Ferrying from Island to Island – Jaffna Peninsula Chapter 3…

Sri Abeywickrema – 100*

“How much have you seen in this country?”

“Have you finished seeing everything there’s to see?”

“Don’t you get enough of travelling around getting wet and tired?”

“Is there more left for you to see?”

“How many reports have you written by now?”

Questions, endless questions like these are being asked my friends and colleagues day in and day out. No matter what I tell them, they keep coming up with these questions every now and then. Sometimes they rephrase them but the end result is still the same old question. Even I wonder myself sometimes thanks to the persistent enquiring by them how much I’ve really seen in this country. Once at a training about 1 year ago, one of the foreigners asked what I loved doing for which I replied traveling around Sri Lanka. He then asked much I’d seen of Sri Lanka for which I said without thinking much, about 5%. He laughed at me and remarked “some traveler you are then”. I knew he meant it in a sarcastic manner but didn’t wanna pursue the issue further coz there was no point in that.

Even today, when my friends keep on and on I just tell them that I’ve seen less than 10% of what there’s to see in this country. “Is that right?” they won’t stop and I’d reply “I honestly don’t know”. I don’t think anyone can give a specific answer to a question like that. And for those who ask if I don’t get tired of travelling, I’ve got a straight forward answer ready in my armory, “not a chance”. Of course there’s plenty for me to see in this country so that question is pretty much irrelevant. By the way, I don’t travel just because I want to prove that I’ve visited all those places or boast, it’s just my passion nothing more.

And to the last question, I had no idea how many trip reports I’d written coz it’s too difficult to keep abreast with them. I gave up keeping track of them long ago. However, when I published my Udawalawe report, one of my colleagues at work exclaimed that I had only three more to reach a century of reports. I couldn’t believe that but realized he’d not been exaggerating after checking. By then I’d already sent the Jaffna 1 and Jaffna 2 report and was on the process of writing this report. So I figured I’d already completed my 100^th trip report but didn’t know about it. Well, don’t ask me how or what I felt coz it simply came so unexpectedly and I’d already completed the 100^th report when it dawned on me thanks to my curious colleague.

I can remember though when Ashan published his 100^th report long ago (about a year and a half) and felt pretty good about it. I even kept wondering what would it be like to write 100 reports and if I ever could achieve that feat. Finally now that I’ve reached the magical number, I guess I’m supposed to feel overjoyed and be jumping up and down. I joined Lakdasun in July 2012 and since then been a part of this wonderful family for the past  34 months (of course by the time I write this article) and now I’ve reached as Tony Greig would’ve said the triple figures. Looking back, I can see four significant events in my travelling life which transformed it into where I am today.

My first ever trip report which was about Sinharaja helped me get a feel of travelling and I was hooked since then. Then came a major turning point when I attended the Lakdasun gathering on 02 Mar 2013 and met many keen travelers. As a result, Hari (my long-term buddy) and I did the Great Western hike. That was something I really enjoyed and kept me going on and on. The third most crucial one was when we got together and did Bathalegala with Tony, Hari, Dhana, etc. It was a great journey and helped form a great friendship and bond between us. Finally, my 50^th trip report helped me expand the scope of travelling when I visited the isolated and very little known Baththalangunduwa Fishing Island off Kalpitiya. Those four journeys have helped me grown from a toddler to man when it comes to travelling. Ok, now you know my secret and achievement, let’s go see what I’ve got for you in this journey, shall we?

Jaffna 3

You now know that I’ve been roaming around Jaffna Peninsula as if it would vanish the face off the earth soon. So far I’ve brought you the things to see in and around the heart of Jaffna (Jaffna 1) and then we travelled along the northern tip of Sri Lanka from Mathagal to Manalkadu (Jaffna 2). This is something different what I’m gonna bring you. Now you’ve seen most of the Jaffna Peninsula had to offer. I know I must have missed quite a lot but hopefully I managed to bring most of the key things. Now, let’s go beyond the peninsula into the islands off the northern part of Sri Lanka.

If you want to know the Islands of Sri Lanka, please click on the link which will take you to the Wikipedia list of islands belong to SL. Even though it looks at a glance as if the Jaffna Peninsula is one huge block of land, it’s in fact a combination of islands. They are connected to the mainland through causeways thus making them look like part of the mainland. The following islands are connected to the mainland via causeways: I’ve given both the Tamil and Sinhala names of them.

