Day Fourteen: R&R at Why House

A day of leisure.....

Travelling can be very tiring without a day of leisure to catch your breath, catch up on the undies washing - more detail than you need I know - and give you a chance to process all that you have seen.

Mind you, just because you don't have any activities organised that doesn't mean you can't have an adventure or two.

Although Jan wasn't her usual chirpy self, we headed for the beach which is close to Hen's place. It's known as Turtle Beach for good reason: giant sea turtles come to feed at the shore. We couldn't access the beach as the tide was in but there was still one large sea turtle swimming in the shallows.....but more were yet to come.

All of the meals at Why House are served in a beautifully appointed open air patio. Henrietta was with us for most meals and is the perfect hostess, making sure everyone is well looked after. The breakfast menu was vast - from fresh curd to french toast to Sri Lankan food - so we endeavoured to try most of it during our stay. Jan and I particularly enjoyed the Sri Lankan version of shakshuka.

 They managed some food allergies and preferences without any problem. Kerryn is allergic to chilli which is a challenge with the local food.

I'm not great at lying around doing nothing (hence the blog!) but a few swims in the palm-fringed pool was a priority.

One of Sri Lanka's primary exports is gemstones and the national stone is a blue sapphire, although the pink ones are lovely too. A few members of the group were accompanied by Hen to her favourite gem shop, where the sales people are very attentive when they catch sight of her, as she is a frequent customer who brings a lot of business her way. Zoe, Anne and Jenny were very amused by the fact that there is a carparking space directly outside the shop with traffic cones to stop just anyone using it.  When they arrived Hen issued instructions to the girls to jump out and move them so she could park: her spot she says ..Competition is tough in the gemstone business. A few purchases were made, and even more when we visited a few days later.

The only adventure for the day was a visit from a local doctor for Jan who hadn't been well for days. He arrived with a large suitcase full of medication and all of the tools of his trade. I was hanging around to make sure all went well. He decided to look in her ears and then invited me to peer through the otoscope inserted into her ear and tell him what I saw! Not usual medical procedure. I wasn't sure of the appropriate answer so I replied " It's pink" and he seemed happy with that response as he said she had a middle ear infection. Phew! The same process was repeated on the other ear and then he started rifling through the contents of the suitcase to extricate a range of medications, including an antibiotic and ear drops fortunately. He was missing one medication from his mobile pharmacy so one of the staff had to pick it up later. The instructions on when to take each medication, how many to take, when to stop them etc was written on small white envelopes containing the pills by Jan. Then he taught Jan some vertigo exercises. He left in such a hurry he left his blood pressure monitor behind but it seems he always leaves something behind after every visit.

I spent the next while trying to write a daily timetable for Jan so that she managed to take all of the medication at the right times and allow time for the ear drops and the vertigo exercises ! It was very complicated! But all worth it as she has recovered fully!

The day seemed to pass by quickly with lovely meals, pre-dinner cocktails and lots of conversations.

We  returned to our spacious rooms for tea on our outdoor patios. Hen had explained that the bell on the outdoor coffee table was to summon staff for drink orders. Our responses to this was unanimous: none of us felt comfortable ringing bells for 'servants' to appear at your call. A British colonial tradition we were not about to comply with. Our rooms were only a short walk from the restaurant so it was simple to walk up there and order anything.

your rested and well-fed correspondent 

Dianne

PS. Why House is opposite a vet so these were the notices painted on their walls! Although something got lost in translation as I'm not sure about 'Murder is NOT!'