Wednesday, March 18, 2015
On the first of four sea days we
began our trek north west through the Lakshadweep Sea and the Indian Ocean for
Kochi, also known as Cochin. The city is
the second largest and most densely populated city in the state of Kerala. Known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, Kochi
was an important spice trading center on the west coast of India from the 14th
century.
During our third day at sea, we carried
out the Piracy Drill, normal for this area of the world. Also, we began a lighting reduction program
to reduce the outdoor lighting from sunset to sunrise for navigational and
security reasons. This is in effect from
March 17 to April 4th all the way through the Suez Canal.
Cochin is actually a name for towns
and islands all linked by ferries and bridges.
On Vypeen Island, fishermen still use their Chinese Fishing nets or
cantilever contraptions as some refer to them! They were introduced in the 14th century by
Chinese traders from the court of Kublai Khan.
Gundu Island is known for coir carpets (coconut fiber). The fiber is also used for making rope.
For something different we choose a
backwaters cruise out of the town of Alleppey, a 90 minute drive from Cochin. Alleppey is known as the "Venice of the
East" and is the center of Kerala's prawn farming and coir industries.
We boarded a motor launch for a 2
1/2 hour cruise along the tree lined lagoon and waterways. At the end of the cruise, we stopped at the
Lake Palace Resort for a scrumptious buffet lunch featuring salads, chicken
curry - "curry" is usually understood to mean "gravy" in
India, rather than "spices" -, bhel puri (rice, potatoes and tamarind
sauce), a selection of delicious melt-in-your-mouth naan (Indian flatbread), on
and on. Needless to say, no one left
hungry.
On the way back to the ship we
toured Fort Cochin, which was built by the Portuguese and is the oldest
European settlement in India. We also
drove by St. Francis Church, the oldest in India, built by the Portuguese in
1503, and the original burial site of Vasco de Gama, the great explorer.
Being the last bus to return - it
was a long day - the Captain was ready to pull in the lines and head out to
sea.
Main chalta hoon (goodbye) Cochin -
Mumbai here we come!