Punguduthivu – Punguthdeepa

Mandathivu – Mandadoova

Kurikkattuvan – Kiralakatuvana

Velanai (Kayts) – Bellana (Uruthota)

Naduturitti – Madduriththa

Karaitivu

The above mentioned islands are connected to each other and you can find them if you travel to Nagadeepa along Jaffna-Kurikkattuvan Road. In addition to them, there’s another huge island off Kayts connected via a ferry and that is:

Karaitivu (Karainagar)

Ok, now you have a fairly good idea about the Jaffna Peninsula and its islands which can be reached by road. Of course there are many others that you have to take a dedicated ferry. They are as follows:

Delft (Nethunthivu) – Maedundoova

Nainathivu – Nagadeepa

Eluvaithivu – Eluvadoova

Analaithivu – Annaladoova

Then there are some others that you have to either hire a fishing boat or have a navy contact to go in one of their boats. Let’s see what they are:

Chirutivu – Hiridoova

Kachchathivu – Kachchadoova

Kanantivu – Kaennadoova

Karaitivu

Palaitivu – Paludoova

Paratitivu – Paludoova

Puliyantivu – Kotidoova

Thorattapputti – Doratumukka

Now that our geography lesson is done and over with, we can start our journey.

Tour Highlights: 

1. Nagadeepa Island.
2. Nagadeepa Viharaya.
3. Buddha Walauwa Temple.
4. Nagapusani Amman Kovil.
5. Flamingoes @ Kayts Causeway.
6. Eluvathivu Island.
7. Fort Hammenhiel Restaurant.
8. Karaingar Light House.
9. Casurina Beach.
10. Karaingar Shivam Kovil.
11. Anaikoddai Fish Market.

Day 01

I was all alone and had nobody to accompany me. Getting up around 5am, I started walking to the Jaffna bus stand and reached by 6am. I wanted to catch the first bus to Kurikkattuvan Jetty which is about 33km from Jaffna. The first bus (always a CTB No. 776 and the ticket is Rs. 72/-) leaves Jaffna at 6.30am and usually gets to Kurikkattuvan in real quick time. It always gets to Kurikkattuvan well before 7.30am so ample time to catch a ferry to Nagadeepa or even to Delft.

Nagadeepa Island & Nagadeepa Viharaya

The bus ride as usual is no worse than a roller coaster. I can still remember my first experience in the Jaffna-Kurikkattuvan bus when I visited Jaffna in 2013. These drivers don’t believe in driving slowly and they keep their foot firmly planted on the accelerator. No stopping or slowing down but keep going at the speed of wind. Fortunately the road from Jaffna to Kayts is under construction and most of it is finished. However it got really interesting when we turned towards Velanai and from there to Kurikkattuvan. The road is not in good shape especially the long Pungudutivu causeway. There are so many pot holes but the driver tried to go above them rather than slow down and take it easy.

The result was that we didn’t have our bottoms on the seat for second or two at a time. The bus would fall into a pit and down goes the seat leaving the bottoms hanging in mid-air. Then the bottom starts its downward journey but by then the fallen bus had started its upward journey thanks to the shock absorbers. This meant the bottoms going down would meet the seats coming up and have this collision. I just gave you the description of a fraction of a second process. This kept going on and on until I couldn’t feel my buttocks anymore. I kept touching them after getting down to make sure I had them still on me.

Getting out of the bus at Kurikkattuvan I just started taking a few pictures while waiting for the ferry to get to Nagadeepa. The morning was nice and cool and the lagoon looks absolutely sensational. Do you want to see the pictures? Here they are:

The bus to Kurikkattuvan

The tiny causeway before the Jetty

Taking a break

But not him

Selfie in a different manner

RDA ferry, probably that takes vehicles to the islands

The RDA run ferry to Delft, free of charge and leaves at 8.30am. There’s a second one at 9.30am

This is not my boat but the one I took to get to Nagadeepa

Already there was a large group of people who had come all the way from Hambanthota. I joined them inside the ferry. They kept saying how calm the Jaffna Sea compared to the rough seas in Hambanthota. Probably they didn’t know that this was simply a lagoon and not like Hambanthota. We arrived at the newly renovated jetty of Nagadeepa. Before we go in to the temple, see some of the pictures of the ferry ride.

