Mumbai to Cochin

After almost a week in Mumbai, we have now moved south to Cochin in Kerala. The journey here by train was overnight and took 27 hours. Despite the length of the journey there was always plenty of activity going on around us. At each stop vendors got on selling delicious hot battered snacks, tea, newspapers, maps and there was a constant flow of staff from the ‘pantry’ carriage also carrying through similar things to eat. The carriage was divided into sections with acres of curtaining and velcro each containing two tier bunks, we travelled 2^nd class, with another bunk across the aisle. There was a very elegant 71-year old lady dressed in a sari sharing our section who chatted to us. It turned out that she was a former plastic surgeon who had studied in Edinburgh and who was on her way to Cochin to go scuba diving and snorkeling off a protected island with the Natural History Society of Bombay. I must admit that was not what I expected her to be doing.

When we awoke the landscape and vegetation had changed. We were now traveling through palm plantations and crossing picturesque, early morning river estuaries. The temperature had also gone up.

The train arrives in Ernakulam and from here we got a ferry across to Cochin– a lovely way to arrive in any city. After the energy of Mumbai, Cochin is a surprisingly slow–paced city. Yesterday we wandered through Jew Town where there are hundreds of antique shops aimed at the many tourists who visit here and then on down Bazaar Road which was busy with local people and where there are dozens of warehouses filled with sacks of spices and pulses and small shops selling essential oils.

Today we took a 'backwaters' tour. This involved driving, at breakneck speed, to a small jetty about 30km south where we boarded a houseboat. We then sailed along waterways, across a lake and around a group of islands, stopping off on one where we shown how they collect 'natural juice' from the flower of the coconut palm in ceramic bowls and where we were also shown some of the many spices that grow in this region such as cardamom, arrowroot and all spice, which is a plant not a mixture of spices as I'd always thought. After a really delicious lunch, we then set off in narrow boats through the backwaters, getting stuck on various occasions as the water level was so low, and this time we stopped in a village to see how they make coir string from coconut fibre. We saw a number of kingfishers as we travelled through this beautiful place.

Despres de gairebe una setmana a Mumbai, ara hem viatjat cap al sud, a Cochin (Kerala). El viatge en tren va durar mes d'un dia, 27 hores. Malgrat que fos llarg, al nostre voltat sempre hi havia molta activitat amb que distreure's.A cada parada colles de venedors pujaven al tren oferint-nos delicioses pastes acabades de fregir, te, mapes i diaris, i a mes sempre teniem el personal del vago restaurant "fent passadis" i constantment oferint-nos coses similars per menjar. El vago estava dividit en seccions amb kilometres de cortines i velcro i a cada seccio hi havia 4 llits disposats en dos nivells. Nosaltres viatjavem en segona classe hi hi havia una tercera "llitera" de costat al passadis. En aquesta part de la nostra seccio, hi havia una elegant senyora de 71 anys que vestia un sari i que va xerrar amb nosaltres. Mai hauriem endevinat que era una cirujana plastica retirada que havia estudiat a Edinburg i ara anava a a Cochin a bussejar en una illa protejida amb un grup de la Societat d'Historia Natural de Bombai.

Varem despertar en un nou paisatge amb vegetacio diferent de quan havien anat a dormir. Estavem travessant plantacions de palmeres i estuaris pintorescs i la temperatura havia pujat molts graus.

El tren arriba a Ernakulam i d'alla varem anar fins a Cochin en un ferry, una manera molt agradable d'arribar a la ciutat. Despres de tota l'activitat de Mumbai, Cochin es una ciutat sorprenentment lenta. Ahir varem passejar pel barri jueu on hi ha centenars d'anticuaris especialment dirigits al tots els turistes que hi passen, i despres per Bazaar Road, on hi ha molta gent de la zona i dotzenes de magatzems plens de sacs d'especies i llegums i petites botigues venent olis essencials.

Avui hem anat a fer una passejada en barca per les"backwaters". Aixo ha implicat anar en un autobus, a una velocitat exagerada, fins a un petit "amarre" uns 30km al sud de la ciutat, on hem pujat una casa-barca. D'alli hem anat per canals, travessant un llac i voltant varies illes, desembarcant en una d'elles on ens han ensenyat com recullen el "suc natural" de la flor de les palmeres cocoteres en unes olles de ceramica penjades de l'arbre, i tambe ens han mostrat varies de les especies que creixen a la regio, com el cardamo, l'"arrowroot" i el "allspice", que es una planta i no una barrejad'especies comhavia pensat sempre. Despres d'un delicios dinar, hem cntinuat la passejada en una barca estreta pels canals mes petits, quedant-nos encallats a la sorra varies vegades, ja que la marea era baixa, i aquest cophem desembarcat en un llogaret on fan corda amb les fibres del coco. Mentre descobriem aquest precios llloc hem vist diversos martins pescadors.