I didn’t sleep at all well – I think it might have been the anti-malarial tablets and I certainly did not feel hungry, my appetite had disappeared since arrival and I once again blame the anti-malarial tablets. Excitement and dread of today’s visit may have also played a part. At the hotel I grabbed our survey kit: two handheld GPS, two satellite telephones, a mobile phone, clip board, water, first aid kit and food. We had to withdraw the iPacs due to continuing operational problems. Pity really as I liked using them.

We were briefed on the situation around the affected areas in Galle – casualty figures were high due to the loss of one train that had over 1700 passengers in it. The mind boggles at this figure and we would see this train on the way to Galle. Previous field visits by MapAction volunteers discovered that the children were badly affected: with one or both parents missing or dead along with relations, the tight-knit social support network was gone. For many children, they had nothing now and the government agencies and remaining institutions were struggling to cope.

We located our driver, reset the GPS for track logging so that we could plot our route and we were off. Within ten minutes of driving down south out of Colombo we could already see the physical damage done by the tsunami: I was amazed that the tsunami went all the way round parts of the west coast. Even here the damage was significant – many wooden houses were left as wrecks. Any significant area of damage on the roads and railway was waypointed via GPS as were ongoing repairs to bridges and the location of new bailey bridges.

Along the way to Galle we saw miles and miles of continuous devastation. It was difficult to put into words the scenes one can saw on the journey down. Roads were washed away, railway lines twisted and thrust into the air at unbelievable angles, concrete pillars torn down to mere bumps and villages erased from the landscape. In some areas, the geography of the coastline was changed. Everywhere there was the detritus left from the tsunami: household rubbish, seats, cushions, clothes, bits of cars and other materials all strewn everywhere. Dogs scavenged for food in the wreckage. Many Sri Lankans had started the clean-up job, usually by hand but I felt that the task before them was almost Herculean in nature. There was simply so much to do and for many communities who had lost so much – it would prove to be a hard, hard task ahead.

We also passed the area where the train and the 1700 passengers were hit by the tsunami. We made a note of this place on the GPS and would try and visit this place on the way back.

Here and there, we passed individuals sitting amidst the rubble of what one can only assume to be their house. All around this figure was the remains of their village. Sad looking mangy dogs lolled around. This went on for three hours before we reached Galle and it proved to be emotionally draining. No-one said a word in the car until we arrived at Galle.

Inside Galle we passed what was left of one of the Naval dockyards, now reduced to scrap. The fishing fleet was NOT in the sea but deposited along the banks and inside the town. Many empty government buildings had guards outside: to stop looting or squatting. I shook my head at this: there was nothing to loot so the guards must be there to prevent people from entering. For many who had lost their homes, this I thought was a bit harsh.

Aid relief was getting through however, there were plenty of 100 gallon water butts spaced at regular intervals along the main roads and they were topped up frequently. International aid was also getting through into the refugee camps and food and medicine was available, certainly many of the still standing buildings flew the flag of the red cross or some other NGO.

We passed our first (and only) dumpsite – bull dozers were scooping up large chunks of debris and trundling towards a cleared space and deposited the trash there – and we saw dozens and dozens of people scrambling amongst the stinking mess. Many had no shoes and entire families were scrounging for whatever they could get.

The car pulled up alongside the Galle cricket ground. I don’t follow cricket but was told that this was a famous stadium and the venue for many international test matches. The setting certainly would have been superb: in front of the Indian sea with the Old Dutch (or English) fort in the background. What I saw there was a mess and the stench around the area was disturbing. Not at all overpowering, it didn’t make you want to gag but it was unpleasant. Difficult to describe even now but I will not forget it.

We used our GPS and way pointed this area and proceeded to locate the BBC news crew. The interview was done in a little over 30 minutes: I was told that my live interview would be seen by over 7 million people.

Once the interview was over we continued to travel through and out of Galle towards Matara. We passed one hospital with Italian flags on it, another with German flags. I found out that these hospitals had groups of volunteer Italian or German doctors who, seeing the tsunami, got together with other likely minded doctors and arrived in Sri Lanka and slotted in where they could.

The devastation went on but once into Matara – we noticed that many of the buildings were still standing though many had the front and lower floors boarded up. Due to Matara’s elevation, the tsunami had a minimal impact here. We had gone as far east as we could in a day – we were not equipped to overnight here and decided to turn back and head back west.

At this time, I received a call from one of our MapAction volunteers. He wanted to find out whether a friend of his was still alive and asked whether we could try and find out for him. We agreed that we would do this as we were on out way back and would need to pass through Galle. We found out that she was ok and managed to escape the flood but some of her colleagues did not.

The return journey was once more through the landscape of destruction – we took some pictures but they did not convey the sheer scale of the destruction. It was humbling to witness the power of nature. We paused briefly opposite the train wreck that we saw on the way in. The train wreck that claimed over 1700 lived. I had read a lot of the circumstances of this single tragedy amongst so many tragedies. The first wave from the tsunami merely stopped the train. Villagers from the surrounding area, scared for their lives and rushing out of their homes took refuge in the stationary train. The second, much bigger wave did not arrive for another TWENTY minutes. In that time, friends and relations of those on the train received text messages and calls from their frustrated friends complaining about the shoddy service and how the tsunami wave had arrived and that they were unhurt but now were merely sitting there. They had no idea that the wave was on its way and when it arrived, it killed them all. I can’t imagine what it was like but seeing the train carriages, crushed in parts and smashed in others – scattered all around; I can see the power unleashed. It is shocking that two carriages are still missing – how on earth can you lose a train carriage let alone two?

We arrived back in Colombo late evening and we were quite drained.