The backwaters

The ferry terminal
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I took a beautiful train ride down the coast of the Arabian Sea to the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala. I always love being near the sea, so it was really nice after being inland for a while.

I actually stayed in Ernakulum, but it's part of Kochi. What a great place. The people are really laid back and friendly. One day I took a ferry across to Fort Cochin, an old Portuguese settlement. Nowadays it is a nice mix of Portuguese and Indian styles. I followed a walking tour that the tourist office had a map of, it was very nice.

Looking back at Kochi
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That night I went to a Kathakali performance. Kathakali is a traditional form of dance passed down through the generations. Prior to the performance, they showed us the intricate makeup application and explained some of the symbolism behind it. There is a large emphasis on facial and finger movements and the performers practice four hours a day for about 15 years before they're allowed to perform on stage. As in old European theatre, all parts are played by men, regardless of the gender of the character. It was quite interesting.

Chinese-style fishing nets
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The next day I took a backwaters tour. According to the guide, they call it backwaters because the water comes from the mountains, into the river, which flows into a lake and then out to the sea .. and it never comes back... hence backwater... (I'm not sure I buy that explanation, but we'll go with it anyway). We started the day in a bigger boat through the bigger waterways, then we had a traditional lunch on the boat and then broke into two groups and went on canoes... reminded me of the boats in Venice with the gondoliers. On the tour we stopped at a couple of villages and saw some women making rope from coconut fiber and also the process of creating calcium powder from mussel shells. It's a pretty amazing process. First they burn the shells at around 1000 degrees (I'm guessing Celcius), then after they cool they pour water on them and they have a chemical reaction... first you see some steam or smoke and then the shells break down before your eyes and turn into a white powder. This is used in many things from calcium supplements to white wash for buildings. We also had a botanical tour of the area around the calcium facility. We saw many indigenous plants and they told us of some of the homeopathic uses for them. Very interesting.