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For not having had the time and motivation to update our long established web sites.
This page came to the limit of permitted web space: There simply is far too much content here, built up during the past 16 years or so.
To upgrade this hosting facility, the costs were simply far too high.
However, we now have paid a small fortune and we are up & running.
Other Reasons were:

We have been too busy
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We concentrated A?more and more on our Facebook pages

From now on, we will publish more relevant posts.
Sigaro avana costo And the traditional yearly Arugam Bay Walk should be posted A?late this year, but within a week from now. A LOT has happened in the Bay since 2015 !

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Surf Competition in July

Red Bull Ride my Wave Competition

Benzac ac over the counter Arugam Bay gets ready for Red Bull Ride My Wave
Details and online Entry Form

On 23rd July, Red Bull Ride My Wave returns to the Sri Lankaa??s surf capital, Arugam Bay Casodex 50 mg price .

Red Bull Surf Competition at Arugam Bay

Red Bull Surf Competition at Arugam Bay

Competing surfers will take on the waves in a head to head competition to be crowned champion of Red Bull Ride My Wave 2015.

Driven by the popularity of the 2014 event, this yeara??s edition of Red Bull Ride My Wave will see domestic and international surfers compete over three days on the islanda??s eastern coastline.

Red Bull Ride My Wave will be hosted by officials from the Association of Surfing Professionals, who will run the event as per international surfing rules and regulations, including three days of heats before culminating in the Finals on July 25th

The islanders will play with home advantage, but will no doubt face stiff competition from the international surfers. The combination of home grown and international talent promises to promote Sri Lanka as one of the best surfing destinations.

Red Bull has been actively involved in surfing events for several years, hosting competitions on every continent around the world. Surfing in Sri Lanka has seen a considerable movement from being a healthy pastime and tourism tool to one of professional sport. This has been driven by both passionate surfers within the country and Red Bulla??s very own series of surfing projects. In 2013, Red Bull Sri Lanka held the Local Hero Tour with Peruvian Pro Surfer, Gabriel VillarA?n, who ran workshops and judged an intense competition where 30 young Sri Lankans showcased their talent on the beaches of Arugam Bay. The success of this event set the foundation for an international surfing stage in Sri Lanka, activating the inaugural Red Bull Ride My Wave last year. The competition pitted the sporta??s greatest local surfers from the Eastern and Southern waters against each other in a quest to determine which region was home to the islanda??s best surfers. Hosted by Costa Rican Pro Surfer, Diego Naranjo, the East Coast team emerged victorious and went on to represent Sri Lanka at Red Bull Both Ways in the Maldives, where they placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively.

To register for Online episodes adalat sony tv Red Bull Ride My Wave 2015, sign up before July 19th 2015 at

www.redbull.com/ridemywave.

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Super-Rich Wild Life

Why Sri Lanka is super-rich for wildlife

How geology, evolution and ancient cultures forged a super-rich wildlife destination

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“Sri Lanka is a puzzle: it has large animals which a moderately sized island should not have. In fact it has the highest annually recurring concentration of wild elephants and possibly the highest density of leopards”

Hakgala CRW_4472 (c) Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne

Hakgala CRW_4472 (c) Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne

above: Toque Monkey 2008 08 05

Synopsis

This article unveils an internationally significant story. It quantifies how the species per unit area in Sri Lanka is unexpectedly anything from 5 to 13 times higher for certain species groups, than predicted by island bio geography in comparison to other large tropical islands such as Borneo, New Guinea and Madagascar. Sri Lanka is a puzzle: it has large animals which a moderately sized island should not have. In fact it has the highest annually recurring concentration of wild elephants and possibly the highest density of leopards. Unusually for a continental island, large whales are close to shore (best for Blue Whale and super-pods of Sperm Whales). This article is the first to provide a cohesive explanation in plain English as to how planetary physics, evolutionary forces and human factors have worked, almost as if with a design to create a wildlife super-rich island; arguably the best all-round wildlife watching destination.

Introduction

This is the story of how evolutionary forces and ancient civilizations have made a tropical island super-rich for wildlife on a scale that is not seen anywhere on moderately sized or large islands. Sri Lankaa??s super-richness on a proportionate scale eclipses large islands such as Madagascar, Borneo and New Guinea.

Alfred Russell Wallace, the founder of modern bio geography and Charles Darwin with whom he shared the theory of natural selection in evolution were both influenced by what they had observed on islands. Both of them would have been surprised by Sri Lanka. Almost every key driver of evolution seems to have played a part in shaping its biodiversity. The result is an island which is rich in wildlife both in terms of endemic tropical biodiversity as well as large land animals and marine mammals and in concentrations which give rise to some of the worlda??s most interesting wildlife spectacles. Ita??s an island which Wallace and Darwin or modern biologists could not have imagined as so many of the bio geographical and evolutionary forces have come in to play simultaneously, to create an unrivaled richness. To top it all, ita??s a compact country with good tourism infrastructure making it optimal for wildlife tour operators.

This article is about the physical, evolutionary, and human factors that have made Sri Lanka something seemingly imaginary, but yet real.

In a previous article (Sunday Times: Sri Lanka, 13 January 2013) I explained why Sri Lanka has a claim to be the best all-round wildlife destination from a wildlife tour operatora??s perspective. In this article I explain the physical, evolutionary and human-induced forces that have made this happen. In essence, I would simplify it conceptually into a three part a??business modela?? for the creation of a top wildlife destination. The first is a set of physical factors, especially those influencing both surface and underwater topography. These together with other planetary phenomena such as plate tectonics and monsoons create structural or topographical complexity on land and under water. Together with time, the topographical or structural complexity on land with monsoonal rainfall has led to the creation of distinct climatic (and hence ecological) zones that are the engine for specialization. Sri Lanka has benefited from other physical factors such as an ancient Gondwana start and having deep seas close to it unlike other continental islands. Having set up the right conditions for evolutionary factors, the engine of speciation needs to be fed with raw material. The output of the species production factory will be enhanced if besides the operation of long intervals of evolutionary time scales, new species production is boosted by fresh stocks of mainland species through immigrant waves. However, surprisingly, Sri Lanka has managed to produce a phenomenally above normal species richness (explained below with examples) primarily from evolutionary radiations within the island resulting in endemic genera and species. It seems that only later has it supplemented its cargo of species by land-bridging repeatedly with the mainland. This has become more apparent recently through phylogenetic studies using DNA.

I would describe the land-bridging as a five stage process for building up the number of species. During periods of glaciations, water is deposited as ice on land and sea levels fall forming a land bridge in the shallow seas. A land bridge is still physically evident in the discontinuous land bridge between Mannar and India, known as Adama??s Bridge. New waves of immigrants are imported to the island via the land bridge and dispersed and then isolated by rising sea levels drowning the land bridge during warming after an ice age (a post glacial). The new arrivals are physically stressed into niches by complex structural and physical factors of topography and climate. In essence, the process is connect a?? import and disperse a?? isolate a?? stress a?? speciate.

Glaciations have been a key agent of the islanda??s richness in allowing large land mammals to colonise and persist in Sri Lanka. However, phylogenetic studies indicate that most of the radiations of endemic species occurred before the land bridge connections of the Pleistocene epoch in the Quaternary Period. So land-bridging has helped, but still unresolved evolutionary forces have been responsible for the species super-richness which occurred before the recent Pleistocene ice age.

