Published: January 19th 2018
Woolly says – As we stood waiting for our days transport to arrive I hoped that we had made the right decision in booking onto a tour, Jo, bless her, had worked out a route to take us from Kochi an hour down the coast to Alleppey, which had involved two longish rickshaw rides a train journey and the chance that on arrival we might not be able to find a boat to take us out. All things considered we had voted unanimously to try another tour, I tapped my paws as the minutes passed and decided that I might have time to give the girls some much needed information on our day out…….
As he retrieved several pieces of paper from his backpack I had an inkling as to what might be coming.
Woolly says – …….. I ignored the frowns from the women, cleared my throat and started. The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea, the network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. A labyrinth system formed by more than 900 km of waterways they are sometimes compared to the American Bayou, just as I was getting into my stride our mini bus arrived.
Breathing a sigh of relief, we jumped on board muttering good morning to the five people already seated and prepared for the hour long journey.
Woolly says – It seemed a nice quiet bunch and as I smiled happily, folded up the rest of my lesson ready for later I sat looking out of the window. A few minutes passed before we pulled over and three more people got on, a loud American voice called out to everyone, ‘Morning Gang, now’s where is everyone from?’, I looked at Jo who determinedly continued to stare out of the window as each person currently on the bus was quizzed, just as it reached our turn another group of people joined us and finding out that they were fellow American’s the conversation became louder and more aminated. After what seemed like hours but was, having checked Zoe’s watch, only fifty minutes, I knew an awful lot about these people, some information that I really wish I didn’t. As our bus pulled onto a drive I was elated to bounce down the steps and follow our guide to the water’s edge.
With the number of us we were split between two boats, our boat, including the three of us, a young man who had yet to speak and the six Americans.
Woolly says – Our boatman pushed us away from the bank with his punting pole and the trip through the waterways had begun. Crossing over a large river we soon found ourselves under low hanging branches in shallow water. I could hear the cry of birds above us as we floated past large areas of vegetation, the water was clear and below us I could see tree roots and reeds as well as small fish darting around. Conversation had begun again behind us and the tranquilly and peace became a barrage of further information on peoples lives, ailments and ongoing travel plans. Flowering bushes passed by as we slid under low bridges, I waved at the ducks who were happily bathing before doing the same to the women who were scrubbing their washing on large rocks while standing in the water. It felt like another world, one in which conversation should be muted!
It was glorious and without having a peep from my small friend it would have been immensely enjoyable, if we could have done it without the constant noise from behind us. There might not have been a sign asking people to talk quietly but surely the atmosphere around us must invite that, or maybe it’s just us!
Woolly says – We pulled over to the bank and clambered out to be greeted by several men holding fresh coconuts, asking how many people would like one, one of the men nodded and scrambled up to the top of the tree to throw down a fresh delight for each request. As we watched him prepare them for drinking from, Jo moved further back to keep out of the way of any smell not wanting to have a reaction to her most dreaded item of food. Once people had supped from the fruits our guide led us into the jungle area and started to tell us about the medicinal and edible fruits, berries and leaves that grow here, the three of us looked at each and stifled our giggles as it was just too reminiscent of Sri Lanka and the tours there. Having admired the peppercorns, nutmeg and mangos we strolled back to the boat and carried onwards through the leafy world of the waterways.
The channel got smaller and smaller as the conversation got louder and louder, as the two boats squeezed past overhanging trees and lily pads we sat watching the fish swimming beneath us.
Woolly says – Having turned around our trip back began, by now the Americans had started to exchange recipes, I sighed and wished it was just the three of us to appreciate the beauty and lushness that surrounded us. Having waved at a cow who was happily chomping away, the boat pulled into the side once more and we climbed onto dry land. Our guide led us towards a small house, explaining that this was part of a village cooperative where they made rope from the fibre of the coconuts after it had been soaked in the canal system for up to six months. Two lovely ladies showed us how the fibre was stretched and then twisted to give the final product of an incredibly strong rope, having thanked them for their time we headed back to the boat and having regained our seats set off for the final part of our journey. I nearly laughed out loud as the chatterboxes decided that ‘we should listen to the birds now’, just as we pulled into the jetty and the trip was over, if only they had said that earlier!
Although not as peaceful as we might have liked everyone seemed to have enjoyed the trip and as we waved the other tourists goodbye we sat in peace for the journey back to Kochi reliving the wonders of the backwaters and the timeless quality that was there.