By the way, you have to pay Rs. 30/- for the ferry ride one way. Why I mentioned one-way is because one lady kept complaining that it was so unfair to charge Rs. 30/- one-way and even offered to suggest they build a bridge between Nagadeepa and Kurikkattuwan. She went onto say that she’d donate Rs. 1000/- for such project.

People from Hambanthota

Leaving the jetty

View in front

That magnificent flag of all

Kurikkattuvan behind us now

Two vessels going their way

This one returning from Nagadeepa

There’s the entrance to the Temple

The Kovil

Getting closer

Clad in white and see the little girl

Cheeky

Navy on guard duty

Getting ready to berth

Newly built pier at Nagadeepa

I jumped ahead the rest of the crew as I needed the space to take pictures of the temple without anyone walking around. I was really lucky as I had no problem taking pictures at my will. Other group was clad in white and was on a real pilgrimage. They didn’t hustle and bustle but got on with the rituals and then settled down on the sandy floor in front of the silvery stupa to worship. The peacefulness of the temple enveloped me and I simply didn’t wanna leave. It was so nice I didn’t even want to bother with my camera. After sitting down under the shade of the Bo tree and feeling re-energized, I walked around and took these pictures for you.

Well I’ve a piece of news as well. If you want to go around the island, a tuk-tuk can be found for about Rs. 1,000/- – Rs. 1,500/-. I didn’t really want to try it. In addition to that, there’s a bus now running in the island coz the number of people living in it has gone up. It operates from Nagapusani Amman Kovil to the other end of the island (about 1km) back and forth throughout the day. Even a ride in that bus might help you if you really wanna see the island.

Here they get off

I started ahead them

The vessels moored along the beach

Special boat service

Here they come

The wall of the Temple

Very ancient temple, the second place where Lord Buddha arrived in Sri Lanka after Mahiyangana

Muchalinda Naga Daranaya

This is one of the most beautiful Dagobas I’ve seen

Silvery

Spire

Other side of the road

Bo tree

Closer

The legend

Image of Lord Buddha preaching to the Nagas

The beliefs

Worshipping

Simply amazing

Inside one of the image houses

See who’s built a house?

Main image house

The legend

In Sinahala

And in English

Going towards it

The top

Replica of a moonstone and guard stones

Main Buddha Statue

One each on either side

The other one

Beautiful paintings of Nagas

Some more

The ceiling

People who’ve kept the temple going all this time

A replica

Here they are worshipping

Time to go and leave them in peace

The bus being operated on the island

Buddha Walauwa Temple

Did you like those pics? Right, let’s take a short walk, shall we? I started walking towards the Nagapusani Amman Kovil but stopped suddenly when I saw a notice to my left saying “Buddha Walauwa Temple – 500m”. Well, I don’t have to tell you what I did next, do I? I started walking towards it and had to take another right turn before reaching the completely isolated temple. I guess they’d found this granite Buddha Statue in the location recently and kept it for display. However, it doesn’t look like anybody goes there.

I was the sole person on site except for a gorgeous Indian Roller aka Dumbonna (not a good name for such a beautiful bird but what to do?). The granite Buddha statue kept in a small box like thing on a pedestal looks simply beautiful. Why delay further, here are the pictures.

Nobody is around yet

Here’s the turn off and note the name of the road

One of the houses along the road

Found him too

He was a bit far away

Palmyra land

Finally here

Tiny image house with a Bo tree

Here the other building

Couldn’t know what this exactly was and the significance of it

Ancient Buddha Statue found

Closer

Fully granite

The Indian Roller

Some of the ruins found on the way

Closer look

P.O. Box

Nagapusani Amman Kovil

I walked back to the main road and started the short walk towards the Nagapusani Amman Kovil. The stalls either side of the road were being opened by the owners. The sun had risen fully up to the sky sending his blazing, fresh and golden rays all over. The sweat had already appeared all over me but I had to endure the open area and go see the kovil. Just like the temple, this too didn’t have many people so I enjoyed a bit of peaceful picture taking. Without much hullabaloo, here are the pictures.