The third of the large scale factors is that it has benefitted from human factors or a cultural overlay. The last has two aspects. Firstly, the decline of ancient kingdoms has resulted in great seasonal gatherings of wild elephants and one of the best sites for leopards. This creates wildlife spectacles which make great viewing on wildlife safaris. (These spectacles have also been complemented by evolutionary factors mentioned above resulting in species radiations which are of great scientific interest even though species such as amphibians are not high on the list of commercial wildlife safaris). The second aspect of the cultural overlay is that the deep respect for life makes wildlife viewing easy as man and animals co-exist with great tolerance.

Taking Stock: What does Sri Lanka have?

Allow me to start by surprising you. If I asked you which country has the largest seasonally recurring gathering of elephants, what would your answer be? You might think it is somewhere in Africa. And if I asked you for an easy and reliable location to see Blue Whales, the largest animals to have lived on Earth and once one of the hardest animals to see, what would it be? Or consider super-pods of Sperm Whales, the largest toothed carnivore. Is there a country where there is a chance of seeing one on a commercial whale watch? Or one of the best to photograph leopards or the Sloth Bear (possibly the largest tropical bear)? The surprise is that the answer to all of these is the same country; Sri Lanka. This is both impressive and surprising given that it is in contradiction to conventional island biogeography according to which a moderately sized island (65,610sq. km.) is unlikely to have large terrestrial animals.

Sri Lankaa??s potential to be the best for big game safaris outside Africa (albeit on a different and smaller scale) is only now beginning to be discovered by wildlife photographers from both within and outside the island.

All-right, I hear you say; top marks for the big stuff. But what about biodiversity? Well, let me surprise you again and illustrate it with a recent statistic. First remember that it is well established that the larger the land area, the larger the number of species will be (the species-area relationship). Of course we also need to compare land areas from similar latitudes because species richness increases as one travels from high latitudes to the tropics. Leta??s take inland snakes for example. Sri Lanka has 89 species in approximately 66,000sq. km. How much more would you estimate that other tropical islands which are approximately between nine to twelve times bigger will have?

The numbers are surprising: New Guinea (86 species in 786,000sq. km.), Madagascar (91 species in 578,000sq. km.) and Borneo (141 species in 734,000sq. km.). One would have expected these islands to have ten times as many species. But none manages even twice as much and the extent which Sri Lanka is above the species-area curve is conspicuous even if you factor in that more species are to be discovered in the bigger islands. The relative species per unit area is extraordinary and is repeated with many species groups.

So why is Sri Lanka off the curve?

Clearly there is something remarkable and special going on with the forces of speciation, about which the island has still received little international publicity, although that will change when wildlife film producers pay it more attention.

For many vertebrate species, Sri Lanka ranks high in terms of species per unit area. Leta??s take a closer look at one vertebrate example where this may not seem to be the case. Costa Rica is synonymous with amphibians. With a land area of 51,000sq. km. it is fifteen per cent smaller than Sri Lanka and has more amphibian species; 199 versus the 120 from Sri Lanka. So is Sri Lanka not special with amphibians? Although Costa Rica is smaller as a political unit, it benefits from being part of the large physical unit of South America. Therefore in a wider sense the species-area still holds as it has benefitted from being a part of the vast South American continent. A better comparison for Sri Lanka would be a similar sized or larger island which is a natural bio-geographical entity. For example, Madagascar, which is nine times bigger, has only two and a half times as many amphibian species.

After mammals, birds are the most a??touristya?? of animals. Sri Lanka has 33 species of endemic birds, largely confined to its lowland and highland wet zones. The number of endemic birds per unit area is high compared to Borneo (52 species) and Madagascar (106 species with a 51% endemism rate), but on par with New Guinea (320 species). A further fifty plus species of birds found in Sri Lanka are shared only with India (subcontinental endemics). Furthermore, it has a special avian spectacle in the Sinharaja Bird Wave. This is the longest continuously studied mixed species bird flock phenomenon in the world, with the largest average number of individuals in a flock from such studies and offers the most stable viewing of usually fast moving tropical bird waves. The island is the last stop on the Central Asian flyway and a million migrant shorebirds were counted one February in a land based census which suggests that Viddathalthivu in the Mannar region may even be the most important integral site for migrants on the Central Asian flyway. The shorebirds make landfall in Sri Lanka funnelling through the once powerful ancient seaport of Mannar through to the Palatupana Salterns and Bundala National Park in the South: the latter two offer some of the best close viewing of waders in the world.

As explained earlier, a three factor a??business modela?? has been at work to create this extraordinary richness and I will expand on this in the sections to follow.

Creating the perfect, super-rich wildlife destination

Imagine your goal was to create the perfect location for wildlife tourism. Sri Lanka would be a good example of how to go about it. You want to keep it small so that tourists dona??t have to travel too far from one location to another. But not too small as small areas dona??t have many animals and also cannot hold on to their animals. An island would be good as isolation allows species to evolve into new species. An ancient start would help. So leta??s begin with Sri Lanka being split off from ancient Southern Gondwana, tethered to India and drifting north on the Indian tectonic plate, carrying an ancient cargo of species which results in affinities between species in Madagascar and Sri Lanka. Next, crash the Indian plate into the Asian land mass (creating the Himalayas) and allowing Palaearctic mammals such as the tiger to drift south into India. Anchor Sri Lanka nearby as a continental island to enable immigration of species from the Asian mainland. But leave the island isolated for sufficiently long interglacial periods (where sea levels rise cutting off the island) for the process of speciation to allow endemics to evolve.

Isolation and physical stresses have resulted in high levels of endemism (e.g. 100% freshwater crabs, 95% amphibians, 80% land molluscs, 53% freshwater-obligate fish, 52% of dragonflies, 25% flowering plants, etc.).These have been supplemented by the a??immigrantsa?? from later land bridge connections. The down-side of repeat connections is that Sri Lanka does not have as high a proportion of endemic species or a number of endemic families as found on an island such as Madagascar.

Physical isolation is not enough and ecological isolation is also desirable, both from Asia and within the island. A good trick here is to create a central mountainous core, with two alternating and diagonally blowing monsoons (the Southwest and North-east) creating a very moist a??wet zonea??, distinct from a a??dry zonea??. The mountains also allow for a further vertical zonation, allowing more speciation to take place as some species diverge into sister species at different altitudes. Horton Plains National Park, the roof of Sri Lanka has many species confined to the highlands.

Build on this theme by up-thrusting a few more rugged, spectacular mountain ranges such as the Knuckles Wilderness creating elevated wet zone a??islands a??within the wet zone.This creates point endemics such as the Tennenta??s Leaf-nosed Lizard in the Knuckles. For extra measure add a few mountainous edges to lowland rainforests like Sinharaja to create more point endemics like Karua??s and Erdelena??s Dragon-lizards in Eastern Sinharaja (15 of the 18 agamid or dragon-lizards are endemic). Indulge in more innovation by throwing up a mountain with a wet zone character; Ritigala, surrounded by a sea of dry zone with more point endemics and build a legend around it that it was a piece of medicinal herb rich mountain from the Himalayas dropped by the Monkey God Hanuman as told in the Indian epic of Ramayana. Culture and wildlife go hand in hand in this area of ancient kingdoms of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, where the tallest archaeological brick buildings in the whole world; giant stupas, stand. Endemic Toque Monkeys wage ferocious tribal wars watched over by meditating saffron robed monks and are studied in one of the longest running zoological field studies in the world; the Smithsonian Primate Research project.

