June 15,

We started with our morning “javas”. Then we went down to the adjacent Robin's Restaurant – its tied in with Hotel Agape, and our breakfast is included. We were served like 8 pieces of toast with butter and jam; a fruit plate of watermelon, pineapple and banana pieces; egg how we wanted it – Jeff had scrambled, I had sunny side up; and we both had tea. It was a good start. Finished we were heading back to our room, when I detoured. I took some pictures of an outdoor water works the hotel has… it has some decent sized fish – Koi, Catfish, and Plecostomus . My sister had a very small one of these Plecostomus in a small fish tank she had. This one is huge compared to hers!! Anyway, back in our room, I did my birthday blog, while Jeff read.

Around one we went out, exploring Mannar. We went to their beach. It is not a tourist area, so we did not stick around. They do have a line of windmills here, as they get quite a bit of wind off the water. We saw some more wild donkeys – on the beach. It is just so strange to see them and cows on beaches. Anyway, I did find out why they have the donkeys here. They  were brought by the Arabs to be used as pack animals. When boats came in with goods, the donkeys were laden with the goods and used to distribute them to Anuradhapura, the capital then. When Portugal took over, the trading changed and the donkeys weren't needed… so they were set loose. Sad, but amazing how they are thriving. 

From here we went to the Dutch Fort of Mannar. There is not any entrance fee. It is a ruins site and not kept up… well some of the outer wall is maintained. You can see the bridge we crossed to get to the island. It is not very far away. The fort is a smaller one. It was pretty empty – only one other couple (a young, enamored couple trying to get away to be by themselves, which we have seen quite a bit at these free sites). It was great to see the ocean splash up on some of the fort walls and imagine. Inside the walls there was the crumbling walls of a chapel or church. The stone Pulpit was still there as it was actually built into the outer wall. There were a couple of stone slab graves on the floor – one from 1697, other from1746. As we were leaving the fort, a huge group of tourists (maybe Indian)- a bus load worth – was coming in. That was good timing!

From here we went to one more noted site of Mannar, that we were interested in. It is a very old, huge Baobab tree! We haven't seen one since Madagascar. It's height is only 10.5m (34 feet), but its girth circumference is 21.1m (69 feet). The tree is believed to have been brought by Arabs in 1277. The Arabs used baobab seeds as food for camels. That is what the sign says. I have lots of questions after I read that sign. Anyway, there was another large group of tourists here.

We left here and went to the store, for snacks for tonight. We arrived back at our place and cooled off. It was around 1345. At 1500 we went down to Robin's Restaurant to get a late lunch. We had a chicken stir-fry with noodles and a chicken stir-fried rice. both were filling and comfort food. Our hostess/hotel lady owner talked with us and found out where we going tomorrow and showed us a flyer to give us ideas of attractions and activities there. That was very nice!

We went back to our room and watched some You tube. The hotel had a big group that came in around 1930 for supper and some kind of celebration. But, thankfully, we could not hear them as we are in room at the back of the hotel. Bed by 2200.