Every time we have been to Sri Lanka before, we have started in Colombo and explored Wattala and Negombo, before going down the coast to a beach spot, often Bentota to the lovely Amal Villa or further south to Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna or Mirissa past Galle. The first time we came in 2008 we climbed Adam’s Peak and in 2012 we did a half-day safari to Yalla National Park.

But what everyone had always said was – try the east coast….and this time, we finally did. Thanks to our trusty driver, brother-in-law Pieter (the best driver we know!) we were picked up in the middle of the night from Colombo airport and taken straight to Trinco with a couple of stops along the way to pick up some delicious rambutans before having breakfast at the Dutch Bank Cafe. We stayed at the spacious, affordable beachside 3-bedroom apartment condo the Blue Beach House, right in the centre of Nilaveli beach, the longest beach in Sri Lanka, a beautiful, peaceful spot.

We ran along the beach most days and up through the village to collect supplies for dinner. One morning we went on a boat trip to nearby Pigeon Island to snorkel, Molly and Joanna’s first experience of seeing ocean life – a magical moment for them.

Of course we had some technology teething problems, such as the go-pro running out of battery before we arrived….but we were still smiling, especially having seen turtles, black tip reef sharks and a whole rainbow range of fish! And our first spot of rain in the boat on the way back to the mainland…

Despite mostly self-catering, we managed to visit several of the nearby hotels for dinner such as the Nilaveli Beach Hotel and met up with previous volunteers from Prithi at Trinco Blu by Cinnamon at nearby lively Upuvali. In general resorts were far quieter than usual due to the events of April. Hopefully tourism will return to this special place.

A highlight of the week for us all (especially MoJo!) was seeing hundreds of dolphins after a very bumpy boat trip – very much worth it, wonderful to see them in their natural habitat.

Tom also managed to get his first taste of being back in a kitchen, spending a morning at Memo’s cafe preparing delicious Sri Lankan crab, prawn and aubergine curries for us to have for dinner in the restaurant. Thanks to Vasanti, the boss of the kitchen, for sharing her traditional east coast recipes.

On our last afternoon, we visited Koneswaram Temple at Trincomalee, a dramatic Hindu temple compound overlooking one of the world’s largest natural harbours (the British admiral Horatio Nelson called it the finest habour in the world).

We then drove further north up the coast, discovering even more remote beaches and communities, finally watching a stunning sunset from Jungle Beach by Uga Escapes.

Thank you Katherine and Pieter de Kretser for being such brilliant companions and tour guides!