The process of speciation can be accelerated further by throwing in a few evolutionary tricks like direct development in the Rhacophorid Tree Frogs. This allows them to skip the stage of laying eggs in water and having tadpoles developing in water which leaves them vulnerable to periods when ephemeral bodies of water dry out. Instead, allow them to use foam nests in which the eggs develop into little frogs which plop out fully formed allowing one of the significant species radiations discovered in the 20th century to take place. There are many other examples of species radiations; for example all 20 of the forestdamsels described so far from the island are endemic. In fact Sri Lanka has four, five, and six times as many species of dragonflies per unit area than New Guinea, Borneo and Madagascar respectively. Geological turmoil and variations in the climate creating a??ecological nichesa?? could also have created physical stresses that favoured evolutionary variation. In fact, although I have referred to Sri Lankaa??s land area as 66,000 sq. km., most of the endemism is packed into an area of around 15,000 sq. km. ; less than a quarter of the total in what comprises the wet zone. This a??localisationa?? of small-range endemic species makes the endemicity (e.g. 740 endemic flowering plants in the wet zone) and the species richness in the wet zone even more remarkable.

Whilst all this is happening, keep stirring the evolutionary brew with fresh material. A few judiciously spaced out glaciations will lower sea levels forming a land bridge (Adama??s Bridge linking India to Mannar across the Palk Strait) allowing mainland species to immigrate and start anew to evolve into new species. Wildlife tourists like big stuff, so keep the land bridge open to get a good population in of the elephants, leopards and Sloth Bears. Ooops! Closed it too soon as enough tigers did not make it across to establish a viable population.

Having got the big stuff in, one may as well make an eco-tourism spectacle out of it. This requires some human intervention or anthropogenic factors for the technically minded. Throw in a liberal sprinkling of ancient kings who will usher a golden age of hydraulic civilisation. They will dot the islanda??s dry zone with grand civil engineering works, with vast lakes (e.g. the Sea of Parakrama) irrigating agriculture. Allow this to go to ruin and perfect conditions are made for the Elephant Gathering at Kaudulla and Minneriya in the North-Central Province where over 300 elephants may gather on the receding lakes in search of grazing, water, mates and social networking (elephants dona??t use Facebook)! Allow the farmland in the South-East in Yala to turn to grassland where together with the man-made waterholes, conditions are perfect for high densities of Spotted Deer, in turn creating one of the highest densities of leopards. The over 2,000 man-made lakes or wewas create wildlife rich wetlands which pre-date the interventionist conservation efforts of the London Wetland Centre. In Yala at Buttuwa Wewa, this results in the largest seasonal concentration in the world of the Mugger or Freshwater Crocodile, the second largest land reptile in the world. Not far away, the soft sandy beaches are visited by five of the seven species of marine turtle including the Leatherback; a giant!

Introduce Buddhism and Hinduism, two great world religions with a respect for animal life. Most animals lose their fear of people and everything from leopards in Yala, Blue and Sperm Whales in the surrounding oceans to fighting Purple Swamphens in Talangama Wetland (close to the commercial capital Colombo) are embarrassingly curious and camera friendly for tourists.

With the top side sorted out, the marine side needs some attention as well. The trick here is to have deep water close to shore which suits the large whales (unlike an island like Britain which is covered with shallow seas or the islands of the Indonesian archipelago).

Improve on this by having the continental shelf pinching in at the South at Dondra Head near the fishery harbour of Mirissa so that Blue Whales can be seen easily close to shore on a morning whale watch from a coastline studded with luxury villas, boutique hotels and backpacker crash pads. Create a deep 400m depth isobath running north-south for Sperm Whales in Kalpitiya (the Sperm Whale Strip of E 79 35 to E 79 40). Slide a peninsula of golden sandy beaches out onto it so that the Sperm Whales are a mere fifteen minutes by boat. For those for whom boats are not their thing, thrust a deep submarine canyon into Trincomalee in the North-East so that Blue and Sperm Whales can be seen from ashore on some days from the temple atop Swami Rock or very rarely from the pool side of beach hotels. For extra good measure throw in a few more canyons on the east coast which are good for enigmatic and elusive beaked whales. All of this is being a bit greedy as the island also has shallow seas where it needs it most; close to the mainland, to allow intermittent land connections for the immigrant waves to supplement the speciation factory.

The island has the best of everything in terms of underwater topography; now add to this a generous mix of nutrients. Whales need food; lots of it. The two monsoons are in charge of the kitchen, driving a hundred and three river systems (yes, thata??s right, 103) bringing down rich organic nutrients from the mountains, slow released from the lichen cloaked cloud forests to the lowlands creating nutrient rich soup around the island. The Blue Whales and the Cloud Forests are inter-connected. Not content with that, whip up some speed with the monsoons and create upwellings, which generate phytoplankton blooms which show up on Indian remote sensing satellites suspended in space in geo-synchronous orbits. All of this food creates fringing coral reefs which are rich in marine species.

Sri Lankaa??s coastline which is 432km long has approximately 800 species of marine fish recorded. Sites better publicised for their marine wildlife such as the 1,126km long Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) has 700 species of fish. The Maldivian islands which stretch across 1,500km have around 1,200 species recorded and the Great Barrier Reef stretching over 2,600km has 1,500 species. If we consider the number of marine fish species per unit length, we can see that Sri Lanka has roughly treble the statistic for the Gulf of California and double that for the Maldives. This is a very crude measure but it helps to give a flavour to the layperson of the relative species richness. The nutrient rich water in Sri Lanka and the monsoons which lash the shores reduce visibility in the water.

The lack of good viewing has resulted in its species richness not being understood as almost everyone including dive operators in Sri Lanka think the waters are a??poora?? for fish compared to other tropical destinations. I have come to realise that a??poor viewinga?? has been confused with a??poor species richnessa??, which it is not.

To be clear about context, for big game safaris many countries in Africa are unmatched. Large tropical islands such as Madagascar and New Guinea, lack large land mammal herbivores such as elephants or large carnivores such as leopards (Borneo does not have leopards and the origin of its elephants is disputed) but in absolute terms of species, have huge biodiversity. However, from the viewpoint of commercial wildlife tourism, in terms of ease of access, tourism infrastructure, affordability and with a short time frame of say two weeks, there is no country which has the array of terrestrial big game, endemism-rich species density, spectacular marine wildlife, diverse landscapes and close-knit cultural bonds (love-hate with elephants) with wildlife that is found in Sri Lanka.

The proof of the pudding of the physical, evolutionary and human factors is in the viewing. A visit of mine in April 2012 is an example of good evidence. I had an amazing trip where in the space of two weeks I watched courting Blue Whales, scrumming Sperm Whales, had a mother and baby elephant pad silently past my vehicle and drove back to camp in the gathering dusk, passing leopards out on the hunt.

