We were up extra early today to go whale watching. Now this is a big problem down here in Mirissa and we thought about going whale watching on and off. There are only 2 ethical boats companies that offer tours here and the rest are apparently really bad. We decided to book with Raja and the Whales an ethical company who follows all the international guidlines for appropriate whale watching. If you are ever in Srilanka then the other ethical company is WWC.

We were picked up by tuk tuk at 6:15am and taken to the head office to pay for the tour. We were given the option of sea sickness tablets and then we were walked down to the wharf. The boat isnt the most comfortable you either have weird chairs down the bottom level or matresses up the top, but that didnt matter as there were places to sit. They also feed you throughtout the tour and the service is amazing.

We were lucky and the first whale sighting was early. Raja who was on the boat was telling us about how the smaller boats chase the whales and are really bad. He told us that we would follow slowly and approach approriatley further out to sea where the other boats won’t go and we can make sure the whale felt safe. We got to see Ryde’s whales, bottle nose dolphins, spinner dolphins and Olive Ridley Sea turtles. It was a lovely morning out at sea.

Ryde’s Whale

Bottle-nose Dolphin

Spinner Dolphins

Olive Ridley Turtle

After the whale watching cruise we grabbed some lunch at a local resturant where Anthony made friends with the owner. We tried the local tuna steak which was actually pretty good.

Chamila picked us up we started making our way to Colombo. Chamila asked if we wanted to stop at the turtle sancturary, however I have not found any that are ethical so I asked if we could go to Galle Fort instead.

Galle Fort is a UNESCO world heritage site showingcenturies of global trade and colonial power. Its story begins long before Europeans landed in Galle as it was a key port for Arab, Chinese, and Indian traders as early as the 14th century.

In 1505, the Portuguese landed in Galle and later built the first fortifications to protect the harbor. In 1640 the Dutch captured Galle from the Portuguese and they expanded and reinforced the walls, adding bastions, gates, churches, and administrative buildings, turning it into a self-contained fortified city. In 1796 it changed hands again when the British took control of Sri Lanka.

Galle fort is still inhabited and shows off its charm with streets filled with hip new businesses. We would have loved to spend longer here. We went to Black Fort which is the oldest part where the Portugeuse landed.

We drove the rest of the way to Colombo arriving at about 6:30pm. We are staying in a super fancy hotel so we ordered room service and chilled!