Hey guys, here is our last blog post from this year’s expedition! The past seven weeks have flown by so quickly, and we are incredibly sad to have left Nilaveli, which has been our current home. The beginning of the expedition seems like a decade ago: arriving in Colombo, sweaty from the newfound humidity and excited to start our research. These last few weeks left us mosquito-ridden, sunburnt and satisfied with the progress of our research.
We have also thoroughly loved immersing ourselves in the beautiful Sri Lankan culture. Here are a few special examples:
The food! Who could not love authentic Sri Lankan food. At first it took us a while to adapt to the spice (for some of us, we are still trying to handle the spice) but we absolutely love the Kottu, rice and curry and various sea food. We definitely found a few special local restaurants that were good to eat at.
The people: they are extremely friendly and up for a chat, especially to try and find out where you are from.
The transport! The Tuk Tuks are always a fun ride and the drivers are full of local knowledge. Also, the buses are a fun time; who doesn’t love colourful buses that blare out the best Tamil music (especially A. R. Rahman).
Lastly, we cannot thank Poseidon Dive Centre enough for everything they have done for us! The dive staff always went above and beyond. They put us first to help with our projects; they gave a helping hand with literally everything; they fed us with lovely exotic fruits and ice cream; and they always greeted us with a friendly smile every morning. We would like to give a special thanks to Praveen who, as well as supporting our expedition, has also looked after us like a big brother, and we cannot thank him enough for this. We will miss him the most.
We are currently back in Scotland, recovering from travel blues. It has been an incredible two months in Sri Lanka, and we hope our expedition can continue to next year with a new team!
