Sri Lanka is the size of Tasmania but is home to over 21 million people, close to the population of Australia. Yet, there is a sense of tranquility. The beaches are clean and clear and tourists are far and few between. It is also much cleaner than India, a fact that is a matter of pride to the Sri Lankan’s.

Ashtangalanka’s home is Rocky Point Beach Resort, in Southern Sri Lanka, 3 km before the town of Tangalle. Even though it is actually only 195 km from the airport, the average speed of the traffic is around 40 km/hr, which meant it would take us five hours to get to Tangalle. I had to book us into the resort next to Rocky Point for the first week, as all the rooms had been booked. The second week we had booked one of their freestanding bungalows.

The trip was fairly smooth and our driver was a master at dodging traffic. I had been told that Rocky Point was fairly remote, and as we got close to our destination the traffic started to seize and suddenly there was no one on the roads. We rang our hotel The Lucky Star and were given guidance towards what looked to me like an overflow river channel, but actually was the road to the resort. Reuben and I were too tired to worry and finally at the end of the track we arrived. The owner, Dieter was kind enough to have stayed up and escorted us to our rooms, where our heads hit the pillow and we were asleep within minutes.

And this has to be one of the most surprising mornings of my life. As I turned over in bed my eyes lit upon the most spectacular view, the ocean beneath my balcony. Some 50 or so meters away gentle white tipped waves rolled onto the rocky shore. Palms swayed in the mild breeze. This was a true dream view taken straight out of a vision of paradise. Being the practical kind I had to think to myself that this is a million dollar view for US $32 a night, including breakfast and dinner.

 

Lucky Star is only about 2 minutes walk from Rocky Point and the Shala, along the same track we drove in on. And if you walk along the rocky beach at the front of the hotel for about ten minutes you will come upon one of the world’s most exclusive hotels, the Amanwella resort. Here you can feast on fine food and swim in one of the world’s most beautiful beaches. Then if you walk in the opposite direction along the beach you will come upon another great beach that has a couple of quaint little restaurants that serve fish straight from the ocean.

Some of the restaurants near the resort are very basic small huts, sporting a couple of tables and simple, but absolutely delicious food. The Cactus Lounge is one of these. The waves just about lap up to your table and if you call ahead in the morning, they will make sure your fish or lobster requirements are met with the mornings catch. L.G. Sumanasena takes enormous pride in his cooking craft and you can be assured that he will serve you only the best fish available for a very small price. He can be contacted on his mobile ph: 077-622-1139 and all the tuk tuk drivers, which is Sri Lankan for rickshaw, know of the place.

There are several excursions you can go on, and most take at least a couple of hours to get to.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is one such place, as well as the many Buddhist temples in the area. Matter of fact it is told that most of the Buddhist temples and statues miraculously survived the Tsunami in December 2004. One of these temples is the Parey Duwa Buddhist Temple situated on a small islet joined by a bridge to the main land at Matara, about one hour from Tangalle.

Just about every free corner in Sri Lanka is adorned with a statue of either the Buddhist denomination or Christian. After the Tsunami even more appeared as various countries donated statues, such as the Tsumani Honganji Vihara in Peraliya, north of Galle, which was donated by the Japanese.

I was looking forward to catching up with Kathy and her assistant Jacob again. The last time I practiced under Kathy Cooper was in Italy at In Sabine. Kathy has a way with teaching that makes you look forward to each days practice. She is with you all the way and always ads some surprising insights into ones practice. In Italy Jacob also brought with him his knowledge of Acroyoga and it was to be on offer this time as well. I had heard that he had a young Acroyogini staying at Rocky Point and that the two of them were leading some classes. So, I had two weeks in paradise, yoga, perfect beaches, fresh fish, mild breezes and lots of time to relax and reflect.

The Travelling Ashtangi