Moved off early in the morning while it was still dark. The sun rose a half hour later when negotiating a set of low, sleepy hills, which seem out of place in these parts, west of the Western Ghats - like hippies that moved here to relax near the coast.
Seen from Kuttipuram bridge, these silt islands on the Bharathapuzha river (Nila, or the Nile of Kerala) would make great beach volleyball courts, not to mention a nice location for edge-of-the-sandbar refreshment bars:
Breakfast at a restaurant near a busy intersection in Moonnupeedika - duck-egg omelet, parota, and coconut chutney to be washed down with cardamom tea.
The only spot of shade near the Edappally Junction - the crossroads that mark the 'sangam' of NH17 and NH47 (NH17 begins at Mumbai and ends here; NH47 from Salem in Tamil Nadu carries the torch on to Kanyakumari)
The Nettoor backwaters have this quaint old toddy shack. Toddy or palm wine is arrack made from fermented palm sap - in this case, coconut - and tastes kinda like buttermilk with a smack of coconut juice. Hors d'oeuvres of choice are the "mussels in masala".
There is a ferry landing point just near the gate. Ferries can transport people, luggage, animals, and small vehicles like bicycles and mopeds.
Locals sit on the jetty waiting for their ferry looking toward the railway bridge on the horizon, maybe thinking:
"If dreams were boats, jetties would be bridges..."
Their ship comes in:
And a train soon after
Cleo samples a doobie-snack
'To do is to be.' - Socrates
'To be is to do.' - Jean-Paul Sartre
'Do be do be do.' - Frank Sinatra
'To be is to do.' - Jean-Paul Sartre
'Do be do be do.' - Frank Sinatra
'Doobie do beedi.' - Cleo
2 comments:
be more precise on cleo's snack??was it your snack??was it his snack??what kind of snack was it?was it veg or nveg??
haha..good questions all..
the snack was cleo's energizer for the evening - a preparation of dried herbs in a green leafy vegetable wrap..he looks serious in the pic but his post-snack grin extended from ear to ear..):)
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