Idle backwaters

After another opulent and tasty breakfast prepared by Santosh's wife I didn't have to wait long for the tour bus to arrive: Today I would join some fellow tourists and explore the backwaters of Kerala in a guided tour.

For around 45 minutes we cut through the morning traffic including busloads and troops of schoolgirls in light blue uniforms. The cockpit of the bus was adorned with three cut out picture book illustrations of biblical scenes involving Jesus and the obligatory rosary... We are catholic in Kerala. The communist party CPI(M) also marks its presence with red posters and writings on street posts.

Eventually we transferred to a "house boat": It was made of wood, rounded about 12 meters in length and was covered with an elegant construction, also handmade of organic material. Two guys were our motor, one on the bow, one in the back (invisible when inside the housing), pushing the boat forward with long sticks, just like they do in Venice. This was the perfect counterbalance to the previous day of action and sunburn (yes, for some reason I forgot to apply the sunscreen I had brought to the beach): Just sitting in the shade, casually raising my arm every now and then to take a picture.

To cut a long story short: It was an enjoyable but uneventful day of slow motion in the midst of a peaceful freshwater island landscape ruled by palm trees and jungle. The local people harvest the grass between the larger plants though, and I guess also maintain the waterways, so there is something parklike about it. Like messy but naturally beautiful hair.

They introduced us to the traditional way of making cocos fiber string, and then there was also a small workshop for something they make out of mussels and more coconut... I'm afraid I didn't pay attention. At one point we would sit down in a small hut for lunch on a palm leaf for a plate.

We arrived back in Cochin after 5, leaving me with a short hour until dusk. I walked past the tourist bazaar to the harbor and shot some pictures of the peculiar fishing net contraptions that were standing in the water there, and of a lot of school kids that wanted to have their picture taken. Birds and puppies picked through the washed up seaweed. - A big red sunset ended my stroll.

I checked out a different restaurant in the vicinity. While the fish skewer was delicious, the lighting and the service were not really enjoyable. A bit like the restaurant the day before this place could have moved up a couple of notches by making some simple adjustments.

After making plans for the next day with my host Santosh (and a couple of hours of blogging) I went to bed late and set the alarm for 5:50, looking forward to some more water adventures.