In this article, I have with some speculation on my part drawn together material that is known from Sri Lanka and the mechanics of large scale processes studied elsewhere. Science is dynamic and what is known and conjectured today can change. But the broad principles should hold true and I hope I have explained why Sri Lanka deserves more attention from both those viewing wildlife for pleasure as well as those studying how planetary forces and time, drive the great engine of evolution and biogeographical distributions. At this point I should add a gentle reminder that in reality evolution is a a??blind processa?? although I have for the purpose of telling a story, written it as if evolution had set out to make a super-rich wildlife destination.

I have to add that although it is arguably the best all-round country for multi-faceted wildlife viewing with ease, it comes with a caveat.

Sri Lanka does need improvement in terms of better interpretation and better facilities for visitors at parks and reserves and more responsible guiding. Finally and alarmingly, less than 8% of its biodiversity rich wet zone remains forested and more attention is needed both locally and internationally to lay emphasis on how special this island is for its wildlife.

Island Magic: A summary of how Planetary Physics, Evolution and Ancient Cultures forged a super-rich wildlife destination

  1. Physical Factors
    Continental Island – Permitted intermittent land connection with mainland allowing immigrant waves (see below). Also continental islands usually inherit a rich stock of species unlike oceanic islands created from volcanic activity.
    Origin – Benefits from an ancient stock of species which have become island endemics but shows affinities to groups as far away as in Madagascar.
    Two diagonally blowing monsoons and a central mountain range – Highly distinct and extreme climatic zones found more typically on large continental masses.
    Isolation – Despite the intermittent land connections and proximity to the mainland, the creation of a climatically distinct wet zone, allowed speciation to operate in the manner it does in isolated environments.
    Mountain ranges – The central mountains together with the monsoons have created a topographical and climatic complexity, driving evolutionary forces to create more species. Some mountain ranges have a??point endemicsa?? and they create pockets of isolation all over the island.
    Deep seas close to shore and shallow seas with mainland. Best of both. – Sri Lanka violates the rule about continental islands having shallow seas around them by having deep seas and submarine canyons (except where it needs shallow seas the most, near the mainland to form intermittent land bridges). The deep seas create conditions for Blue Whales and Sperm Whales to be very close to shore, within sight of naked eye at times.
    River Systems – The 103 river systems drain a vast flow of organic nutrients into the deep seas around the island. Per unit length of distance, the coral reefs have more species than more famous marine reserves such as the Gulf of California and the Great Barrier Reef. But rich nutrient load and silt results in poorer visibility than other dive destinations.
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  3. Evolutionary factors
    Intermittent land bridge connections to mainland – Allowed successive immigrant waves from mainland to boost the number of species in the island and to a lesser extent supply a speciation factory with new material. Later colonisers if successful may evolve into new species if they penetrated a??pockets of isolationa?? in the wet zones. Sri Lanka breaks the rule that moderately sized or small islands dona??t have large animals thanks to the intermittent land bridge.
    Species Radiations – For example, rainforest tree frogs in the genus Philautus have evolved direct development, skipping egg laying and tadpoles in the water allowing them to radiate into new species. Other groups such as the Shadowdamsels have all 20 plus species endemic to the island. Evolutionary forces have resulted in Sri Lanka breaking the species-area relationship for islands. Land bridges may have played a part, although present evidence is that it has been a small influence.
  4. Human factors
    Ancient Civilisations and Religion – The Elephant Gathering and the high density of Leopards in Yala are both results of intense agricultural farming. A religious respect for other living beings means Blue Whales and Sperm Whales swim up to boats. Birds and other animals are prolific and tame.
  5. Result
    Wildlife spectacles, high proportion of endemism, large number of species, large animals and easy viewing Sri Lanka is the best in world for some of the most charismatic or desired species (e.g. Blue Whale a??largest animal, Sperm Whale super-pods a?? largest toothed carnivore) or has special spectacles (e.g. the largest recurring elephant gathering, the Sinharaja Bird Wave, high density of Leopards) all in a compact island with good tourism infrastructure and good specialist guides.

Ice Ages and Speciation

The table below summarises a 5 stage process in which a continental island like Sri Lanka would have benefitted by ice ages in enhancing species diversity. This assumes that ice ages acted to lower sea levels in the tropics but did not cover the land with ice sheets as it did in temperate latitudes with islands like Britain. If an island is covered with ice sheets, it will kill species and leave it poor. Britain for example has only 35 species of trees which are native. On the other hand a tropical island like Sri Lanka which was not covered in ice would benefit from a two way exchange of species with the mainland. The dry zone has benefitted from this connection and has species which are found in Southern India and in the northern half of Sri Lanka. The island also has large land mammals such as the elephant and large carnivores such as the leopard not typically found on moderately sized islands.

Puzzlingly and inconveniently, the phylogenetic studies on plants and animals suggest that radiation of species in Sri Lanka took place in the Tertiary age before the series of ice ages in the Pleistocene Epoch (in the Quaternary Period) with the last land bridge connection being as recent as 10,000 years ago. This poses two questions. Firstly, we see that evolutionary events happened in Sri Lanka so many millions of years ago that have left it richer in species compared to much larger tropical islands. New Guinea and Borneo also have varied topographies and have the structural complexity and physical stresses that Sri Lanka has.

If evolutionary events happen because of physical factors combining with random mutations in genes, why has the species per unit area not remained proportionate? Secondly, during the recent ice ages in the Quaternary Period, did the wet zone remain isolated from the Indian mainland surrounded by a sea of dry zone? For answers to the latter question more work will need to be done on the fossil record on plant pollen to understand the extent of different types of forest on the island. The five stage process I have outlined below is a useful general model, but based on what is known at present does not provide the evolutionary answers for Sri Lanka being super-rich in species. This is still a puzzle.

