A DAY IN A CORAL ISLAND
During our 3 nights stay in Jaffna we decided to visit the Delft island which is situated offshore Jaffna in the northern part of Sri Lanka. This island had been deployed by Dutch & Portuguese as a Fortification during when Sri Lanka then Ceylon was a colony of those countries.
We reached the Jaffna Jetty at 8.45 AM in the morning there were many locals & few foreigners too to get in to the ferry which is heading towards Delft island. Boat or the ferry is the only mode of transportation which runs between Jaffna & Delft island. Not a fancy boat it is a basic Fishing boat converted to transport people & daily supplies.
Boat ride
Ferry sailed at 9.00 AM from Jaffna jetty & this is an interesting journey. Continuous Tamil songs aired on a radio, there are people in the boat & on top of the boat too it’s fun to go on top of the boat. You will be provided with life jackets for safety reasons. It’s a sail of 45 minutes – 1 hour to reach Delft island. We had fun on going on this shaky & floaty boat ride on top of the boat.
Journey in the island
We reached the Delft island shore, our contact person was there to receive us & took us to his house for a quick welcoming refreshment, then we started to explore the Island on his Jeep. This island has most of the key essential institutions in a city such as; Hospital, Police station, School & a Church to name a few.
Dutch Fort
Our drive was an exciting experience through gravel roads, either side of the road we saw village houses & the uniqueness of those houses are everything is made out of Corals from the ocean. We made our 1st stop at a special archaeological site in Delft island. The ancient Dutch fort which was built during the Dutch era in Sri Lanka. We spent some time exploring & admiring the ancient yet solid architecture.
Pigeon post
Pigeon Post was a famous communication mode in Delft island during ancient times. We visited a couple of pigeon cages in the island. These were used during Dutch era as messengers to communicate with the main land.
Toddy business
Our favorite part was TODDY centers, TODDY business is a cottage industry in Delft island & it is an interesting sub culture. These selling centers are located in hidden corners mostly in the bushes under a huge tree with a small shelter. The toddy will be offered in coconut shell with a tiny piece of dry fish or fried fish. Some people are tipsy, some are singing Tamil songs in a terrible tune but it’s fun to watch, some are gambling with a card pack & many interesting stuff to see. We also had couple of Toddy shots with them & continued the journey.
Wild horses
Wild horses are a unique feature in Delft Island & is the only place in Sri Lanka you will see fairly a large number of wild horses in Sri Lanka. Those animals are freely running around the island & it’s a spectacular site to watch. The good thing is there are no predators for those animals in this island. According to sources tourism authorities are planning to name a section of Delft island as a sanctuary for wild horses.
Hospitality
We visited a local house again & had a scrumptious late lunch with fantastic Jaffna curries, very simple yet amazing. Then we head back to the beach & waited around the jetty till our boat head back to the main land at 4.00 PM. While waiting we managed to have some chit chats with locals, with military personnel, kids & a Hindu priest which is again a good way to understand the real values of a destination.
The boat journey back to the main Jaffna peninsula has started at sharp 4.00 PM & we reach the land by 5.00 PM. this is indeed a fantastic & unique must do experience in Sri Lanka. We at Koon holidays invites you to come & discover the unique beauty of Sri Lanka.
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