Our ship has sailed

The ship left port yesterday and we are still in Cochin..we’re staying at a Marriott Hotel until tomorrow. We had breakfast at the buffet at 7:00ish. We had to meet by 9:00 to get on the buses to go to Kumbalangi village. We drove through Cochin out to the country side on a lake. We walked a ways to get from the road to the dock. There were more Chinese fishing nets here. We boarded our canoes. They were pretty nice. They had plastic chairs with life jackets on the back. We figured there were 18 people per boat. Our “driver” had a long bamboo pole that he poled along the water. The water was only 3 feet deep. He would put the pole in the water and walk along the side of the boat. After a while a boat passed us with a motor on it. We kept poling along and it was getting pretty hot. They had given us the folding coolie hats but it didn’t help with the heat. After a few minutes another canoe with a motor came along side, threw a rope and we were taken along for the ride. We got to the “village”. I put it in quotes because it’s part of a big resort. We were given a coconut freshly opened with a straw to drink the juice. I’m not a coconut fan but it tasted pretty good. Then we went to see several people doing various crafts. As we were walking between two crafts, we saw Beryl and Ben. It was like old home week. They were finished and leaving. We saw basket weaving, thatch making out of palm fronds, rope making from coconut fibers, a fisherman throwing a net into the water, mussel cleaning and cooking, making brooms from palm fronds and a man threw a clay pot in about 10 minutes. . It was pretty hot, over 90, I’m sure and the humidity was about as high. I had to sit down a few times because I was dizzy. I went through 2 bottles of water. Then we walked through to the water where there was a lovely breeze blowing and tables set up under an easy up. We had chips, banana chips, a small banana and either water, Pepsi or 7-Up. It was very refreshing, especially the breeze. A man at our table said our experience was like going to Williamsburg, Virginia. I agreed. We were wondering if the people really live this way or is it for the tourists? No one asked the question of our guide so we don’t know.
‘After our light refreshments we boarded Tuk Tuks and made our way back to the buses. Our driver was of the hurry up, then slam on the brakes kind. It was a harrowing 10 minutes. He also drove with his horn. We made it back to the bus. I sat in the aisle seat on the way back. That was an education too. We were weaving in and out of traffic, passing with oncoming cars, scooters and Tuk tuks. They like to make 3 lanes out of two. This was a big bus we were in, not a little car.

When we got back, we went to the buffet for some lunch. We paid for it since we only get two meals per day, which was fine. Haven’t checked my charge card yet to see how much it cost in US dollars. Our room wasn’t made up when we got back. We decided to go to the pool to cool down for awhile. It was wonderful. I was afraid it would be too hot but the pool was in the shade and the water was refreshing. We had the place to ourselves for awhile. After an hour or so, we called it a day and came back to the room and shower. We’re now ready for dinner in an hour or so. Tomorrow will be an in-transit day as we fly to Delhi. You may or may not hear from me.

Photos: Sunrise over Cochin, Chinese fishing net, Bunny and our friend Joy on the canoe, a long shot of a canoe, basket weaving, throwing a fishing net, making thatch, our Tuk Tuk with drivers finger blocking the photo, and a shot of the hotel pool. I think that building behind the pool is part of a huge shopping mall. We elected not to go. I even refrained from buying one of the baskets made by the weaver at the village!