How ice ages could drive a 5 stage speciation process

  1. Connect
  2. Import
  3. Isolate and Disperse
  4. Stress
  5. Speciate
    Repeat to enhance species richness

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Glaw, F., & Vences, M. (2003). Introduction to Amphibians. In Goodman, S. M., & Benstead, J.P. (Eds). (2003). The Natural History of Madagascar. University of Chicago Press. Pages 1709. Goodman, S. M., & Benstead, J.P. (Eds). (2003). The Natural History of Madagascar. University of Chicago Press. Pages 1709.
Hawkins, A. F. A., & Goodman, S.M. (2003). Introduction to the Birds. In Goodman, S. M., & Benstead, J.P. (Eds). (2003). The Natural History of Madagascar. University of Chicago Press. Pages 1709.
Inger, R. F. & Lian, T. F. (1996). Checklist of the Frogs of Borneo Purchase cardizem online . The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 1996 44(2): 551-574.
Kalkman, V. & Orr, A. (2013). Field guide to the damselflies of New Guinea. Brachytron 16. Dutch Dragonfly Journal. Pages 118.
Kalkman, V.J. (2013). Studies on phylogeny and biogeography of damselflies (Odonata) with emphasis on the Argiolestidae. PhD Thesis. Leiden University. 224 pages.
Kottelat, M. & Whitten, T. (1996). Freshwater biodiversity in Asia with special reference to fish. World Bank Technical Report. Pages 72.
Kreft, H., Walter.j, Mutke, J., Kier, G., & Bartholott, W. (2008). Global diversity of island floras from a macroecological perspective. Ecology Letters (2008). 11:116-127.
Lowry, D.B. (2012). Ecotypes and the controversy over stages in the formation of new species. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 106, 241-257.
Losos, J.B. & Ricklefs, R.E. 2009. Adaptation and diversification on islands. Nature Vol 457. 12 February 2009.
MacKinnon, J & Phillipps, K. (1993). A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali. Oxford University Press Inc., New York, United States. Illustrations by Karen Phillipps. 459 Pages.
Marshall, A.J., & Beehler, B.M. (Eds). (2007). The Ecology of Papua Part One. The Ecology of Indonesia Series Volume VI. First Edition.Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd. Pages 1-749.
Marshall, A.J., & Beehler, B.M. (Eds). (2007). The Ecology of Papua Part Two. The Ecology of Indonesia Series Volume VI. First Edition. Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd. Pages 750-1,467.
Meegaskumbura, M., Bossuyt, F., Pethiyagoda, R., Manamendra-Arachchi, K., Bahir, M., Milinkovitch, M. C. & Schneider, C. J. (2002). Sri Lanka: An Amphibian Hotspot. Science, 298: 379.
Michaux,B. (2010). Biogeology of Wallacea: geotectonic models, areas of endemism, and natural biogeographical units. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 101, 193-212.
Orr, A. G. (2005). A Guide to the Dragonflies of Borneo. Their identification and biology. Natural History Publications (Borneo). 195pages. ISBN 983-812-069-3.
Pethiyagoda, R. & Manamendra-Arachchi, K. 1998. Evaluating Sri Lankaa??s amphibian diversity. Occasional Papers of the Wildlife Heritage Trust, 2: 1a??12.
Pethiyagoda, R. (2005). Exploring Sri Lankaa??s biodiversity. The Raffles Bulletin pf Zoology. Supplement no 12: 1-4.
Phillips, Q & Phillipps, K. (2011). Phillipsa?? Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo. Second edition. John Beaufoy Publishing: UK. Pages 372.
Premathilake, R. & Gunatilaka, A. (2013). Chronological framework of Asian Southwest Monsoon events over the past 24,000 years in Sri Lanka and regional correlations. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka. 2013 41 (3): 219-228.
Pyron, R.A., Kandambi, H.K.D., Catriona, R.H., Pushpamal, V., Burbrink, F.T. & Somaweera, R. (2013). Genus-level phylogeny of snakes reveals the origins of species richness in Sri Lanka. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.12.004.
Quammen, D. (1996). The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an age of extinction. Pimlico an Imprint of Random House: London. Pages 702.
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Raxworthy, C.J. (2003). Introduction to the Reptiles. In Goodman, S. M., & Benstead, J.P. (Eds). (2003). The Natural History of Madagascar. University of Chicago Press. Pages 1709.
Sparks, J.S. & Stiassny, M.L.J. (2003). Introduction to the Freshwater Fishes. In Goodman, S. M., & Benstead, J.P. (Eds). (2003). The Natural History of Madagascar. University of Chicago Press. Pages 1709.
Van Tol, J. (2009). Phylogeny and biogeography of the Platystictidae (Odonata). Doctoral thesis. Leiden University.

Acknowledgements

Structural improvements were made to the article from comments from Pippa Jacks (Managing Editor of Travel Trade Gazette) and other useful comments were received from Tara Wikramanayake who also performed an extensive copy edit. Many others were used as a sounding board by me before I wrote this article. None of these people necessarily agree with the views and speculation the author makes in this article. My thanks to Keith Wijesuriya and his team at OMD Sri Lanka for designing the booklet which was released on 1 July 2014. The graphics showing the relative species richness is reproduced with permission from the Sunday Times: Sri Lanka and was prepared by Nalin Balasuriya. This article was first published as two articles in the Sunday Times Sri Lanka on 20 April 2014 and 27 April 2014. This version has been amended and expanded. The citations for the original articles are given below.
de Silva Wijeyeratne. G. (2014). Why Sri Lanka is super-rich for wildlife. Sunday Times: Sri Lanka. Sunday Times Plus. Page 8. Sunday 20 April 2014. Part 01.
de Silva Wijeyeratne. G. (2014). Creating a super-rich wildlife destination. Sunday Times: Sri Lanka. Sunday Times Plus. Page 8. Sunday 27 April 2014. Part 02.

Citation

The following citation is suggested for the expanded version of the articles which was released as a pdf.
de Silva Wijeyeratne. G. (2014). Why Sri Lanka is super-rich for wildlife. Pdf, circulated electronically. Version 1 July 2014.

Continue reading ‘Super-Rich Wild Life’

THE NEAREST FARAWAY PLACE

The road to Arugam Baya??. A surfera??s paradise. This story ran in Gulf aira??s inflight magazine, Gulf Life. The images have also been used by CNN Traveller and by the Metro newspaper. Ita??s an arduous journey to Arugam Bay. Even after making it to Sri Lankaa??s capital Columbo, ita??s a further twelve hours along dusty roads.But this is a small price to pay for the amazing scenery and wildlife youa??ll see.

Buy olanzapine uk PottuVille Point

Famous for its glorious west coast resorts and elephant safaris, Sri LankaA?is a firm tourist favourite. But the east coast of Sri Lanka representsA?uncharted waters for most. Home to pristine beaches and a laidbackA?lifestyle, Arugam Bay is carving out a niche for itself as a surfingA?paradise. Natacha Butler visits the countrya??s latest safari hotspot to catchA?a few waves

Cozaar 50mg online Purchase lincocin ampolletas Surfers at Arugam Bay

Ita??s a little after sunrise on Sri Lankaa??s east coast and at Arugam Bay theA?first surfers are out. Tousled-haired local boys and wave-chasing touristsA?breeze across the golden sand with well-worn surfboards tucked underarm.A?They head to the end of the long beach, to Main Point, where six-foot wavesA?rise and roll to shore.A?a??Ia??ve been surfing for 12 years, twice a day, everyday,a?? says Fawas Lafeer,A?the 26-year-old head of the Arugam Bay Surf Club. a??I love it,
I cana??tA?imagine life not surfing, which is why Ia??ll always live here; the waves areA?really good.a?? The waves are not just good, they are some of the best in theA?world, which is why surf-lovers have been making the journey to thisA?far-flung sleepy community on Sri Lankaa??s east coast for decades. In theA?1960s and 1970s they would set-off from the capital Colombo on an arduousA?nine-hour cross-country car journey on a barely-there road. Most wereA?Australians and Europeans chasing the thrill of an Indian Ocean ride.
Entranced by the breaks and a sweeping curved beach lined with palm trees,A?several ended up staying, helping to transform a poor fishing village intoA?the nationa??s top surf spot.A?a??Back then people came from everywhere,a?? says Anglo-Dutch civil engineerA?Fred Netzband-Miller, who arrived at Arugam Bay to surf in 1977, fell inA?love with the place and decided to call it home. He now runs the localA?hoteliersa?? association. a??It was the combination of quality waves and aA?beautiful beach.A?Although therea??sA?not much rain ita??s a very lush placeA?because of the rivers. Ia??ve travelled the world, but Arugam Bay is unique. a??The bay became such a hot destination in surf-circles that travellers neverA?abandoned it despite the shock of the devastating 2004 tsunami, whichA?battered the Sri Lankan coast on 26 December claiming more than 30,000A?lives, including one in ten people in Arugam Bay. They also defied nearlyA?three decades of deadly civil conflict between Tamil Tiger rebels and theA?Sri Lankan military. a??During the war surfers still came, they did not stop,they were not afraid,a?? explains Lafeer. a??You know surfers only think aboutA?surfing,a?? he laughs. Continue reading ‘THE NEAREST FARAWAY PLACE’

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PM makes revelations about a “mansion” in Arugam Bay

…….“Sri lankaa??s best beach is in Arugam Bay” ……
Addressing a public meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe revealed facts about a mansion that was being built in Arugam Bay.

