August 9th, 1873. Fine.

At three o'clock in the afternoon our ship reached the port of Point de Galle, in Ceylon, and dropped anchor. We immediately disembarked and took rooms at the Hotel Oriental. From there we went in carriages to see the Buddhist Atapattu Vihara Temple and the Bonavista Temple in the China Gardens. On our way back we drove around the town's outlying districts. In the evening we went for a stroll along the shore in the bright moonlight.

The harbour opens directly onto a vast expanse of ocean stretching all the way to the South Pole without a single island in between. The mouth of the bay is very wide, and even on windless days waves from the south sweep across the harbour and cause even the biggest ships to roll continuously. The surface of the sea is constantly white with foam, and the ceaseless booming of surf is heard. It is a magnificent scene. There are dense growths of coconut and other wild palms all over the promontory, and some of the trees are very tall. Their luxuriant leaves are green throughout the year. Houses are scattered among the trees, and we spied the occasional spire or tower above the treetops. This is the port of Galle.