We’ve been “on the road” for three days now, travelling down the west coast of Sri Lanka, threading our way through cows, goats, dogs, tuk-tuks, cars and pedestrians. It’s slow going, we gasp and drivers toot as their loaded buses pass each other with millimetres to spare between their mirrors.

We experienced a wild night at the beach resort of Hikkaduwa as the south western monsoon moved in from the sea, blowing tiles off the hotel roof, damaging houses and uprooting trees. Sadly, the region’s fishing fleet was badly hit, there have been 8 deaths, 17 fishermen are missing and 36 boats are still lost at sea.

Still, apart from a few heavy showers, the monsoon hasn’t yet affected our plans …We’ve lunched by the beach at Mirissa, visited Kosgoda Turtle Hatchery, a Moonstone mine and the gardens of Geoffrey and Bevis Bawa. Now it’s on to Yala National Park …