M
ost recently its name was Ceylon; in
ancient times it was called Ceilao, Zeylan,
Taprobane... and Serendip. By way Horace
Walpole, it supplied the word serendipity. Walpole
derived the word from the tale of the “Three
Princes of Serendip”, who “were always making
discoveries, by accident and sagacity, of things
they were not in quest of.” That describes quite
nicely my recent couple of weeks in the teardrop-
shaped island the size of Tasmania. With a
population somewhat larger than Australia’s,TRAVEL
SERENDIPITY
DISCOVERING SRI LANKA BY
ACCIDENT AND SAGACITY“DOMINEDEFENDENOS
CONTRA HOSMOTORESBOS”
A D GODLEY