Kite surfing on Arugambay beach

 

There are two coastal areas on the island famous for kitesurfing. One is Kalpitiya located in north-west coastal and other one is east coast. This is about Pottuvil beach.

This is a two-day trip on the weekend. We started from Pettah by a private bus at 10.00 p.m. on Friday evening. We booked our tickets on Thursday evening so we could easily take seats for 5 people. If somebody wants to go to Arugam bay, that would be better to book seats at least before a day. Otherwise, it makes you difficulties. As I mentioned, this journey started in the evening and at sharp time the bus began to travel. The bus was gone by Panama – Colombo bus route. On that way, we could pass Udawalawa and Lahugala park.

As we know, Arugam is a bay in the arid zone of this island. It was affected by Tsunami disaster and in the war period. But later, Pottuvil city that raised up in the tourist industry. I would request all readers visit this beach early in the morning. Because it makes for a nice view of the sky when the sun is rising. We could reach to Arugam bay When the time was at 5. 00 a.m. As we already arranged, one friend came with his vehicle to take us from Arugam . Then we went to “Beach View hotel and took a rest until the sun rose. We had for 6 hours by bus, so we slept in cabanas until 7’ o clock. Our hotel was comfortable with one double bed and two small beds in one room. So, we could manage one room for 5 friends. This hotel is famous among kite surfers in local and foreign and there is a small shop as a part of hotel has opened to sell fabric bags and handloom items.

Before having our breakfast, we went to the beach and helped some fishermen to pull their boat to the beach. It was a fresh experience for all of us. It would be better to be called a tourist village rather than saying fisheries’ village. Because many of the villagers who survive by this tourist industry.

Normally there is a season to start kite surfing in Pottuvil. When the season starts, the village will be crowded by foreigners who love beaches and surfing. And the young men of Arugam bay participate in surfing competitions on international day for surf annually. Moreover, Sri Lanka is working as a hosting country for surf competitions, and it is popular around the world.

We spent a few hours in the morning at the beach while swimming and playing. After that, we went out to see some ancient temples. When we returned, there were many villagers at the beach site, while playing, swimming, and building sandcastles on the beach. While walking on the beach, we could see widely cultivated coconut trees on  right side. We came back to the hotel in the evening. The moon lit the sky, so we spent
many hours on the beach until midnight came. We sang songs while playing Bongo. The next day we visited town and took some craft items. When the evening came, we booked a public bus in the evening and at sharp at 9.00 ‘o clock left from Pottuvil and returned to Colombo at 3.00 ‘o clock in early the morning.

By

Sanduni