The Boxing Day Tsunami

Day 55 - I realized after getting up today that this was the date of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. It occurred nineteen years ago!  We were in Vancouver when we heard the news.  Some of the worst-hit areas were on the east and south of the island.  Yet, a few months before, we had done a huge tour of Sri Lanka.   Jay and I travelled all over but spent some time on our first visit to Arugam Bay in the east.  We had taken buses to travel between cities and found places to stay after arriving.  

We realized that everything from these pictures taken in mid-October 2004 had been washed away.

 

Time moves on and people adjust.  Jay and I did make it back on a trip in December of 2012.  The famous surfing beach had returned to a new normal.  We found new businesses and hotels on that same strip of land.

 

Most recently, we returned to Arugam Bay in February of 2022.  This time we were with Jay's sisters, a family friend, and a driver in a rented van.  We went on a longer trip and saw other sites too.  I had my drone with me.