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The meeting was held in the Uluwitige area in Galle.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe speaking at the meeting expressed these views,

a??Recently I located a palace. It is bigger than the Buckingham palace. This was found in Arugam Bay. This palace also has a name. It is called the International Coordinating Headquarters. What we have found here are chalets, in other words holiday bungalows. There were 57 chalets. They were VIP chalets with pools. There are three pools. This is in the sea and it is 100 feet long. Sri lankaa??s best beach is in Arugam Bay. There are pools here. What is the purpose of this. Can international coordination be done from Arugam Bay Canon imageprograf ipf755 prices ? For whom are these built? Now we have put a halt to it. They have already built 15. Only walls have been put up and we have stopped further work. The Parliament has not given approval for this. Money from the Presidential Secretariat has been given for this. All financial regulations have been violated. Who paid for these? When these expenses were stopped, we could lower the fuel prices.a??

Minister of Mass media and Parliamentary affairs Gayantha Karunathilake too expressed views at the meeting.

a??They filled their pockets with commissions from road construction. This government will initiate a new beginning where everything will be done in a transparent way. All this would be done within the one hundred day programme.a??

http://newsfirst.lk/english/2015/02/pm-makes-revelations-mansion-arugam-bay/78216

Adopt an AbaY dog

Originally published 10/01/2010 (5 years ago)
But this issue is now even more urgent.

At remote Arugam Bay, a few hundred homeless dogs are waiting to be adopted by caring animal lovers. Please help to save them.

Adopt an Arugam Bay dog !

A sponsor has already been found to provided a suitable, safe A?vehicle.
To take them to Colombo or elsewhere on the island.
All animals will be collected, fed, treated and transported with the outmost care & respect
All the Community needs is an address to deliver them to.
Please, animal Lovers:
Please do come forward and let us know where to send them to.
Before even more are run over by speeding and careless drivers on our new fast roads!
The Social Networks are buzzing.
With appeals and online petitions to stop a rumored animal cull.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-sri-lankan-government-from-killing-millions-of-stray-dogs/
We support this initiative!
But. What to do?
At Arugam Bay four costly A?sterilization programs have been carried out, since the 2004 Tsunami.
In our A?remote Bay residents and visitors are unsure if any success can be reported.
Many people are simply too scared to walk on the beach or indeed the road, specially at night. Due to large packs of hungry dogs around.
Below is a copy of one of the stories we covered 5 years ago.
The writer of this article has personally observed that one A?particular, disabled bitch alone has had a litter every year since and produced 60 or so pups, most of which appear to be unwell or/and A?mentally unstable …..
Something has to be done – This situation is out of control.

The article below was first published 6th Marc, 2007:
The Tsunami Animal People Alliance (TAPA) has, in the true sense of the word: emBarked on a dog sterilization program at Arugam Bay How much nolvadex post cycle .
Ponstel costs Operation Theater
Vets at work @ SVH
In total 300 – 400 dogs are being treated locally.
Arugam.info is informed that about 10,000 have been spayed island wide already.
It is said to be the best and most humane method of controlling stray and infected animals.
The visiting, all Sri Lankan team consists of 4 qualified vets and 7 assistants, a van, and a mobile clinic.
Arugam.info is informed that a budget of 18$/dog has been secured by foreign donors, most of which (10$) will be used for quality drugs and medicines.
Take a look at the work in the attached photo album. Continue reading ‘Adopt an AbaY dog’

Healing waters

BeitragVerfasst am: 06.08.2005 08:23A?A?A?A? A?A?Titel:

Surfen in Arugam
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‘Healing watersCarolyn Fry finds that surfing is helping one Sri Lankan resort to get back on its feet after the tsunami

Tuesday August 2, 2005

Alan Stokes takes on the surf at Arugam Bay. Photograph: Carolyn Fry

On a sweeping stretch of cinnamon sand, a crowd turned its eyes to the rolling ocean surf. Local families, holiday-makers and a throng of photographers, film-makers and journalists were gathering to see the 2005 Champion of Champions surf contest in Arugam Bay, south-east Sri Lanka.
As a new day’s sun burned the sand through the fronds of coconut palms, surfers launched themselves into the water to ride the swell in a ballet of curving turns, speeding glides and twists of spray. The Boxing Day tsunami ripped through this sleepy beachside village, but the Indian Ocean’s barrelling waves are helping the community get back on its feet.

The legendary ‘right-handers’ of Arugam Bay have long attracted travelling wave-riders. During the country’s 20-year civil war, a dedicated group of Australian surfers regularly risked being bombed, or shot in cross-fire during violent battles between Tamil Tigers and the army. With the end of the conflict in 2002, more adventurers started to make the 10-hour journey along narrow, pitted roads to the famed beach.

Last year, when the British Professional Surfing Association (BPSA) held the first ever Champions surfing competition in the area it seemed things were finally looking up for this dusty, laid-back cluster of low-rise hotels, palm-roofed cabanas and fishermen’s shacks.

A message posted on the Siam View Hotel’s website at Christmas said: “The 2004 season has been the best the bay has ever seen. Nothing – not even another civil war – can stop the bay’s progress now.”

Hours later, the first of eight waves struck, sucking a metre of sand from the base of palms on Arugam Point, plucking cabanas and their inhabitants from the sand and smashing a thickening cargo of debris through the windows of the buses on the main street.

Simon, owner of the unfortunately named Tsunami Hotel, was managing the Siam View that night. He awoke to find himself underwater with his leg trapped. After breaking his ankle to free himself he was swept through several dwellings by the murky, diesel-tainted current before managing to grasp hold of some building blocks. This stopped Simon being swept out to sea as the water receded back to the horizon. Today, his faded superman tattoo has been supplemented by a fresh turquoise inking of a tsunami, along with the date he survived against all odds.

Following the tsunami, the organisers of the surfing contest were in two minds as to whether it should go ahead this year. A third of Arugam Bay’s 3,000 inhabitants had been killed in the disaster, money pledged by charities was slow in reaching the village and the bridge carrying the main road into Arugam Bay had been breached by the waves, cutting the community off for a short period.

However, when the bridge reopened in April the organisers decided the competition should take place. They felt that bringing 100 people into the village would serve as an impetus to get hotels rebuilt as soon as possible as well as injecting much-needed cash into the local economy.

“Everyone worked very, very hard to put it in place,” said Ralph Pereira, managing director of Travel and Tours Anywhere, which developed the contest in conjunction with Sri Lankan Airlines and the BPSA. “We didn’t know for sure that it would go ahead or whether there would be sufficient hotel rooms until six weeks beforehand.”

