Saturday, Feb 29th, Kochi, India

Greetings!

Today, we spent in a fishing village (Kallencherry Island), and on a tour of Old Kochi.  In the middle of the coastal state of Kerala (translation:Land of Coconuts), there are miles of small lakes which contain fish and crabs and shrimp and coconuts.  There are also plenty of families who live off these rich resources.  Our Guide (Loyjohn) hosted us for a cruise, a demonstrations of their crafts, and a wondertful lakeside lunch.

Their pole net systems, and fishing boats are constructed using rope made from coconut husks and wood from jack fruit trees,  The roofs of their houses and the baskets they use are woven from coconut leaves.  And the family members who carry on these traditions generously demonstrated their skills to us.

In the afternoon, Maria took us for a tour of Old Kochi.  In St Francis Church, under huge woven fabric fans pulled by villagers with ropes through holes in the walls, she explained the history of Kerala, and the social structure of its society.  It was one of the most complete and informative lectures we've had, and provided much which will help us understand our views of India.

Inside the Church, we saw the first gravesite of Vasco de Gama, who died in Kochi in 1524, and who disrupted the earlier spice traders from China and the Middle East.   In 1663, the Dutch finally defeated the Portuguese.  In 1814, the British began their takeover to become the third and last colonial power over India.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Saturday, Feb 29th, Kochi, India.

Friday, Feb 28th, Kochi, India

Greetings!

Today, we left after breakfast and drove to Kochi (one of Trip Advisor's top ten trending destinations in the world this week) where we'll stay for two nights at the Old Courtyard Hotel.  The register at the hotel says that Mark Phillips (Princess Anne's first husband) of Sussex, England stayed here the night before last.  I'm betting it was a similar room with a third floor view.  Pat doubts it was he.  I prefer to think it's trending because we're here.

But before we checked in, we attended Gloria Homestay's Cooking Demonstration, and were treated to tips from Charlotte on how to best prepare curry dishes featuring king fish, shrimp, cabbage, and beet root.  There are lots of action photos in the album, and they hardly reveal the many insights she shared.

This evening, we went to a Kathakali Performance a couple of blocks from the hotel.  It was an amazing combination of music, dance, and story-telling emphasizing facial and body language.

To see all the photos taken today, click on: Friday, Feb 28th, Kochi, India.

Thursday, Feb 27th, Alleppy, India

Greetings!

Hooray for the Indian medical system.  For 600 rupees (eight and a half dollars), i got in immediately to have a doctor examine my foot, a nurse clean and treat it, and have their pharmacy provide me with four sets of six days worth of three time/day antibiotic and anti-fungal medicines.  I felt very well provided for, and we're much relieved by their positive view of my future.  I'm really glad Pat pushed for the early medical checkup.  My impression of the doctor's view of the performance of the drugs we were using, she clearly said that they weren't going to help with what I have.

Bijou is also the hero for finding the rural hospital (Saint Joseph's)), and for still getting us to the Lakes and Lagoon Luxury Houseboat Company dock in time for our day-long relaxation on our own sixty-foot luxury houseboat down the canals of this backwater treasure in style. 

Finally, to brighten up my day (and my heart), just after arriving at our beachside hotel (Raheem Residency), I limped across the sandy beach in front of the hotel to find three or four hundred people (mostly families) down by the water's edge and shorebreak watching the sunset, and enjoying each other.

There's a joy in this surf-loving (my kind of spiritual) experience that is enriched by seeing the residents of this culture appreciate my church.

To see the rest of the photos taken on a leisurely day, click on Thursday, Feb 27th, Alleppy, India.

Wednesday, Feb 26th, Kumararom, India

Greetings!

Another long travel day by car, and very appreciated.  My foot is getting worse, and the only walking we did today was getting cash from an ATM, and taking a photo of this Catholic church (St Francis of Assisi). 

This evening, after checking into the Lakesong Resort (actually on a large bay on the western coast of India), we went on a sunset cruise.

Tomorrow, we'll be skipping the all-day houseboat cruise in order to go see a doctor about my foot.  The topical antibiotic, topical pain cream, oral pain medicine, and oral antibiotic just aren't doing it.  What was a cut on my dry heel has now become an ugly, painful foot and lower leg that's reduced my sleep, made me not want to walk, and bringing up my ability to complete this trip.  Cross your fingers.

