I Run Like A Girl

Hey friends! This past week has been the best week of my entire trip, and that’s because Joe is here!! We are so excited to be together again after 2 months apart. We have two weeks together in Sri Lanka and have been making the most of it with quality time in this new country. We spent our first week in major vacation mode in the #1 beach town of Sri Lanka called Mirissa.

Day 16: adjusting in Negombo

Our actual reunion took place in Negombo, the small beach town near the airport where I started my trip. We only spend a day here to meet up and adjust. After 24 hours of plane rides for Joe and 12 hours of train rides for me, we wanted nothing more than to relax at our hotel.

We stayed in a different part of Negombo than where I started, and this section had a lot more going on. There were more food options, and we found a cafe called Jude that we loved. We ate here for each meal. 🙂

Days 17-21: sun and surf in Mirissa

The next day, we headed to Mirissa! I was super excited to head to the southern coast after being in the highlands for 2 weeks. As beach life goes, each day blended together with slow vibes, so I’ll recap our time in Mirissa in one portion.

Mirissa is a popular destination for tourists, as many seek the picturesque beach and tourist-friendly vibes. There was a real “wow” factor when we entered Mirissa. The beach itself was one of the nicest I’ve ever seen – golden sand, lush palm trees, and no trash.

While there were certainly nice resorts in Mirissa, there were noticeable hippie vibes throughout town, with colorful wall art and hipster eateries. It was nice to have the first-world luxuries while also feeling like we were in a quaint town.

Mirissa was the first town in Sri Lanka I visited where tourists far outnumbered the locals. To be honest, it was a refreshing change to feel anonymous for once (versus the rest of my trip where I stuck out). Traveling with Joe also meant the harassment virtually went to zero.

On our first night in Mirissa, we stayed in a beach-side bungalow at Palace Mirissa. We loved everything about it until nighttime when we couldn’t fall asleep until 5 am due to the pounding club music next door. It was an unfortunate first night, but we stayed positive and kindly checked out early.

Afterward, we walked up and down the beach in search of a new hotel. We passed by Paradise Beach Club and it immediately caught our eye with its upscale feel. We asked to see the room options and were sold – we ended up booking a top-floor room with balcony views of the beach. I’m so glad we found this new place as it was light-years beyond our previous bungalow! Talk about turning lemons into lemonade. 🙂

Our hotel had complimentary breakfast and dinner buffets which were amazing. After weeks of eating out each meal, I was happy to have food right in front of me and not worry about ordering/paying bills/etc. Plus the food was SO tasty!!

We did venture out for lunch eat day at a restaurant called Salt. It was nice to fall into our routine as the staff treated us like regulars after the first day. 🙂

One activity was walking to Parrot Rock, a tall red rock on the west side of Mirissa Beach. It was a cool-looking structure that looked like an attraction from Disney Land. 😛

There was a decent climb to the top with a ladder of questionable sturdiness.

Gorgeous view from the top! We could see all across Mirissa beach and out into the ocean. We loved this rock so much we visited it twice.

The top of the rock also had lots of vegetation…I didn’t know so much life could spring from a rock.

Another day, we ventured out for another walk to Coconut Tree Hill, which was – you guessed it – a hill with coconut trees! This walk was a bit further and brought us to the outer beaches of Mirissa, where there were rugged rocks, black sand, and hippie cafes lining the beach.

There was a decent climb to the top of the hill.

We made it to the top at sunset. There were quite of a lot of people there, but we still got a great view.

That golden hour glow. 😉

Of course…it wouldn’t be a beach vacation without surfing! I’m so glad Joe and I bond over surfing as it’s one of our favorite ways to be active in a beach town. Also, it helps that we’re both on the same level, enjoying the intermediate waves. We took a short tuk-tuk ride to Weligama, a beach town next to Mirissa known as the best surf spot in Sri Lanka. When we got there, we were greeted by the wide sandy beach, beginner-friendly waves, and plenty of surfers out on the water.

We spent the morning surfing and it was a blast! We loved the friendly vibe in Weligama and the cheap surf rental prices.

Also in Weligama, we came across a group that released baby sea turtles into the ocean. We even got to play with one. ❤

Other than that, our days in Mirissa were mostly spent like this. Lots of downtime, walks on the beach, and enjoying the amenities of our hotel (including the spa – we got massages almost every day!).

After a lovely week on the beach, we’re heading back to the mountains for the final chapter of this trip. Mountains are my happy spot, so I’m excited to head back to the highlands and share it all with Joe. ❤