Having driven all day since leaving us at Calicut after breakfast, our trusty bus and driver were waiting at Alleppey Station for our train, and we embarked for the drive to our next resort at Coconut Lagoon, where we were to spend two very pleasant nights.
We were welcomed with coconuts (to drink, with straws) and flowers; allocated our little individual cottages; and went to dinner, another very good buffet. Without exception, the food has been between good and excellent, provided of course that you like curry.
Back to Coconut Lagoon, where buffet and beers followed - there's a theme here. In fact Judy has adopted her new-best-friend Sue's gin and tonic habit, since the local wine is both expensive and not very drinkable.
Dinner (tasty but bony chicken, fresh fish, and prawns bought by Pradeep that day) was accompanied by thousands of little black flies, inevitably lending the rice the appearance of the wild variety. Fortunately it was very dark, so not too obvious.
On Wednesday morning our boat had to get back to meet the police, so we were up at dawn for a cold shower, had a rapid breakfast, then hopped briskly across to the other houseboat ("mind the gap!") for a lovely cruise back to the jetty.
There were lots of waves and "hello!" shouting when our white faces were spotted, and were treated to the occasional "flying kiss" - what a delightful expression. There are also frequent diesel water-buses which ply between the jetties, and have a little corrugated iron extension overhanging the stern, like a French pissoir, I guess.
Another short auto(-rickshaw) ride got us back on the bus and towards Kochi. We got to our final hotel, the Brunton Boatyard, and met our final guide of the trip, Rajesh, for the first of two walking tours of the old fort area, built by the Portuguese, then taken by the Dutch, then the British, then passed peacefully to the Keralans.
We walked back through wholesale traders' quarters, with sacks of interesting-smelling dry goods being offered, and on to the theatre for a performance of traditional Kathakali dance.
For our last night in India, Pradeep had pushed the boat(yard) out, and we had a special off-menu meal which was outstanding, even by the (mainly) high standards we'd become used to. He insisted on picking up our bar tab, and also made us a gift of the special-quality Wayanad pepper we'd asked him to find for us a few days earlier. What a guy.
Reluctantly early to bed, lullabyed by ships' hooters in the port, after last bits of packing before our 0(as in "OMG it's early")5:00 alarm calls. We were packed, on the bus and away by 6am for the last drive to Kochi airport, where we bade our fond farewells to Pradeep and Jude, tipped the long-suffering driver, checked in, and caught our internal flight to Mumbai. Another long terminal transfer, emigration paperwork and endless security checks ate into our nominal three-hour layover, and before we knew it we were aboard the Jet Airways 777 for Heathrow.
What a wonderful trip it had been.
Now click to go back to Page 3 - Calicut and the coastal plain
Access is by motor launch, which was rather romantic, cruising the 'backwaters' in the dark, the driver having to reverse the drive from time to time to clear Water Hyacinth from the prop. L-R, David, Judith, Pradeep, Jude
This is water hyacinth, with its evil little flotation chambers above the roots.
The resort is nicely laid out on the shore of the vast brackish Vembanadu Lake, 60 miles long and separated from the Indian Ocean by strands of low-lying sandbanks. It's fed by a maze of rivers and streams, and deliberately made to back up behind, well above the land level, hence "backwaters". As Judy pointed out, it's a measure of the scale of India that these backwaters don't even register on maps of the whole country.
Our very comfortable cottages have air-conditioning, huge beds, and a fridge, but outside loos - a lav, washbasin and shower open to the sky, screened visually but definitely not acoustically from one's neighbours...
...one of the medics described the arrangement as a recipe for constipation, but it's a loo with a view, for sure. No, please don't use the banana leaves...
Next day was a lazy one - we opted for a butterfly-spotting walk at 11, followed by a swim, then an individual Ayurveda massage before lunch. This was pretty full-on, in terms of both nakedness and firm oily treatment, but delightfully therapeutic.
Later, eight of us transferred again by boat and coach to Marari Beach, another resort in the same chain, for a sunset swim in the Indian Ocean, which was lovely and warm but quite rough.
[Photo courtesy of Sue D]
Relaxing at Coconut Lagoon - well, if the hammock is there, it seems ungrateful not to use it...
Day 11 (Weds 30. Jan) was another leisurely start, then transfers to the houseboat jetty, the last part in auto-rickshaws, as the access road is too narrow for a bus.
[Photo courtesy of Judy B]. We'd seen these busy little black and yellow vehicles everywhere in India, so it was fun to try, though this was marred by Judy's banging her head and crushing her neck while getting in. They are like Tuk-tuks, with the single front wheel of a scooter, steered by handlebars with clutch and throttle, and two wheels at the rear, driven by a noisy air-cooled engine. Oh, and they have a horn. Do they have a horn.
The houseboats (our party of twelve, ten guests plus Pradeep and Jude, needs two) are based on traditional Keralan rice barges and quite comfortable, with bedrooms, cold showers and air-con.
More coconut milk...
...but it is refreshing (and clean - can't be so sure about the straws, though)
[Photo courtesy of Judy B]. We moored for lunch, but soon after setting off again our boat was approached by four officials in a speedboat and ordered to heave-to while its papers were checked, then (despite their allegedly being in order) told to moor up while the Police were called.
We six transferred to the other houseboat until the matter was resolved and we could join forces again.
Relaxing scenery as we cruise the Backwaters of Kerala
Well, it's supposed to be relaxing!
[Photo courtesy of David R]
A brief stroll on-shore before dinner - Jen, Steve, Judy P, Pradeep, John B, Judy B, Sue
It was a magical time of day, with the misty sky merging into the quiet lagoon, only the occasional water hyacinth or fishing canoe giving a sense of scale.
These backwaters are the only access for the locals, so we witnessed the "school run" of canoes, some powered by semi-outboard motors and some paddled, ferrying kids between school and home.
We saw the old Chinese fishing nets, a 700 year old design, cunningly stone-counter-balanced in a leisurely dance, but not catching much. This was one of the few times we were hassled by street traders, flogging all manner of tat. We went on to the old church, one of the first in South India, where Vasco da Gama was buried until re-interment in Portugal, and other historic sights.
Lunch was in the hotel grounds by the sea...
[Photo courtesy of Sue D]. ...then we bussed to see the former Royal palace, now an historical museum with wonderful murals, teak ceilings and artefacts, followed by another walk around Jewtown (really), visiting the ancient Synagogue whose congregation now numbers only six old men and two women.
We were able to see the artistes being made up backstage - this chap was going to play a coquettish lady...
[Photo courtesy of David R]
...and here "she" is on stage...
...and this one the King. Then came the performance, which featured brilliant staccato drumming, rapid eye movements, singing (I use the term loosely) and of course very stylised dancing, in wonderful costume. The artistes are always men, so there's a slightly camp air to some parts, but the show was a lot more enjoyable than we'd feared, and we'd have stayed longer were it not for our looming dinner time. Honest.
David made a very warm speech of appreciation for all the hard work of the Muddy Boots team.
...or Page 2 - Bison Camp and Wayanad Walking
...or Page 1 - Srirangapatna and Mysore
...or back to the Kerala Index
