15 Kovalam - Feb 20

The morning began with the setting of the ‘super moon which had been in the sky all night and which set at around 6. 30 a.m. Following breakfast, we went for a walk down the hill from the hotel and into the small village at the foot of the hill, then on down to an adjacent beach which we traversed to a small lighthouse which is situated at the end of the beach on a small hill. From here we could see a larger lighthouse at the other end of the next bay. On the way down from the hotel, we passed what was labeled as a Post Office – which kicked off a shipping saga that only completed months after this date!

Bob wanted to ship something to his brother in Spain. So, on the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Post Office and asked if they were open. Despite it being a holiday (Pongala), they were open until 1 p.m. Bob went back to the hotel and picked up the gift he planned to send and returned to the Post Office. It was soon evident that the man who was manning the Post Office was not too conversant with postal procedures. He had to call another office and get advice. After several calls, he said to Bob, “Could you go two kilometers up the hill to the next Post Office, please?” Bob told him that it was very hot to do that and maybe he would not bother. Then to Bob’s surprise, he said, “Come”. He went outside, locked up this Post Office and got on his motorbike and gestured for Bob to get on the back of the bike. They zoomed off up the hill to the next Post Office where a very pleasant young lady packed up the gift in a box wrapped it all up with yards of tape, took the address with Bob’s return address and glued that on to the package. The whole deal being completed, Bob thanked the lady very much for her great help. His helper from the ‘other’ Post Office carried Bob back to his office on the back of his Royal Enfield motorbike amid the light traffic. When they arrived there, the postal helper told Bob that it was his sister who usually was the manager of this Post Office and that, as she was attending the Pongala festivities, he had taken over to watch the place during her absence but he really did not know much about the postal service and especially not strange English people who wanted to mail things to Spain!! Nevertheless the helpfulness and kindness of these people is way beyond anything we are used to.

At about 6.15 p.m. we all repaired to the Club Room where we drank the Pimms (which Linda and Stevie had brought with them) mixed with 7-Up. The sun set behind us in the room and gave a warm pink glow in the sky after it had set. Then it was up the main restaurant in the reception building for dinner and a bit of entertainment.