Kochi - Kovalam
After Kochi had left behind us, we followed a quiet, bumpy coastal road, passing through small fishing villages. We passed several boat builders, where pieces of wood were geschreinert and then tied together with coconut strands to build new fishing boats.
Since Kerala is a very tourist area, we were often begging for money, sweets and pens than in other parts of India. Then, when a man ran from his small photo studio for us to stop and take a picture of us, and he then insisted on it for us to print before we came the highly suspicious. Sure it was a clever trap, and he would then a payment for this "service" expectations. But after he had edited the photo on his computer and then printed, he wrote only one message on the back of the photo, to wish us a good trip, and gave it to you with a smile.
came in the afternoon after we had Aleppey and orientation difficulties, as the city was so hectic and confusing. In the end we found a nice little hostel with a friendly manager. Aleppey is in the middle of the coastal waters of Kerala and is therefore a good starting point for houseboat trips. Our guide had a Aleppey "A little Venice in India" section. Perhaps the author had been drinking too much water channel, because we found only a few overgrown channels and the usual hectic Indian city center, so we did not stay long and were up early the next morning on my way.
We had planned to stay all the way up to the southern tip of India on the small coastal road. Other cycling had mentioned that she was quiet and pretty, with several ferries where rivers broke the street. We knew it was between Aleppey and Kollam were some rivers, but when we asked some locals, they said that there would be no ferry services. Therefore we had to stay on the main road.
The main street was busy, but there was a small shoulder, so we felt quite safe. Indian bicycle and motorcycle riders remain, however, often not on their side, and therefore many of us were on "our" side counter. We had a very focused and always keep your eyes on the road ahead. In deep concentration Fred managed to directly pass by an elephant, who was away on a truck about three feet from her, without seeing him. Guy was very surprised that you, without realizing it, could pass directly to a giant elephant.
The cyclists in Kerala are very proud and often drive us to the bet. Once we get someone, he suddenly runs much faster and passed us, only to go immediately back to us very slowly, and then the game starts all over again. This game was so for a while with a group of ice cream man - a teenager, the metal canisters strapped with ice on their racks and a stack of wafers were mounted on the handlebars. Once one of them was tired, overtook us the next. They were so eager to go before us, we slowed our trip at the end and stayed behind them.
After had spent the night in a hotel full of mosquitoes in Kollam, we were finally back on the coast road for a short day to the Varkala beach, only 30km away. As usual, we had planned our route with Google Maps what is normally a very accurate map. However, after we had gone through some friendly fishing villages that lay between the sea and a lake, the road ended suddenly. Large stones were lying on the road to vehicles to keep together against a sudden plunge into the water.
Some people told us that the road had been swept away in the last monsoon 4 months ago by a flood. Our only option seemed to be to go back to Kollam and then make a detour on the main road, which would have transformed our day in a 30km 80km day. Since it was a big detour so we asked for at a yoga center, which had unfortunately lost five huts in the flood (fortunately were not injured yogis). They suggested that we might translate a fisherman for a small fee.
When the fishermen arrived, we were quite nervous. They squatted on a small canoe, which was filled slowly with water. One of the men drew hastily with an old piece of plastic water from the canoe. The canoe stood only about 20cm from the water. Our fully loaded bikes would fit in any case in the tiny boat, and if so we would descend safely. We imagined what our laptops, cameras, passports, etc were on board. It was quite a big risk and we were not sure if our insurance would understand this.
nevertheless was a 50km detour quite annoying if we could go with a short canoe ride to the other side, which was only 300m away. The fishermen were safely transported very experienced and will also be their fish catches in the canoe. Guy went first. He took off all saddlebags and they piled on the back of the canoe. Then he sat down on the little bench, with out the canoe and herwackelte. When he stopped his bike upright beside him, he waved Fred too nervous and it went off.
Once the canoe went a little faster, it seemed to be stable, and the fisherman seemed quite relaxed as he sang merrily and paddled. Soon came the canoe to Guy's easier on the opposite beach.
When Fred was in it, decided to complicate the second fisherman, the ride a little by also climbed into the canoe. With this extra weight, the canoe was still lower in the water, but this time it was well received on the other side so that we the lucky fisherman facilitates paid for their services.