To see the very few photos taken today, click on Wednesday, Feb 26th, Kumararom, India.

Tuesday, Feb 25th, Thekkady, India

Greetings!

A morning boat ride on a lake in the Periyar Wildlife Preserve, a visit to an excellent local spice farm, and an afternoon of leisure on our deck overlooking the Great Indian Escarpment known as the Southern Ghats.  It's a mountain range older than the Himalayas, formed when India broke away from Madagascar 160 million years ago. 

The boat ride was exactly what our sore feet and weak knees needed.  And what we were convinced would not be much more than chugging around in the lake spotting birds on dead tree trunks - took an unexpected bit of excitement.  Along with many birds, and a few large Gaur (Indian Bison - the largest bovine in the world), we got to witness a large Indian elephant walk down to the lake shore, take a drink of water and spray shower herself, and then proceed to swim across the lake.

Our captain decided to abandon our scheduled return time, and we carefully followed her whale-like mostly-underwater crawl-stroke, periodically popping her trunk above the surface for air, journey.  Though most of the passengers and crew had seen elephants before, the opportunity to watch one swim was truly unique.  Be sure to check out the entire sequence in today's photo album.

On our way back to the hotel, we visited The Spice Farm, a plantation for spices and herbs, located on Munnar Road, a mile from Kumily.  Rajesh, A guide there, was extremely knowledgeable (and you know that Pat knows her spices and herbs), and we gained new understandings of the vast uses in both cooking and medicine for what we found growing there. 

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Tuesday, Feb 25th, Thekkady, India.

Monday, Feb 24th, Thekkady, India

Greetings!

Thanks to Joseph Jibin at Image Mobile Gallery in Thekkady Junction, Kumily, we have a working cell phone.  I can't thank him and his colleagues enough for the rescue.  His mobile number is 9995450333, but if you're having problems like we had with your phone, his cell number won't be of much use.  Try them at 18, Dindigul, Theni, Kottarakkara Highway.

And to our complete embarrassment, we caused the problem.  Instead of giving our Sri Lankan sim card to our driver as we left that country, we gave him the India sim card.  We've been trying to make the Sri Lankan sim card work in India these past few days.  Hey, Jay, you're no doubt having the reverse problem.  So sorry.

Earlier in the day, we visited the Thirumalai Nayak Palace, and its outstanding museum.  The Palace is famous for its giant pillars, 82 feet tall and 19 feet deep.  They are coated with, and the detail is made of shell lime and egg-white.  Home to one of the greatest kings of the Nayak Dynasty in the early 1600s, the structure has suffered from wars and years of dismantlement and abandonment. 

Then, it was on to the Meenakshi Amman Temple for another adventure through thousands of columns, and at least ten thousand carvings.  My advice to the traveler who plans on spending time in temples in India is to spend at least a month before you arrive walking barefoot on marble and concrete ground for an hour or two a day.  I can blame this damn cut on my heel for most of my discomfort, but by now both Pat and I are feeling the burn.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Monday, Feb 24th, Thekkady, India.

Sunday, Feb 23rd, Madurai, India

Greetings!

Even though we weren't traveling to a new hotel today (this is our last of three nights here), it seemed like another traveling day.  That's because we drove about three and a half hours each way to Rameswaram Island, and spent an hour inside the Ramanathaswamy Temple.  The island is in the Gulf of Mannar, off the coast of the tip of southeast India.  There's a bridge (Pambam Bridge) connecting the island to the mainland, completed in 1988, which parallels a railroad bridge built by the British in 1914.

The 12th century temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, and is one of twelve jyotirlinga temples in India (one of two in South India).  A high wall surrounds the temple premises with huge towers at all four corners.  The outside corridors are thought to be the longest in the world, containing 1,212 pillars for a total length of 3,850 feet.  The volume of story carvings created over six hundred years, is astounding.

But what really is overwhelming are the pilgrims and worshippers (almost ten thousand today) who join in the festival twice a year to pray to Shiva and the other deities around him.  Touching statues, fanning flames, calling out songs, wearing ashes and drops of water, all in service of obtaining good luck, good family fortune, and warding off feared outcomes.

I'm stealing shots other photographers have taken inside the temple, because they don't allow cameras.  These columns and temple reliefs/carvings should not be missed.

To see other stolen photos, and a few shots of mine on the way there and back, click on Sunday, Feb 23rd, Madurai, India.