Now I’m at the Kovil

Can walk along the road

Cute	Near the main entrance

Wanna go in and see

The main pillar

In I went

Here’s the kovil

Not many around

His parents were adamant he poses like this

Afterwards, I started walking towards the jetty and got on board the same ferry I came in. the ride was without an incident and we arrived at Kurikkattuvan about 9.30am, still the whole day ahead of me. Here are the pictures and I’ll tell you about the rest later.

Heading back to the jetty

Nagadeepa Temple entrance in the distance

The tiny boat you saw while coming to the temple earlier offers this service

Resting for the day

Some are being repaired

Looks abandoned but very much in use

The hospital boat

That gorgeous flag

One of the better ferries but was not operating that day

Nagadeepa entrance zoomed in

Ready to berth

Not very old boy

This is our ferry, look at those red flowers on it

Leaving them behind

Giving balance of Rs. 20/-

Ready to get onto the Kurikkattuvan

The RDA Ferry

I reached Jaffna and went around seeing many other things but you already saw them in my Jaffna Chapter 1 report. So I won’t bore you with that stuff. The next day is reserved for more island touring but I was in two minds whether to go ahead with that or not. There was so much doubt lingering and I kept wondering whether to postpone it for another day so that I’ll have more planning time but Paval, one of my working mates in Jaffna came to my rescue and promised to join me.

That sealed the journey and we fixed another tuk-tuk to go on the journey. It’s gonna be one heck of a ride so be ready till I come tomorrow.

Day 02

Good morning everyone, how are you doing? Tell me you wanna go rock ‘n’ roll with me coz that’s exactly what we’re gonna do today. I got up around 5.30am and got things ready and Paval came in the tuk-tuk around 6.30am and away we went like birds out of a cage. The morning was nice and crisp. We drove along the Kayts Road which is under construction but a lot of it had already finished. The lagoon air kept kissing us all over very lovingly and we passed the Velanai (Nagadeepa) turn off which I went the other day by bus. You can easily get to Kayts by bus as there are a lot of them available from Jaffna every half hour or so. However I took the three-wheeler as I had many other plans too. Ok, let’s make a move.

Flamingoes

I’m not expert when it comes to birds; well I’m not even a novice, far below. However despite my poor knowledge, I still love to see them. I’ve managed to learn a few names of the birds but don’t think will ever be able to manage like Dhana who’s got a birds’ dictionary stored in his brain. Thanks to the Udawalawe trip, I saw quite a lot of Eagles and now recognize them should I happen to come across any of them again. Among all the birds I simply love Flamingoes with long legs, pinkish feathers and tall bodies. They roam the waters in large flocks and can be found along causeways in Mannar and Jaffna.

I’ve always wanted to see them but never got the chance. However during my visit to Baththalangunduwa and Mannar, we saw some of them along the Mannar causeway, but so far out only a faint line was visible. As we got closer to Kayts all of a sudden I saw a pinkish thing to the right among the water and looking closer found it to be a flock of flamingoes. I got down the tuk-tuk and slowly crept along the grassy patch towards the lagoon so as not to disturb them. Nevertheless they sensed my approach and very gently started moving away deep into the lagoon. Finally they had enough of me and slowly flew away leaving me looking up and feeling sad.

I managed to take a few pictures at the extreme zoom and wished I had one of those mega zoom cameras. However, what I managed to take satisfied my crave for the flamingoes somewhat but at the same time it doubled my yearning to see them more and more. Here are some pictures and see if you like them.

There those beautiful ones

Oh my gosh

Closer view

Just taking off

Here goes

Closer

Shadows

Kayts Ferry Point

We then arrived at the Kayts Ferry Port where it connects to the Karainagar via a ferry service. It’s run from morning to evening (every hour or so) but I couldn’t get the exact time table. Just note that there’s no service during the lunch time say from 12noon till about 2pm. What’s really fascinating is you can see the Fort Hammenhiel from the ferry port. It looked absolutely breath-taking in the middle of the sea and very much imposing. Fort Hammenhiel restaurant could also be seen from there. Here are some pictures while we travel to the Kayts Jetty where it connects the two islands, Eluvathivu and Analaithivu via another ferry service.

Just bear in mind that the ferry to Karainagar and back doesn’t take any vehicles due to the poor condition of the ferry. Only exception is motor bikes and bicycles. We had to take a long detour as a result.

Here’s the ferry port at Kayts

Those are captured ones from illegal stinking Indian fishermen

Closer look

There’s the ferry at Karainagar pier

One of those loners

Another but smaller

What’s that?

