Today‘s ride through the lowland became quite divers. Still some tea plantations but also cinnamon bushes, banana & coconut trees, paddy fields, etc. to name a few. Sri Lanka has huge variety of aromatic fruits & vegetables.
Papaya remains my favourite and not the first time I kept a sharp look-out during the final miles before my arrival point for the night. It was a simple table standing at the edge of the road, topped with an umbrella to protect the ten papayas under offer from the direct sunshine. For 150LKR a 1kg ready to cut papaya got into my rucksack while we kept chatting. It was suddenly, that he grabbed another papaya and wanted me to take it for free, good for the next day or two. I struggled a moment for words.
Finally, I politely declined and got reminded, that similar generosity was offered to me recently in Morocco. I moved on and gulped down the whole fruit upon arrival at my homestay for the night.
Not enough. While cruising along the road, a little boy in early school age heading towards me with some other family members got excited, which is normal to me by now. In this case he was eating, or better snacking, something from a small tray and suddenly stretched out his hand towards me asking me to try. I kept rolling and it happened all rather quickly. Therefore I am not sure what he offered but the gesture itself got somehow stuck in my throat until I could squeeze out a ‘Thank you” while I kept moving on.
Only seven days left.
Fair winds…
