Article for 2011 Apr 21
Part of the “Sri Lanka” series.
2011
2011 Apr
(the first two articles in this series mention vomiting)
Throughout this series of articles, there are several phrases with the initials “IBIS”, alluding to my avian life-list, the Index of Birds I’ve Sensed, which I often added to whilst in Sri Lanka. The frequency of such phrases declines when I see fewer examples of new species. How many can you find? Some examples to start you off are:
- “...in beds (I slept)” (2011 Apr 10)
- “Iridescent birds including sapphire-green...” (2011 Apr 11)
- “I became increasingly soaked.” (2011 Apr 12)
- “Indeed, bee-eaters (II species)” (“II” being Roman numerals for “two”: I was getting desperate) (2011 Apr 13)
- “...is banned if swallows...” (2011 Apr 14)
- “Interesting. But I’m supposed...” (2011 Apr 17)
Apr 21 Wed 
I woke up at about 4 a.m. (the time is very approximate) and lay in bed until 7 a.m. (the time is not very approximate).
We visited some archaeological sacred stones (more temples! more people vying in train - and trying in vain - to sell stuff to us!). We only reached the coast at about 4 p.m., after a delicious lunch of club-sandwiches (i.e. quintuple-decked) and bird-watching.
We frolicked in our next hotel’s swim-pool, after applying miserly amounts of sun-lotion and losing the lid of said lotion to an entrepreneurial corvid, a mad scheming scientist who added the white plastic to its cocktail nest.
A bigger swimming-pool attracted us; it massaged and aroused adrenal glands after it waved greetings. It massaged our flesh and threw us like punch-bags. Shorts became sand-bags. Not trying and trying not to get too drunk on punch, we were forced to drink sodium-ions and to chlorinate our oesophagi. We turtles hurtled through positions and prepositions, briefly letting each apply. Then we showered, and scraped sand off skin.
Tea for me was an orange omelette with a hint of crab. “Lemonade” is an anagram of “demon ale” and “lead omen” and “mean dole”.