The mighty Fort Hammenhiel

The restaurant

Eluvathivu Island

We arrived at the Kayts Jetty which is about 2km from the Ferry Port around 8.30am. However, just before the jetty, we were warmly welcomed by an Indian Roller that looked gorgeous in the morning sunlight with its royal blue feathers. I spent good 10mins talking to him and getting him to pose for the pictures. Finally we arrived at the jetty. There were two ferries already with people in them and we ran towards them checking the departure times and which was going to which island. Thankfully I had Paval and the tuk-tuk driver who could converse in Tamil. I’ll give you the ferry times for both the islands so that it’d make matters easy should you ever make up your mind about visiting these islands. If you wanna go by public transport, the Kayts buses go to the Jetty at regular intervals especially depending on the departure and arrival times.

• The ferries leave Kayts Jetty at 9am to both Eluvathivu and Analaithivu. It’s better nevertheless for you to be there by 8.30am.
• Eluvathivu is located closer to the Jetty than the Analaithivu.
• The return Ferry from Eluvathivu is at 11.30am and there’s more than one ferry operating between Kayts and Eluvathivu but I couldn’t get the other times.
• Apparently there’s one ferry operating between Analaithivu and Kayts. The return ferry from Analaithivu is at 3pm. However we were told that there’s a ferry leaving from Kayts to Analaithivu at 12.30pm as well.

• The ferry time to Eluvathivu is about half an hour and to Analaithivu is about one hour.

• It costs Rs. 25/- one-way to reach Eluvathivu in the ferry.

Ok, hopefully you’ll find the above information helpful. We were in a dilemma whether to go to Analaithivu or Eluvathivu. As the return ferry from Analaithivu is at 3pm, we decided to go to Eluvathivu first and depending on the time and energy levels, to take the 12.30pm ferry to Analaithivu so that we could return by the 3pm ferry. I also wanted to go to Fort Hammenhiel but it looked such a toll order and I knew I would have to sacrifice one or the other. Finally we got into the Eluvathivu ferry and settled on the roof so that we could get a good view.

Both ferries launched simultaneously but the Analaithivu one went faster than ours coz it had so much distance to cover. The sea was rougher than usual and we got splashed by the stray salt water and I had trouble keeping my camera out of the way. Here are some pictures for you to look at till I get onto the island.

Hi!	“Oh it’s you!”

“I’ve got to scratch”

Well, see yah

Here we are

This was one of the ferries

Read the name. That had come from Galle and taking a break here

Ready to go

One of the loners hard at work

Inside our ferry before anyone came in

Engine

There goes Analaithivu ferry overtaking us

Here’s ours

There’s Eluvathivu

Getting closer

Almost there

Time to go explore

We reached the island around 9.30am were helped by a boy who had come to the jetty on a bicycle. Later we found out he was the one who runs a shop at Eluvathivu and he’d come to pick up the bread which is delivered daily all the way from Jaffna by bus and then on the ferry. Even though they take such a long journey, the price is only Rs. 10/- more than what it is in Jaffna.

As usual there’s a small navy contingent based on the island and will take down the details of any visitors to the island. So make sure you carry some sort of identification with you, preferably the NIC. I’ve got a few facts about the Eluvathivu Island down below and it might help you get an idea about the island and its people.

• Selvan (0778-996717) is the boy who has a land master should you wanna take an island tour. He takes Rs. 500/- and worth the journey even though it’s a very short one.
• If you want to spend a night at the island, Selvan will help you stay at the church but will have to ask permission from the navy first.
• There are about 170 families living in the island which means about 500 people.
• There’s a small government run hospital on the island but for serious cases they have to go to Karainagar and navy does a grand job helping those people.
• There’s electricity in the island powered by 3 small diesel-powered generators (2 – 100kv and 1 – 28kv). They are run one 100kv each for day and night. Shasheedharan is the guardian of the power plant.
• There are no snakes in the island.

We got talking to Selvan (thanks to Ashan and Amila’s first visit) and he came in with his land master. We gave our ID numbers, names and contact numbers to the Navy officials and went away. There was no one about and we stopped at the shop (I told you about the owner who came to pick up his bread) and had some snacks. He runs the shop with his wife. Afterwards, we drove on passing the hospital and arrived at some jungle patch beyond a few houses. Our tuk-tuk driver asked in Tamil if there was any Palmyra toddy available and Selvan duly obliged by stopping at one house.

