more on Kerala

After we left Somatheeram, the incredible Auyrvedic Resort and Spa, we boarded a houseboat and drifted down the backwaters of the South Indian marsh for a few days.

(In case you can't tell, this trip was planned out by a travel agent back in Chennai so all details of travel were taken care of in advance)

What we call the backwaters is much different than the beaches or rivers. The backwaters are canals that run through the rice fields of Kerala. There are many towns full of people that live in small houses on top of concrete slabs that are above the waters. There they work in the rice fields and fish

Our houseboat was pretty spectacular, if not just a little bit crowded for 15 people. It had several bedrooms and a kitchen and a large dining/sitting area where we spent the entire day lounging above the water. However we didn’t get much use out of the kitchen, the houseboat staff cooked all of our meals. For lunch they made us fried fish and rice, cooked okra and lots of pineapple and mango. We ate our meal drifting down the waters and looking out at the few people along the banks.

Some kids really wanted to swim in the water, despite warnings of the fish and algae floating past us. So our boat driver pulled over and docked our houseboat next to a concrete dock in a backwater channel. We got out and walked around the small area but
Unfortunately we didn’t really swim, Deepa jumped down the steps of the boat and then requested to be pulled back in. However she says the water was nice. The floating piles of moss and algae and other things kept me from taking the plunge. While we were docked, the boat men cooked us dinner and we partied on our amazing little boat. We continued to celebrate for the boys birthdays and slept on the boat.

In the morning we docked back in the town of Kerala and we were deposited at a small beach resort to play for the rest of the day until we had to be taken to our train to go home. I spent the time sleeping in a hammock under a palm tree. Kerala is an amazing place and I was so depressed when we had to leave. That's all I have for now so enjoy these pictures and I will have more updates on how teaching is going :)

[I can't believe I have been here for SEVEN WEEKS!!]

-S