Jaffna & Delft Camping with Bhanuka & Co
We planned to spend the new year's eve of 2018 under the stars, in our tents, on the island furthest away from mainland Sri Lanka. It turned out to be one of the best trips & campings each of us had ever done. We camped next to a graveyard by the most beautiful beach in Sri Lanka. They all tried the Jaffna cuisine: kallu, kool, crab curry, milk hoppers, and more...
Around Jaffna
The best way to see Jaffna is on motorbikes. But there were only two available in my home. I asked around and found Gokulan, a guy from the Material Science dept (same as Bhanuka) had a bike in Jaffna, so we got 3 bikes.
Who the hell named this thing Cool?
- Bhanuka
Delft Camping
Delft Island is the furthest island from mainland Sri Lanka, as per its Tamil name: Neduntheevu. It was named Delft by the Dutch, the first European power to control the coastal areas of Sri Lanka. It is a coral island. That is, if you dig the ground, you get corals, not rock. It can be reached from Kurikaatuvan jetty. Tourists hire a jeep and go around for half a day and spend the rest of the day on the beautiful delft beach.
We camped by the Delft beach, right next to the cemetery, since the cemetery had a toilet. We had forgotten to bring the sausages, leaving them in the freezer at my home in a hurry. Chinthana and I went around the entire island searching for any fish to cook. As it was New Year's Eve, fishermen hadn't gone to the sea. After about 2 hours of walking, a stranger on a bicycle noticed us going round the island and inquired. It turned out that he was a fisherman and had some fish in his freezer. We went to his home, bought some for a good price.
None of us had experience in cleaning or cooking fish. Bhanuka gutted them, we kinda mashed them in the pan with oil. It was hard to eat with the fish bones mashed in, but I managed to clear the pan.
I took my school friends to Jaffna and camped in the same spot. Here's that story with some great pictures:
Abarajithan G
