Trincomalee – A city full of colors with the idyllic slow moving pace of a small coastal village.. Little spots of once saturated and vibrant facades of homes and shops, the clothing and the boats of fishermen, the emerald-blue tint of the sea, the different coloured tuk tuks, the sparkling stars in the night, the blue sky just before sun rise, the white beaches, the dark grey skin of an elephant crossing the street on our way there and the light grey sun scorched carcasses of fish rotting on the beach, the green patches of algae growing on rocks inside the water, the orange clouds during the sun set…

We have been there for just one night and it was off-season, so the whole beach was close to empty. There were just the fishermen pushing their boats in and out of the waves onto the sand, bringing back what they have caught. Asking for help and then smiling at you, sweating with them together in the midday sun, pushing and pulling the boats onto the shore. One of them making a beat: 1,2,3 huaaa. 1,2,3 huaaa. Everybody pulls, rythmically and the boat moves a little bit. Again. Repeat… Their approving little head shakes and happy faces once their boat was up on the shore, safe from the tides. You need to know that if you want to show agreement or happyness in Sri Lanka, you move your head through the air, just as if you are trying to paint a little eight lying on its side with your nose. This typical headshake and the brown, toothless smiles were more than enough reward for us and even though none of the fishermen spoke English we could still see their gratitude and felt happy about being able to help them. The one thing I really regretted to not be able to do in Trincomalee was, to go and swim along the blueish green waves which were coming in regularly every second. But my foot was still infected and I did not intend to make it any worse by swimming in the sea and getting sand into the wound. I decided that I want to come back to Trincomalee once in my life during the peak season. We were told, that it is a haven for whale watching and you are nearly guaranteed to see some of the giants of the ocean there. Blue whales, sperm whales, whale sharks… all of them come to the ocean around Trincomalee during the summer, when there is lots of fresh plancton and krill to feast on. Trincomalee is a different city during this time though: many tourists and expensive hotels and tours. Still I want to be back there some day, swimming along a whale shark… That sounds like something worth coming back for, even if the city looses its slow pace during this time…