I don't think that word means what you think it means

Immediately opposite to our little slice of heaven beach, sits a mangrove lagoon, and an early morning kayak seemed like a capital idea.
The instructions seemed a bit odd... "paddle, look at bird, don't bother Yoda Cats, come back later"...
The general premise seemed sound... perhaps a few misrepresented English words... no worries.

The lagoon was beautiful and peaceful... plenty of birds, including the Cormorant, which some of you may recall, we saw in the Galapagos islands.

Oh and look a harmless innocent floating log...
except, why is that log moving with purpose?
and why is that log turning towards us?
and why does that log have a tail?
and why does that log have a head?

HOLY CRAP!!!
Those aren't logs!!!
Meet the Asian water monitor... a giant lizard that can grow as large as 8 to 10 feet.
And we are paddling through his turf...
In appears that in Sinhalese "yōdha kaṭussā" pronounced Yoda Cats to my silly Western ears... means GIANT freakin LIZARD!!!

After the close encounter with the creature from the Mangrove Lagoon, it was time to head out and further up the coast.
Tangalle was fantastic as beaches go, but one small detail it lacked was the ability to actually get into the water. There was a nasty undertow that rendered almost the entire bay un-swimmable, plus the beach dropped off immediately, causing the waves to break hard and fast right on the shore, so even wading in to the knees was an exercise in futility.

South west Sri Lanka is quite famous for surfing, especially for beginners, with several great long easy beach breaks sprinkled up the coast.
Earlier in the trip, we spoke to a few Aussies, and they recommended the small town of Weligama.
I wouldn't necessarily trust an Aussie to differentiate an equation, but surfing... well Aussies know surfing.

We arrived on the afternoon bus, wasted no time renting a couple of boards and getting wet.
I was able to stand up and ride in pretty consistently... but I did NOT look good doing it.

Heather on the other hand, was aquatic poetry personified... captured these in the warm kiss of a rising morning sun...

As with most surfers, the best shots are those standing on the beach NEXT to the board (vs. in the water ON the board).