Guesthouse owners had certainly been hurrying to rebuild and reopen rooms damaged by the tsunami. At Hideaway Guesthouse, where I was staying, the front part of the garden was still a building site. But the main building, with its colonial tea plantation feel was homely and clean, with plump pink and orange cushions brightening rattan chairs.

Before the tsunami, surfing had been a mainstay of the tourism economy right around Sri Lanka’s southern coastline. The island’s south-west has the best waves from November to April, the south-east from May to September.

When Arugam Bay’s right-handers tailed off with the onset of the monsoon, surfers simply headed west to Hikkaduwa, where plentiful hotels and beach villas stood among lush gardens of banana and bourganvillia.

Recreating this surfers’ paradise in the wake of the tsunami has not been easy; with compensation payments from the government yet to materialise, most tourism enterprises have had to rely on their own funds to rebuild their businesses.

“We lost all our watersports equipment,” explained Thilak Weerasinghe, managing director of Lanka Sportreizen. “I didn’t get a cent, but luckily we had built up the business and can afford to rebuild.”

The Travel Foundation and Association of Independent Tour Operators (Aito) are working with the Sri Lankan government, local communities and environmental groups to help people affected by the tsunami regain their livelihoods by developing responsible tourism initiatives.

A number of projects have been earmarked for assistance, including a plan to create a sustainable fishing village. Visitors will see fish being brought to shore and sold, enabling fishermen to benefit from tourism while maintaining their traditional role in society.

Another scheme aims to revegetate land affected by the tsunami, using native plant species. This will include research into using mangroves for coastal protection. Funding for the projects will come from money already pledged by Aito members and donations from customers.

Back in Arugam Bay, there are plans to use money raised by the UK surfing fraternity to build a community surf foundation. Tsunami Surf Relief UK (TSRUK) has so far raised A?A?30,000 through charity auctions and events and has allocated a third of this to building a new surf centre. As well as being a focal point where local surfers can meet, the foundation will help generate cash by offering board hire and surfing lessons to visiting tourists.

“We felt the community would benefit from having a centre offering surf-board hire and perhaps swimming lessons and life-guarding,” explained Phil Williams, national director of Christian Surfers UK and a trustee of TSRUK. “The break at Arugam Point is world famous for its waves and surfers from around the world go specifically to that area. In the three or four years after the ceasefire and before the tsunami, more and more surfers were coming to A-Bay; it was a much more prosperous place than before they came.”

As the surfing contest hotted up there was something of a party atmosphere on the beach. Dozens of coloured flags rippled in the tropical wind along the path to Arugam Point where glassy turquoise waves curled invitingly around the reef.

Judges assessed surfers on their turns, style and risk-taking, while waiting competitors nervously flexed their muscles, waxed their boards and contemplated their chances of winning the A?A?2,000 prize money.

For the Sri Lankan surfers, many of whom lost friends and family in the tsunami, preparing for the contest helped them overcome their fear of the ocean. As each entered the water, the 100 or so villagers seated beneath the palm trees lining the shore cheered and whistled their support.

“The contest has been hugely important for morale after the tsunami,” said Phil Williams. “It’s sent out the message that, while Arugam Bay isn’t quite yet open for business as usual, it’s back on the tourist trail.”

Way to go

Getting there: Sri Lankan Airlines ( Zestoretic online stopwatch 020-8538 2001

), offers 11 flights a week from Heathrow to Colombo. Fares start at A?A?450 return plus taxesWhere to stay: Travel and Tours Anywhere Ltd (0208 8136622) offers surfing holidays to Arugam Bay and Hikkaduwa. A 15-day holiday to Arugam Bay including flights, transfers and B&B accommodation in a guest house costs from A?A?699pp. 14 days in Hikkaduwa costs from A?A?599pp. Hire of boards and surfing lessons can be arranged

When to go: The waves at Arugam Bay are best between May and September during the dry season. During the off-season, Sri Lanka’s main surf spot on the south-west coast, Hikkaduwa, has good waves

Further information: Sri Lanka Tourist Board ( Buy unisom sleepgels nz 020-7930 2627), arugambay.com’

http://travel.guardian.co.uk/c…..60,00.html

Continue reading ‘Healing waters’

The Island

Arugam Bay. And the progress.

"The Island" article

Environmentalists, nature lovers and some holidaymakers are up in arms against the rapid haphazard development taking place in Arugam Bay which isA?one of the most soughtA?after and un-spoilt tourist resorts in Sri Lanka.

Michelle Mitchel of Sydney, Australia, born to Sri Lankan parents, expressed her displeasure at the adhoc and rapid development taking place in the area and added if the government allowed the trend to continue, very soon the country would see thatA?the steady flow of tourists to the resort would reduce drastically.

Michelle Mitchel of Sydney

Mitchelle in an interview with “The Traveller” after holidaying in Arugam Bay said that the tourism authorities and otherA?stakeholders should make every effort to protect the area and ensure that there was no overdevelopment in the resort.

Arugam Bay with its pristine and un-spoiltA?beaches, the laid back and rustic atmosphere had attracted thousands of holidaymakers to the country. Another reason why it has become popular all over the world as a destination among tourists is because Pottuvil Point is one of the best surfing areas in the world. Pottuvil Point has attracted large number of surfers from different parts of the world and it is a gold mine for Sri Lankaa??s tourism industry which should be protected at any cost,” she said.

Building of high-rises and similar construction , overdevelopment and overcrowding would definitely ruinA? theA? character of the areaA? and it would become just another tourist resort A?with a concrete jungle A?which would eventually result in holidaymakers who loved the a??paradisea?? turning to other exotic destinations in the region or elsewhere and this could be a dangerous precedent, Mitchelle said. Continue reading ‘The Island’

Nostalgia at AbaY

Update 04/ July 2015:
AbaY is developing.
Fast:
1.) The CEB now provides pretty reliable Power (Electric)
2.) The SLT now has two fiberglass Internet connections
3.) The a/c buses do not run anymore. :-((
4.) The water supply costs double now.

Otherwise:
Purchase norvasc Arugam Bay is still OK, romantic and beautiful.
Back to the original article:
***********************************************

Nostalgia at AbaY

Coming from the re-vamped modern City of Colombo to Arugam Bay is like a trip into the past.
Escape the progress!

Millions spent on uplifts

Millions spent on uplifts

However. Once you reach the poor East Coast and the Bay of Arugam. You will find:
Daily. And often All Weekend Powercuts.

Daily Power Cuts

Daily Power Cuts

So What?
It’s a perfect setting. For a romantic candle lit dinner by the beach. Under the clear star-studded sky.

A trip back to last century

A trip back to last century

Water supply cut off every day?

USAIDS Water supply

USAIDS Water supply

No problem!
Cool down and have an inviting ‘sea bath’ in the clear, blue ocean in front.

Plenty of clear water available

Plenty of clear water available

No street lights

No street lights

No Street lights? Even on the brand new USAID 14 Mill. $$$ bridge?
Mind your way – avoid the open drains

All drains are open

All drains are open

Internet disruptions?

Unstable Internet at AbaY

Unstable Internet at AbaY

A perfect opportunity to talk to fellow travelers!