There were two men who were having a chat and seeing that they got visitors they came out to chat with us. Unfortunately the morning quota of the toddy was finished except for a tiny amount which they served us in a tiny glass. I took a sip and it was very much like the Kithul toddy. Afterwards they offered us Nongu which is the Palmyra version of our King Coconut. One person climbed to one of the nearby trees and plucked nearly a dozen or so and gave us. Paval was crazy about Nongu and kept at getting as much of them down his throat as possible.

It has three tiny holes about the size of a 2-rupee coin and about 2 inches deep. There’s a fleshy inner cover and very little juice. You gotta use your fingers to get the flesh out after drinking the juice which is very little. This doesn’t even come closer to King Coconut or Kurumba but for those people who can’t have them, this is really good. After thanking and giving them some money for all the trouble, we bid our farewell to them.

Afterwards, we drove back towards the jetty and reported to the navy personnel of our getting back safely. Then we waited for the ferry and right on time, we got on board and said goodbye to this wonderful place. There was a group of surveyors who had come to do some surveying and they too joined us in the ferry ride back to Kayts. Most of us fell asleep for a while due to the heat and the constant swaying of the boat. We arrived at the jetty just before noon and contemplated about our options. While we decide what to do, you guys enjoy these rare pictures.

Boat stop

Paval doing the talking

Here’s our land master

Getting it to safety

Isolated

The best resting place on the whole island

Ready to go

The church I told you about

The shop

Lonely road

The hospital is nearby

Here it is

All around it’s Palmyra

Power house

Inside

100kv one

This is the 28kv one

Main board

Shasheedharan the keeper of the place

Entering the other side

Here it is lonely

The household that treated us well

They were close by

Typical Palmyra branch fences

Ready to climb the tree

There he goes

Hard work

I was feeling giddy

There he reached the target

Got down

They’re curious

Some of the fruit

Cutting it fine

Juicy and delicious

My friend looked after them all

Finished

They love the bark

Having a chat but my friend is still at it

Back to the coast

Boats parked

They’re working on them

One of the fish drying places

Almost in ruins

Back to the shady Nuga tree near the pier

Time to go

They are in better condition

Here is one of the survey people

Others were in the far and this is a zoomed in pic

Through the structure at the jetty

They came to the pier while we waited

And had these on board

Ready to go

Oh hi

He’s the boatman and waiting impatiently for the survey people

Most of them fell asleep due to swaying

Finally at Kayts

Catch if you can

Getting closer to the jetty

Small navy detachment is here

Flamingoes Once Again

Paval looked seasick and complained that he’d had enough islands for one day so we decided to keep Analaithivu for another time and leave for Fort Hammenhiel straightaway. Having started our journey once again and we reached the Kayts Ferry Port hoping to catch a ferry to Karainagar but there was nothing till 2.15pm so decided to take the long detour and reach Karainagar by the tuk-tuk itself. On our way where we saw flamingoes in the morning, there was another group idling away and I jumped and went slowly towards them trying to hide myself behind the thorny bushes. I managed to take a few decent shots but they kept going away sensing my probing eyes and finally took to the sky shouting at me for disturbing their afternoon siesta. Here are some pictures.

Here they are once again

Sunbathing

Very vigilant

Going away from me

Zoomed in

Fort Hammenhiel Restaurant

We drove along the Jaffna-Karainagar road and passed yet another long causeway before arriving on the Karainagar Island. We passed many sesame cultivations and the farmers were harvesting them. We saw quite a few birds as well. Driving along the causeway, we noticed that there were huts placed on sticks in the lagoon resembling the paddy fields and chena cultivation in the down south. The heat was getting on our nerves but the breeze along the causeway restored our sanity back. Here are some pictures.

Sesame fields

Macro of one of the branch

They just flew away as I tried to picture them

Just got him

Welcome to Karainagar

Near the start of the causeway

Those houses I told you about

Closer look

Oh	Beautiful ain’t he?

