Arriving to Sri Lanka

We’d explored a number of options for these weeks after Thailand and before Kenya. Andaman Islands, Madagascar, Malaysia, Tanzania… an embarrassment of opportunity. What guided us in the end was the hope for more surfing time. We had loved the daily surf in Lombok and wanted more. Some folks we met at the worldschooling hub in Croatia told us about a lovely surf town in Sri Lanka, and that ended up sounding like the right fit.

On our first day in Sri Lanka, we woke up with a view of the beach. More Indian Ocean!

We pre-arranged a driver to take us to the interior so we could do a few days of sightseeing before heading to the beach. He was suggesting terrible tourist stops that Google reviews said were a real waste of time, with only the driver’s commission being the benefit of stops like these.

The driver was very distracted by his phone. He was constantly passing, similar to the driver we took from the airport. We thought maybe this was the style of driving in Sri Lanka. We didn’t demand he stop using his phone. Then, he drove head-on into an oncoming car. The immediate moments afterwards were full of fear and chaos. Susanna and the boys were in the backseat and got the worst of the impact. All three had seatbelt marks. The boys were able to get up and walk away but Susanna had whiplash and initially couldn’t move.

Hospital x-rays showed no damage to her neck bones. Her muscles though, were very sore. She couldn’t move properly for days. So, we cancelled our trip to the interior of the country. We rested in a beautiful hotel near the accident site.

Then, we went south for the surf.Read more