We meant to spend a week here in this small surfer town on the South-West coast of Sri Lanka, my brother and I, and then move on. But we never left during our time in this country, the slow surfer life took us in and held us captive.

Midigama’s not really a town actually, more a short strip of a few ramshackle surf shops, modest lodgings and restaurants lying all along a flat, busy road looking out to the waves. This place is an unpretentious mix of travellers and locals all chasing perfect waves up and down the coastline around here.

We fell into a routine of morning swimming, surfing, snorkelling locally, then lunch at the rickety, open-air tin shack with the view of the beach serving the best curry and rice along the strip. Afternoons were for bus rides and tuk tuk adventures with surfboards strapped to the roof to the beaches all along the coast. At night we ate at home on the open air rooftop with all the people staying in our place, the same obscure German card game would follow every evening in the night air until bed and sleep, ready for another day tomorrow much the same.

Our weeks here involved lots of trips, Midigama was our base to explore from, here are some of the things we did:

* Ate the best rotis around at the Dewmini Roti Shop at Mirissa, for lunch hidden away in the backstreets (tip: skip the Mirissa whale watching)
° Strapped surfboards to the roof of a tuk tuk and drove 20 minutes to sleepy Madiha Beach for surfing and snorkelling, with lunch at Coffee Point Sri Lanka
* Hopped on the local bus, then a tuk tuk to Hiriketya Beach, a paradise-style bay with gentle, long waves where the turtles like to surf alongside you, perfect for beginner surfers like me - board hire on the beach and lots of great cafes for lunch
° Walked one afternoon all the way from Midigama in the direction of Weligama and found so many treasures on the way. A hidden beach plus real fishermen fishing on stilts at the end of our walk
* Stayed at Cocoplant Surf Inn, learnt to surf with the owner, Sampa, and became part of the family

︎ Map
︎ Midigama + surrounds Map