4-2-1 Friday 24th February
Our journey from Negombo to Pallepola and onwards from the Jetwing Blue on Negombo beach wth our chauffeur guide Sumith Samaradiwakara, took us through ribbon development, paddy fields and onto the coconut plantations.
We were amused to learn from Sumith that paddy farmers are encouraged to plant coconut trees around the edge of their fields to encourage owls who use them to hunt. The owls hunt the mice - one of the main paddy field pests - the other deterrent against mice is scarecrows!
We experienced a brilliant welcome at the tropical farm paradise from the manager Jesse Dias at Jim's Farm which is located just outside Pallepola. We have a spacious double sided room in Mango with wonderful views overlooking the coconut plantations on both sides.
In the afternoon we went on a tour of the farm and spice garden. The estate is organic and actively farmed, it supplies all the vegetables for the hotel. Our guide one of the very helpful staff members pointed out the various varieties of trees and fruits that they grow, many of which have a role in herbal medicine. They also have a small herd of cows, and we tried our hands at milking!
Not only is it a very beautiful place but it is noticeable that Jesse has a happy team working for him, the estate and hotel are clearly very important local employers.
With the same view as we have from our room over the valley, finally my hat found a new temporary home.
We rounded off the day with a great communal dinner with the other guests, led to wide ranging conversations and swopping of Sri Lankan experiences, not to mention delicious food and a wonderful view from the veranda dining room.
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