Most places have Free Wifi in the Bay. But often the connections are poor

Most places have Free Wifi in the Bay. But often the connections are poor

Luxury Bus Service not coming?

Usually 20:30 departs

Usually 20:30 departs

Ideal! To remain in the dark ages.
At Arugam Bay. After all, this is our island’s most promising, Government declared, tourist Resort!

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Arugam Bay Taxi Initiative News

Satisfied Passengers
Have made their decision!
The Arugam Bay Taxi Initiative’s
Trusted Taxi Sub-Contractors have set new,
HIGH standards:

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Satisfied Passenger Comments


Above is just a small selection of nice feed-back from our passengers and guests.

This is in answer to unprofessional so-called local “Drivers”:

The A?helpful “Taxi” Mafia of Arugam Bay
Has vandalized the innovative , popular
Taxi Sharing Board.
We should name & shame those guys.

Someone is spoiling it. For everyone.

Cheap amantadine poisoning Visitors: The Choice is Yours !
How you will travel and
Whom you give your business to.
In future.
Remember. That We don’t get one single Rupee out of this Initiative.
It is in your own interest – and everyone else’s. In the Bay.
In the long run it will be good for everyone.
Sadly, some guys don’t yet realise that. As Yet.
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Mind the Wild Life

Two die in jumbo attacks

Two men who went into the jungle to collect bee hives, died after being attacked by an elephant in Lahugala (nr. Average cost of keflex Arugam Bay Albendazole price mercury drug Purchase etodolac 300 ) and Wellawaya on Thursday. E. A. Ajith Senaratne, 33, of Kirivehera road faced the mishap when he went into the Lahugala Forest Reserve to collect honey.

Wild Elephants are often seen on the A4 main Road to Arugam Bay

The body was sent to the Lahugala Hospital morgue for the post-mortem. Pottuvil Police are investigating. Meanwhile, D.A. Premadasa, 56, of Thanamalwila was attacked by an elephant near Kumbukkote tank in Aragama. He was pronounced dead at Wellawaya hospital.

The body was handed to his relations after the post-mortem. Wellawaya Police are investigating.

– See more at: http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=police-legal/police-log-10052014#sthash.4XhvwIiE.dpuf

Leseprobe: Der Krokodilfelsen

This article was first published 4th June, 2006
It’s an extract from a Travel Novel of events set in Arugam Bay. The recently deceased “Ram” of Sooriya’s plays a huge role in this great Book. Sadly only in German.

Autorin:
Claudia Ackermann

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Like in the Novel. Is it all Real?

Ich erreichte den Mitternachts-Express gerade noch rechtzeitig, suchte mir einen Platz und sah aus dem Fenster. Ein Tourist drA?A?ngte sich A?A?ber den Busbahnhof. Er kam nur langsam vorwA?A?rts, denn auA?A?er seiner Reisetasche trug er noch ein groA?A?es Surfbord unter dem Arm. RA?A?cksichtslos schob er damit die Passanten zur Seite, die ihm im Weg waren. In letzter Sekunde erreichte er den Bus, aber da schon fast alle PlA?A?tze besetzt waren und im Mittelgang Taschen und KA?A?rbe standen, weigerte sich der Fahrer, ihn mit seinem riesigen GepA?A?ckstA?A?ck einsteigen zu lassen. Der Surfer stellte einen FuA?A? in die TA?A?r, die Spitze seines Bords ragte bereits ins Innere des Busses. Aggressiv und drohend redete er auf den Fahrer ein, und an seinem Akzent erkannte ich, dass er Australier war. Er war groA?A?, bestimmt einen Kopf grA?A?A?A?er als der Fahrer. Sein KA?A?rper war muskulA?A?s und durchtrainiert, aber der Busfahrer, ein schmA?A?chtiger, hagerer Mann, lieA?A? sich davon nicht beeindrucken. Um so lauter der Australier sprach, desto sturer wurde sein GegenA?A?ber.
A?a??A?Das Brett braucht so viel Platz, wie zwei MA?A?nner”, behauptete der Busfahrer. A?a??A?Du musst drei Tickets kaufen.”
Nach langer Diskussion, die die FahrgA?A?ste interessiert verfolgten, entschloss sich der Australier schlieA?A?lich, den Preis zu bezahlen. Schimpfend wuchtete er sein Surfbrett in den Bus und kam direkt auf mich zu, denn neben mir war noch ein Platz frei. Continue reading ‘Leseprobe: Der Krokodilfelsen’

Germany -to- Australia by “Boat”

What a remarkable Australian Lady!
She retracts a historical journey
Done in the 1930’s by a Germany adventurer
(Oskar Speck)
All the way from Germany -to- Australia
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Great! That she stopped by at Arugam Bay !

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Circus Night at the SVH, AbaY

An International Circus in Town
Giullari Senza Frontiere

Performed at Lahugala, Komari and Arugam Bay
Their last night here will be Friday, 21st February, 2014

Circus Night at the SVH, AbaY

At the Tamil School, Komari

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Crocodile Rock Legend “Ram” Cremated

https://www.facebook.com/OldArugam?ref=stream&hc_location=stream

Arugam’s History and more photos on the above link

1951 – 2014

Sooriya's Main Entrance

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The Unique Sooriya's Hotel

(This article was first published with a different headline 9th Febr. 2007)
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The entire Bay is in shock
We have been informed of the loss of our Greatest legend:
Guru RAM of Sooriya’s.

We A?have just been notified that the cremation will take place today
In or near PottuVille Town.
Monday, 17th February, 2014 at around 15:00 hrs.
Our local correspondent will attend and report.

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Everyone is VERY, VERY sad.
What a great loss – what a great, humble man he was.

Sooriya’s Story
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The above photo, taken in Arugam Bay today tells a long story in one single shot.
Shown is Ramana Sooriya with a copy of the Travel novel by Claudia Ackermann.
“Der Krokodilfelsen” is based on true events in the early 1980’s, focused on Ulla village which Arugam Bay was known as then.
Arugam.info will provide more details, one is working on an English translation of this relevant and interesting novel. We also have added a direct link to Amazon for you to be able to order any book directly through our site.

“Tourist” Police shuts down Info pages


“Tourist” Police action shuts down AbaY’s Info pages

This week the so-called “Tourist” Police raided the premises of arugam.info‘s only sponsor.
The resulting fine – for a small technicality, held up by the local in-famous Buy cabgolin tab ‘Red Tape’ came to about 1 year’s salary.
That alone took everyone by surprise.
With no funding we can no longer continue to support this as well as all of our other Tourist Promotion initiatives.
Sorry!

Arugam’ “Tourist” Police Station


This Community and Tourist promotion web site
Plus all our other, associated A?Info & promo pages, worldwide
are strictly non-commercial.
They are paid for and maintained by a private initiative only
As bad luck has it, all annual hosting fees are due now.
Our sponsors are forced to pay a huge fine (Rs./ 100,000) or $780

That means that any further support for Tourism will come to a halt, due to cash flow problems. This usually pretty minor case was caused by weird police action over the sale of a few bottles of local BEER.

All other “Tourist” Resorts in Sri Lanka do NOT face similar drastic action and totally over the top penalties. Why Arugam Bay?
Sorry for the inconvenience.

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