Typical crane

Very thorough in his search

Cat walk on the lagoon

Empty road bordered by the lagoon

The ferry port from Karainagar side

We arrived at the Fort Hammenhiel restaurant which is located closer to the SLNS Elara at Karainagar. Anyone can go to the restaurant for a meal but will have to obtain a pass from the navy officer at the gate. We arrived at the restaurant and the first impression was a big wow. There was a small group of people already having lunch and we too joined them. Taking a seat outside the air-conditioned hall and we ordered our lunch. Don’t worry I’m not gonna show the pictures of the food as you saw them in the Jaffna 1 report.

While they got the meals ready, we roamed around but my heart was broken when they refused to let us go to the island. The Fort Hammenhiel was looking majestic in the middle of the sea about half a km from the restaurant but we were denied access claiming only the people with bookings could go there. I felt so frustrated and nothing will change their minds. Finally, we had to satisfy ourselves with the pictures taken from the jetty.

After a many pictures and vowing myself that I’d be back again, we sat down to enjoy our lunch which was delicious. While we eat, would you care to see some of those gorgeous pictures?

There it is

Closer look

At the front

Typical navy style

Inside

Again navy hallmarks all over

Reception desk

Just a replica

Artist’s version of Fort Hammenhiel

Sailing ship replica

Looking out through the entrance we came in

Out in the open

There’s the fort

Closer look

Left most part

And the right

Wish I could go there

Restaurant

Hope lunch is ready

Where we sat

A/C dining area inside

The tables along the corridor

Don’t know if they are being used

One final look at with a heavy heart

Vesak celebrations at the restaurant

Leaving

We took our leave with heavy hearts and drove back on the same road after returning the pass to the navy soldier at the gate. On the way, we were greeted by yet another Indian Roller. He kind of wanted to soothe our wounded hearts and told us not to worry. Such a beautiful creature he was.

Just look at this

Beautiful colors

Portrait

Curious look

Karainagar Light House

Still I felt pretty bad of not letting us see the fort. This is when our tuk-tuk driver, Balasubramaniam, cheered us by asking if we wanted to see the light house in Karainagar. I’d never heard about a light house at Karainagar so was very much keen on going and seeing it. I’d covered the other light houses in the northern peninsula such as KKS and Point Pedro and wouldn’t dream of missing this one. Ok, this is located at the north-west edge of Karainagar Island.

To make it easy for you to understand the location, just remember the location of Casurina Beach. If you’ve been there, it’d be pretty easy. When you reach the Casurina Beach, facing the sea, look to your left and in the far with a tiny piece of land jutting out of the main island, you’ll see a light house. The distance is about 1.5-2km. However, you can’t walk along the beach and get to the light house because there’s a navy camp in between and they won’t let you go beyond them.

Go towards the Karainagar Depot and about 1km before the depot, about 2-3km before the Fort Hammenhiel turn-off, there’s a junction and you can get the directions from them. You need to take a right turn when going from Jaffna and it’s another 2km along winding roads to the light house. I’m extremely sorry that I can’t give you better directions and I should’ve pin-pointed the GPS location but in my highly excited moments, I completely forgot about it. Hopefully, you won’t miss this.

We arrived at the place thanks to Balasubramaniam but guess what, some of the villagers who were living about 1km from the light house didn’t know its existence. Thanks to Paval and Bala who could speak Tamil, we managed to reach the light house without further delay. Unlike the other light houses, this one wasn’t inside a navy base so you could enjoy the surrounding peacefully. However, don’t try to climb to the top as the railings were very rusty and on the verge of breaking down. We even so ruins of an old building but couldn’t make out what it really was. It was located right by the base of the light house. The navy camp was about half a km from the light house towards Casurina Beach and we were uninterrupted.

The sun was setting but not at the last bit so there was plenty of light still remaining. The sky had the typical royal blue and with a few of those stray clouds. I won’t waste any more time but will let you enjoy the scenery. Here we go:

Oh my gosh

Navy camp to the right

We stopped the tuk-tuk and started walking

Closer

Rusty and decaying top

At the base

The structure I told you about

Closer look

Inside

Some more

Must’ve been the fire place

The chunky base

Built in 1916

Inside

Dangerous to climb up

The zoomed in view of the lamp room

Love the color of the sky

Calm sea

Time to go

Casurina Beach

Having fascinated our parched minds after the Fort Hammenhiel debacle, we started for Casurina Beach. The time was just after 4.30pm but the light was still very good. We drove towards the Casurina Beach. Paval wanted to have a bath but I’m no keen on bathing in the sea so let him get on with his swim and started strolling around the beach taking pictures. Karainagar Light House could be seen in the distance and I felt really happy that I was able to add it to my collection. I would’ve loved to stay till the sunset but there was plenty of time left and I had to get to Jaffna early so decided to leave it for another day. Here are the pictures of the Casurina Beach. We’re getting closer to the end of this journey so enjoy them.

