20 February Galle, Sri Lanka

Galle - functional, historical, fascinating, crazy and worth a visit. We had three naval officers on board to escort us into the harbour and in to the new marina. The term marina being used loosely to describe a recently constructed area for yachts to tie up within the Customs dock. This is the first season it has been open and it is a significant improvement on the precarious floating pontoon yachts previously had to use. We dropped the anchor and backed up to a concrete wall where there were many waiting to take our stern lines and tie to hooks in the wall. With the aid of our passarelle, a glorified gang plank we could get on and off as could our agent and the numerous officials who came to clear us into Sri Lanka.

hooking up to electricity

one marina, four Amels

As promised by our agent, there was electricity available. It just took three days for the electricians to work out how to put our plug in to their socket. In part because it took a day to discover our agent needed payment in full before it could be done. Finally all was good and we had a continuous supply of power for the duration of our stay.

Formalities completed and Customs gate passes (three sheets of A4 each) we dared to cycle into town. There is a simple rule of the road throughout Sri Lanka – the bigger you are and the louder your horn the more rights you have. Pedestrians and bicycles are at the bottom, buses at the top. They slow down briefly for passengers to literally jump on or off otherwise they keep going, flying along, pushing tuk tuks into the side and forcing their way through impossibly small gaps in the traffic.

Our route in to town was a couple of miles going along the esplanade and the old town which is the business heart of the city, passed the international cricket ground and then through the gates of the old Portuguese fort in to a different Galle. Within the fort walls there are cobbled streets, historic buildings, boutique hotels, fine restaurants and high end jewellery shops. It is a world heritage site. We cycled the path on the top of the fort wall taking in the views across the bay and south towards the busy shipping lane which is just off the coast and an impressive vantage point to watch action on the cricket pitch.

Lighthouse with mosque in foreground

cobbled street

cycling around the walls

No play today

Prawn curry at Heritage Cafe

The streets are a grid system and away from the tourist centre there are many families who live within the area so there are houses, schools, a Dutch church, a large mosque. During our stay we came to the fort area every night to try a different restaurant. The food is very, very good. There are small restaurants which have 12 seats and four young men in the kitchen serving delicious fresh curries with accompanying side dishes, family run places with more seats and a queue down the lane serving a taster menu of ten different

curries cooked by Mum and served by her son and daughter and the hotel restaurants which are converted warehouses with airy courtyards, elegant surroundings and linen napkins. The only disappointing meal we had was when we ate at a local restaurant near to the harbour and the owner added a 'white face' surcharge and doubled the bill. The cost of his meal was the same as eating in the smart places in the fort (average £5 for a main dish). The quality wasn't.

Would I recommend Galle for a visit? Yes, a couple of days for land travellers would give you a good feeling. For yachts crossing the Indian Ocean and choosing between Trincomalle and Galle I would opt for Galle again because it is a more direct route to the Maldives, the marina offers a secure place to leave the boat while you do a road trip and it is a transport hub with trains, buses and private tours all available. For example a fast train can get you to Colombo in 2 hours for £1 or buses to Yala National Park 5 hours and £2.50. We also found the town for food – provisioning and eating ashore.