disused display cabinets. Someone promptly arrived and led us down the staircase of doom, into a surprisingly peaceful garden and very basic but comfortable cabins.
Mahesh the manager turned out to be a lovely guy, well spoken in English (always a plus for us as we’ve been too lazy to pick up any Sinhalese!). Gave us some great suggestions for dinner -a little lean-to cafe that we wouldn’t have given a second look otherwise, but did the trick with some freshly made egg hoppers and roti.
Day 19 (and 20!) – to Galle!
Aug 14, Day 9 from Deniyaya to Galle
85km of nice roads and mostly flattish!! Woohoo!
Total covered so far… 1129km
Another 6.00am start and a fast and easy 20km descent before breakfast at a wonderful bakery, recommended by Mahesh. Gentle hills and increasing traffic as we approached Galle by Lunch.
Reached the Southwest coast huge monsoonal waves crashing into the seawall. The air misty with salt spray.
Walked to Galle Fort for an evening explore and dinner. Entering the Fort was like walking into a different country. Mostly restored Dutch colonial architecture, very touristy, all glitzy jewellery shops and posh restaurants.
After an enjoyable walk, we think we found the worst restaurant (not just in Galle), a truly memorable meal, with food obviously pre-cooked and just marginally warmed. We ate around the edges, left most and paid the still posh price, and headed out onto the street feeling slightly queasy.
Our pre booked hotel was wonderful and sadly full for the following night but we found a similarly nice place just across the way.
So day 20’s a rest day with more exploring of the Fort area, and a delectable (and cheap!) curry lunch, rating right up there in Neil’s dahl quest…
Let’s go cycling 
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