Here we are

Anchor

They do tours I assume

Some Cyprus trees

Playtime

Mummified looking

What’s that?

A hut used by the police

Miles along the beach

Resting

Life on the sand

Picnic points

On the beach

Tiny crabs are responsible for this creation

Not grapes

Do you see anything?

What about now?

Time we went home

Karainagar Shivam Kovil

We left Casurina Beach and upon Paval’s request decided to visit the famous Shivam Kovil nearby. It’s about 1.5km from Casurina Beach and has a lot of history behind it. They believe its history goes as far as the Chidambaram Temple in Tamil Nadu. One of the slain MPs by the LTTE had been a big devotee of this temple. We went in and as usual had to take off the t-shirt before entering. There was nobody in sight except Paval and me. The Poosari came in and showed us the damaged roof and we donated some money for the kovil’s fund. Will share some of the pictures.

Had to come here

Front view

Closer look

One of the statues at the entrance

In I went after Paval

The ancient kovil inside

Reminds of those in Polonnaruwa

Another look

Anaikoddai Fish Market

We started driving back towards Jaffna and on the way saw the sun setting behind us. I wish I’d stayed at Casurina beach by then but what to do. We reached Anaikoddai and found a lot of people gathered along the road. Bala said it was the fish market at Anaikoddai. What happens is these fishermen go fishing during the day time, especially in the lagoon and bring their catch to be sold here. It’s not a mega fish market but about a dozen or so fishermen bring whatever they managed to catch during the day. They are very fresh and healthy and have a huge demand from the nearby villagers. Paval and Bala wanted to get some fish so we stopped.

The fishing harbor beyond looked gorgeous with the anchored vessels in the dusk while fishermen tried to attract the passers-by attention to sell their fish. There were many different kinds of fish but I could recognize Prawns, Cuttlefish and Crabs. I’m sure you would like to see the pictures and here they are.

Anicut

See the circular wall

Freshly caught cuttlefish

And prawns too

Jumbo crab

Some more

Waiting for buyers

Different kinds

Boats parked in the dusk

Sun had started his descent

Had to use flash

Like a leopard

They are only for cutting

Setting sun over the lagoon

Good bye Jaffna and will be back again for more

Well, I guess that’s about it folks. Hope you enjoyed the Chapter 3 as much as the first two chapters. I tried to cover everything but surely I must’ve missed quite a lot, notably the Analaithivu Island and Fort Hammenhiel. However, I’ll be revisiting the Jaffna Peninsula and cover them and bring the experience to you. This turned out to be a grandeur experience in Jaffna.

I must say thanks to my colleagues in Jaffna and everyone else who helped me visit these wonderful places. Not forgetting the security forces who still sacrifice their lives for the safety of us and our country. Without them, I can’t even begin to think about where we would’ve been. So thank you all! Also, those who laid their lives for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country are and will be remembered forever. May you all attain Nibbana! They lost their lives, limbs, etc. for our freedom and future. My heartfelt gratitude also extends to their families for parting with their loved ones for us.

Finally, this 100-report long journey wouldn’t have come by without the help and support of my dear friends. Starting with Mithila for starting this wonderful place for us to share our experience and create awareness among the general public of preserving the Mother Nature. Then my very close friends (namely Thadi Hariya, Ana, Atha, Uncle Tony, Sheham, Prasa, Dhana, Prince, Wumi, Ashan, Niro, NG, Sanketha, Amila etc.) for being great travel companions. Further to all my, how can I say it, support staff maybe such as Nava Mama (Meemure), Morgan (Great Western), Daya & Tissa (Ritigala), Sunimal (Gange Wadiya), Nimal (Kudawa), Ranjith (Bambarakanda), etc. for helping me reach my goal safely. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

Well, this is Sri signing off for now but will come on and off in the future. I’m trying to take a break from this intense report writing (definitely not from travelling) and take it easy in the future.

Best regards and keep travelling!

Sri…