06:30am last Friday saw us depart home on our summer holiday, collecting our Japanese-Korean friends Sung, Surang and Teji on the way. A chance conversation the previous weekend had led to an impromptu decision that they’d join us for the first three nights at the Jetwing Lake, Dambullah. They would then return home by seperate vehicle, and we’d continue to the Sunrise by Jetwing at Passikudah for a further three nights before going to the EKHO hotel in Ella for two nights, and then a final night at the Grand Hotel, Nuwara Eliya. As I write this post we’re in the final night at Passikudah towards the end of a gentle stay by the sea.

Rather than one long blog post though, we’ll post several shorter ones about specific events – so here’s the first one about Negombo Fish Market.

Whenever we are normally heading North out of Colombo we take the Katunayake Expressway to make good progress but this time accepted the driver’s suggestion to take the Pamunugama road that runs along the very narrow and low-lying spit of land that borders the Negombo Lagoon. We’re glad that we did, having opportunity to observe a thriving fishing community and the very active Negombo fish market; hot and sweaty, noisy, chaotic and smelly, but welcoming and with a tremendous range of marine produce on sale, all of it landed within the previous couple of hours.  From unloading fishing boats, to selling what had been landed in the market, to drying fish on sheets laid on the beach it was a hive of industry.

Hopefully the photographs help to expand on the picture I have started to paint.

As the market is within 45 minutes of home when travelling outside peak times I will return both for more photography and to shop for a nice dinner menu.

Steve