Drifting through Kerala

The last couple of days I have been floating through the backwaters of the state of Kerala. From Kochi I caught a bus to a town called Alleppey where I caught a boat on the Keralan waterways to Kollom, where I am now. The backwaters is a network of canals, rivers, and lakes that extend inland from the ocean. These really are the highways for the local people. There were actually "road" signs giving directions and distances. The waterways are beautiful, palm fringed and narrow at times winding their way through the jungle. It was fascinating watching the people go about their business on the water. There were all sorts of fishing boats, boats hauling sand, boats hauling people and of course the locals on the banks doing their laundry and other daily chores involving water. Today from Kollom I went on an afternoon float in a canoe that twisted around narrow canals that were up close with the village life. The common sights were people building boats and rope. The wood from the boats came from the jackfruit tree and the boards were tied together with coconut fiber rope and then finished with oil (I forgot what king of oil, cashew?). The plants were interesting too. Common stuff like black pepper, nutmeg, tamarind, cashews, papaya, pineapple, and of course bananas. Did you know there are red bananas and pineapple that come in green, brown, and red? I had no idea. It has been wonderful just floating around taking in the sights, very relaxing. Tomorrow I am off again to enjoy some final beach bumming and then on to the Southern most point of India to catch a sunrise and sunset over the ocean. That is about all I have for now. Hope everyone is well. Take care.

The backwaters

Choose your banana

Fresh coconut break on the canoe cruise