- After a second night in our Secret Garden hotel in Kochi, we headed a few miles south to the small town of Alleppey. It used to be a town devoted to coconut matting and coir production, but has found a new lease on life with houseboats — the reason we were there. The area is a maze of lakes, canals, rivers and waterways surrounded by rice fields and marshland — very serene and beautiful, and full of birds.
- We were delivered to our “home” for the next 24 hours by a small, in-danger-of-capsizing water taxi. Our home was a large houseboat with two sumptuous air-conditioned cabins with queen-sized four poster beds, a fine dining room and an upper deck where we could view the passing show.
- The crew was 3 smiling Keralans, who looked after the boat and the passengers. We were welcomed with fresh coconuts with the tops cut out and straws so we could drink the coco water. Meals were huge with multiple dishes of spicy vegetables and fish, with rice and various breads — far too much food for us, especially as there was little opportunity for working it off between meals. The river was crowded with houseboats — all unique, but following a standard style of barge-like metal hull and a large superstructure of wood and woven bamboo. Some are very elegant — others not so much.
- The boat proceeded at a stately pace up a wide river lined with small houses — some large and modern, and many others small and humble. The river was constantly busy with long narrow canoes filled with cargo — rice, vegetables, coconuts, school children — being ferried along the river, or from one side to the other. There had been so much rain that the level of the river water was higher than the surrounding fields.
- The boat glided along with very little sound past herons, kingfishers, bee eaters and kites, each bend in the river opening up new vistas of palm trees and rice fields. Every so often we heard the slap-slap sound of women washing their clothes by soaking them in river water and pounding them on the stone dykes.
- Our one and only stop was at the small village of Champakulam, where we visited the workshop of a skillful wood carver, who was as happy to carve a crucifix as a statue of the Hindu god Ganesh. The main purpose however, was a visit to the oldest Christian church in India, established in 427 AD! When the Portuguese arrived in India in 1497, thinking they were bringing religion to the heathens, they got a real surprise to find there had been Christians in Kerala for over 1000 years. The current church was built relatively recently and is beautifully painted inside, along with several elements we would consider Hindu — the pulpit is held by a painted lotus flower and outside is a huge golden pillar.
- Our departure from the village was witnessed by a group of teenage schoolgirls waiting on the dock for a water taxi. We were a source of great curiosity.
- Our boat anchored for the night on a quiet corner and we watched as evening fell, with herons and brahminy kites heading for their nighttime roosts, then a procession of huge bats with 3 foot wingspans.
- The next day was more of the same, gliding along in the early morning, eating a delicious breakfast before reaching the dock. Our pond society members would have been jealous of the huge rafts of brightly colored tropical water lilies growing by the edges of the canals.
- We were lucky on the boat to have mostly dry weather, but that was to change as we headed up into the Western Ghat hills where they grow all the wonderful spices used in Ayurvedic medicine and Indian and western cooking.
- We ended up at a modest and lovely hotel — Dewalokam — which was built by a 4th generation spice farmer, and was one of the highlights of our trip so far. The owner, Jose (short for Joseph) and his wife Sinta were charming hosts and provided employment for an army of ladies who did the housework, colorfully dressed in matching dresses, and men who did the cooking, serving and handyman jobs. All meals were provided and were delicious and mostly vegetarian.
- After a thunderous downpour, we managed to fit in a lengthy walking tour of the spice farm before the next downpour. It is amazing the variety of spices they grow, and we tasted tiny pieces of each. In their raw uncooked state most are bitter and highly aromatic — cloves, mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, black pepper, turmeric, ginger, cardamom and many others. We were also introduced to many of the strange gourds and beans that are used in the local cuisine, and learned about pineapple cultivation.
- In the evening we attended a cooking demonstration in the kitchen, given by their talented chef, who rustled up two delicious dishes which we later ate at dinner. He also presented us with a copy of a cookbook he has written so we can try out some of his recipes at home.
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| Rubber tree seedlings among pineapples |
- Today we took a highly educational walk through a rubber and pineapple plantation to the local village. Both require the same climate and soil. Rubber trees only last about 30 years before they die and are cut down. The cleared land is planted with rows of pineapples with little rubber tree seedlings between. The pineapple plants last for about 5 years, by which time the rubber trees have grown large and create too much shade for the pineapples.
- Every mature rubber tree has a diagonal slash along the trunk with a little cup at the bottom to collect the latex as it drips out. People were pouring the cups into buckets that they hauled back to a collecting shack where their contribution was weighed and added to barrels that are shipped to the rubber factory, where it is used for rubber sheet, aircraft tires etc. What a lot of work.
- The village we reached at the end of our trek was small and busy. A ladies’ cooperative with a dozen sewing machines was producing thousands of reusable shopping bags — Kerala wants to stop the use of disposable plastic bags. A small spice processing plant smelled wonderful, but we felt sorry for the young woman working on the chili grinding machine. Being in the same room made our noses itch and eyes water. There were several very fancy houses in the village, built by locals who had gone to work in the Persian Gulf for a few years and come back very well off. A jolting bus ride, then a tuk-tuk took us back to our hotel for a typical Kerala meal eaten with fingers off a banana leaf.
