We arrive in Jaffna aboard a train shuffling through a seven hour journey from Colombo.
A Brief Bit Of Background
Located in the northern region of Ceylon, it was founded by European merchants as a trading down, offering gold silver and tobacco. It became colonized by the Portuguese then was taken over by the Dutch, without whom, many temples, destroyed by the Portuguese, would have remained so. Now it remains as a peninsula built of limestone. Flat and level with the sea. Where the land has not been used for construction, nature stuns, native 'talai' and 'koddanai' dominating the space.
The tropical Ceylon air envelopes us in its humid arms as we set foot out of our taxi and into the old governor's house. It is HOT. On the porch, two canine sentries lay panting against the cool refuge of the marble floor. The house is remarkably beautiful and huge when we enter. (It looks deceptively modest from the outside) Surrounding it, tall exotic Palmyra trees.The ceilings are high and the hallways are wide, any conversation floats up and evaporates. This place is perfect, built in the 1700's complete with a moat and bridge, a maze of massive rooms, luxurious furnishings and buzzing worn out ceiling fan. My aunt Phyllis, gives me a tour of the house and chatters away excitedly. The house we are staying at was actually given temporarily to my Uncle Noel who is heading a commission on race riots, a generous gesture I lucked out on.
A Brief Bit Of Background
Located in the northern region of Ceylon, it was founded by European merchants as a trading down, offering gold silver and tobacco. It became colonized by the Portuguese then was taken over by the Dutch, without whom, many temples, destroyed by the Portuguese, would have remained so. Now it remains as a peninsula built of limestone. Flat and level with the sea. Where the land has not been used for construction, nature stuns, native 'talai' and 'koddanai' dominating the space.
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| St James Church |
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| Kandarodai Farm Land |
The tropical Ceylon air envelopes us in its humid arms as we set foot out of our taxi and into the old governor's house. It is HOT. On the porch, two canine sentries lay panting against the cool refuge of the marble floor. The house is remarkably beautiful and huge when we enter. (It looks deceptively modest from the outside) Surrounding it, tall exotic Palmyra trees.The ceilings are high and the hallways are wide, any conversation floats up and evaporates. This place is perfect, built in the 1700's complete with a moat and bridge, a maze of massive rooms, luxurious furnishings and buzzing worn out ceiling fan. My aunt Phyllis, gives me a tour of the house and chatters away excitedly. The house we are staying at was actually given temporarily to my Uncle Noel who is heading a commission on race riots, a generous gesture I lucked out on.
An Interesting Fact
The house is haunted. At the end of one of the abandoned wings, (yes the house has separate wings), there is a dark room which everyone avoids. In 1734 the Dutch governor's daughter threw herself down a well, the result of forbidden love. She makes appearances often, observing silently in a red dress, startling those who dare to enter.There's nothing quite like taking a nap in the open air of the veranda. Even with closed eyes, one can see the tropics, feel it all around you. Hushed whispers of invisible animals rustling in the bushes, the shrieking of parakeets, the erratic buzzing in the lush flora; paradise.
My first meal in Ceylon was a wonderful welcome back to my roots. It is late afternoon and we feast on fresh crab, fragrant rice, and juicy pineapple, a taste miles away from the imported version, all served on a massive banana leaf. YUM.
Make sure to follow this blog and join me as I visit Nuwara Eliya next week. Happy Travels!
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