When we arrived at the beach of Varkala, we knew immediately that we had landed in another tourist bubble. Steep cliffs framing a lovely beach, and most houses and restaurants were sitting on the cliffs overlooking the sea. We found a nice little guest house and went to upset the German Bakery for lunch. When we had sat on top of the cliffs, with the glittering sea below us, we felt like we were sitting on the top deck of a cruise ship.
Most restaurants offered dinner a variety of fresh fish on, so that one can select one and then it could prepare for dinner. It was nice to see that tourism here support the fishermen in their traditional businesses, where they could ask for hopefully higher prices than the restaurants on the market. One of the waiters told us that he works at night as a fisherman, and during the day as a waiter. He sleeps only a few hours during the fishing boat goes out to sea. Sorry, just have a lot of people in India have two jobs to earn a living, especially if you support her family.
As we go down to the beach left, we passed by a dentist. "No thanks, we were only just in Kochi at the dentist," we said, to the disappointment of the man was about to give us a flyer. We joked about how many tourists dentists in Kerala was on the beach and watched the sunset, as Guy suddenly got a toothache! The next day the pain was worse and we went back to the dentist to make an appointment, to the delight of the Flyer-man (we think he has demonstrated the poor guy with a voodoo curse). The dentist prescribed an X-ray examination to see whether a root canal was necessary, at which he was sure to 90%. After a sleepless Night made the next morning the X-ray images, and to our relief, the tooth was healthy - it was just inflammation. However, we were quite impressed by the well-qualified dentists in Kerala and now understand why medical tourism is booming in India. The costs are so much lower than in the West, with equal or better treatment conditions.
After a few days in Varkala we drove along the coastal road in the south to Kovalam. Unfortunately, there was once again the ferry is not expected, and while we tried to find a bridge over a river, we got lost and ended up on a small dirt track for cows. This was the last of the many ferry crossings, we had expected - in the whole time we had spent on the west coast of India, which is widely known that for all the ferries, we have not got a single ferry!
While we were somewhat lost through a small village, we found a Hindu festival in honor of the goddess Meenakshi. Everywhere something was wrong when the people made preparations for the festival. From large speakers sounded rhythmic Indian music, and the streets were decorated with tinsel and colored ribbons. Some men asked us to stop and pointed to a path that led to the temple, where they made food gestures. With perfect timing, we arrived just as lunch was served! We pushed our bikes
along the path, past a long line of women who all sat behind a pot that was kept warm over hot coals. Some young men explained that this would be gifts for the goddess. The women had cooked rice with coconut and spices, which was then blessed by the temple priests. A little rice was offered to the Goddess, and blessed the rest of the meal was shared with the family.
An elderly man invited us to park our bikes on his driveway, and then we walked along a long line of smiling and giggling women who for Lunch hired. The men formed a separate line. We were introduced to a temple priest who showed us around the temple and invited us to enter the complex from the back, so we avoided the snake. We felt like VIPs, we were honored to share such an important moment with these friendly people. Here men were cooking food for the 5,000 visitors in huge pots. To carry the rice pots, it took several men, and various curries were stirred over the fire with late great spoons.
Two chairs and a table were taken, and we were served a delicious lunch of rice, pappadums, five different curries and sauces, as well as a dessert, while all others ate standing up or sat down on the dusty ground. When the priest realized that we had difficulty in eating with his hands, he brought us spoons. A group of men stood around and talked to us, and they watched us with food and supplies gave us time and again. When we were ready, came the "Kitchen" Chef to us, want to see if we are eating. After this nice invitation brought us back to the priest and a few other men on our bicycles and thanked us (!) For our visit.
the early evening we arrived at the beach resort of Kovalam, which had once been pretty, and surrounded by palm trees, but is now full of hotels and restaurants is crowded with tugs and charter tourists.
As she waited with the bikes, while Guy is looking at a hotel, Fred was made by a man is a very interesting offer. "I see you have nice bikes. I want my elephant . Sell Do you want to share, perhaps? "For a moment she thought about it, only to see Guy's reaction when he came back and saw her perched high on an elephant!
After we had decided to keep the bikes, we ate a pizza (luckily there was a wood stove because it was a long power failure just after we had ordered our food). A long haul ahead of us because we were planning to go around the southern tip of India and then to drive the east coast to Madurai, which was about 400km away.
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