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| Kerala feast on a banana leaf |
- The afternoon was very wet but we did get out to visit the animals on the farm — cows, buffalo, chickens and some very characterful goats. The buffalo provide milk that is made into the most delicious yogurt and cheese, the chickens provided eggs (and often end up in the tandoori oven), and all the animals provide manure that goes into a large underground digester, that creates all the methane that is used for cooking.
- We got such a surprise in the evening when our host and hostess unveiled a board with “Jubilee Greetings, Linda and Sandy”, and presented us with bouquets of flowers and a cake — somehow they had heard it was our 50th wedding anniversary this year.
- We were sad to leave Dewalokam on Friday, especially as the sun was shining for the first time during our visit. Now we traveled further up into the hills towards the huge national park of Periyar — over 1100 square kilometers.
- It was a long drive but ended at an elephant sanctuary, where formerly working elephants are kept and looked after. Elephants are no longer allowed to work on forestry or circuses in India, so there are many elephants that still need to be looked after. First up was an elephant ride — two of us sitting astride the giant 7,700 pound animals. They were so sweet and well trained and their mahouts (trainers) had real empathy with their animals.
- Next they demonstrated some of the tasks that they used to perform in the forests — hauling huge logs. They were amazingly nimble at finding the balance point to pick up a log with their trunks and carrying it in their mouths.
- Then Sandy and Brenda gave one of the elephants a scrub in a large pool. They need to be wetted down regularly to stay cool. Then...
- ...Sandy got a shower, too. Finally, Lin and Brenda fed the elephant a tasty treat of pumpkin slices.
- After all this elephant excitement we went to our hotel close by. What a strange place. Obviously a lot of money had been spent, but the design was awkward and, although new, it was crumbling in places. You could only reach the cabins by climbing a rusting and unsafe staircase, taking a golf cart that struggled to get up the hill, or taking a long walk. We mostly chose the last option. In the evening we were the only guests in a vast dining room the size of an aircraft hangar, and were looked after by half a dozen over-attentive waiters.
- A very early rise (5:20 AM) to take a long bumpy ride in a Jeep into the Periyar wildlife sanctuary. Our early rise was somewhat rewarded by the sight of a large wild bison, but we arrived at our destination reeling from the uncomfortable ride and diesel fumes.
- The destination — the lake at Gavi — was, thankfully, delightful. We were signed up for their ‘day program’ which turned out to be very enjoyable and just what we needed. The entrance was beautiful with an arbor of hanging wisteria-like red flowers, thronged with multicolored sunbirds.
- First on our program was a delicious and unexpected Kerala breakfast, with no concessions to western tastes. Idli (small flying saucer-shaped rice flour balls which are everywhere), sambar (fiery hot vegetable sauce), veg curry, chapatis and omelet.
- We then met our very knowledgeable and charming guide for the day who took us on a 3-hour hike over hills and through the forest. The highlight was spotting a family of elephants — one large male, two females and two calves of different sizes. A few minutes after we spotted them they made their way into the cool forest to escape the heat of the day. Although we did not see any tigers we spotted traces of them and learned much from our guide.
- After an excellent vegetarian lunch, we took a rowing boat ride on the lake to see the waterfall that feeds the lake, and to see the birds and monkeys that live on the banks.That turned out to be a rather wet experience as the heavens opened half way across the lake. The sun was out a few minutes later and we quickly dried off.
- Our final stop was a little museum with skeletons of local animals, before our bumpy descent of the mountain back to our hotel. We were so discouraged by our dining experience the night before, and well fed in the park that we decided to forgo dinner in favor of of cookies and chocolates we had gathered on our travels.
- The next morning we drove out of the state of Kerala down the mountains into Tamil Nadu, where they speak a different language and write in a different script. We have now been in three different states each with a different language.
- After the mountains we drove across a flat, dry plain, dotted with ponds and rivers and large farms. We passed through several villages and small towns with many very well dressed people coming in from the country to do their shopping. There also seemed to be many weddings, with ladies dressed in even more exotic finery and their hair garlanded with jasmine.
- Our destination was Cardamom House, a lovely small retreat in the foothills overlooking a lake, with unspoiled countryside all around, and abundant with birds.
- This is our final stop in the countryside before we visit Madurai and Chennai and head for home, so we are making the most of it, which means doing very little. The staff is kind, dedicated and attentive and the food is excellent. We have all become “pure veg” as they say here.
- A morning walk in the increasing heat took us down to the lake, past a very strange Hindu shrine, where women who are unable to have children and men who need wives come to pray. There were large herds of sheep and goats, some of which will be sacrificed to the gods then served up to the pilgrims.
- The afternoon passed listening to the songs of birds, the hooting of monkeys and swimming in the pool. We could happily stay here for a month.
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