Day 23 - Sambavarvadakarai to Trivandrum

The village home has a vintage appeal even as the straight-through corridor reminds of a city apartment..a sort of similar difference - flats have fixed height and varying breadth; here breadth is constant, while storeys may be added:

A skylight keeps the house naturally well-lit throughout the day.

The kitchen garden has a grindstone and various herbs and fruit trees.

The backdoor opens out to the highway toward Kerala.

The aangan (courtyard) has a well and a traditional tulsi (basil) plant.

The oval shape of the shared well enhances neighbour satisfaction. During the monsoons, the water level rises several feet with the water table.

A heavy brunch of dosas, gunpowder (a special masala mixed with a drop of oil), sambhar with bhindi, and Bovonto (a local, aerated, grape-flavour drink - really addictive for a soft drink):

Found the bike had developed a flat overnight - interesting that she did 3500 km in almost a month without tyre trouble, and this on the second to last day of the journey. Called in a village puncture specialist who cycled down with assistant and took the wheel away for repairs.

The village street in morning light:

A temple just outside the residential section of the village:

Quaint designs on the houses, some built upto 50 years back

Saty bullets down the bucolic boulevard:

Headed towards Kutrallam Falls, a set of waterfalls at Tamil Nadu's western border and an important waypoint for annual pilgrims.

Carvings on the rocks

Rounding a bend brought the Western Ghats into view, a green carpet of paddy fields leading up:

With the shifting cloud cover, the green shades frequently change contrast

A woodpecker was knocking on wood to get lucky for lunch:

The road runs parallel to a river as it climbs the hill

After the teak forests, rubber farms abound

The rubber collection system is simple: the farmer makes a gash in the tree bark and hangs half a coconut shell under it, the sap drips into the cup and is scooped up every evening.

Christmas eve just 3 days away, spirits soar in Trivandrum with twinkling churches making even red lights a pleasure stop:

Day 22 - Kanyakumari to Sambavarvadakarai

The mercury climbed and the group moved north from Kanyakumari in search of freshwater locales off the highway, led by a local guide, a friend of saty's.

A rare combination of the 3 holiday spot USPs - hill, palmgrove, and freshwaterbody, though appearing a little hastily thrown together:

After observing a few rivulets and goatherding maneuvers, stopped to rehydrate at a roadway juice stall.

The gang split up here - the 3 office-goers headed back to the establishment at Trivandrum while I went on to Saty's village, Sambavarvadakarai in Tirunelveli district, near the Kerala border where the Western Ghats start.

A small church on the hill behind the restaurant:

The area is full of windmills and for good reason. The winds here can blow quixotic bikers off-balance especially when they change direction without warning. Rain clouds also appear unexpectedly and seem to chase along the NH7 highway so it's always advisable to stop and let them pass.

A chai place at the Tirunelveli highway turnoff towards Sambavarvadakarai employs an ingenious recycler+costsaver cigarette lighting idea combining strips of cardboard from used packs and a small oil lamp. They also serve quick, strong coffee.

Dinner of parota (a sort of lacchha paratha), omelet, and chicken 65 (a savory tikka) at Surandai village.

The quiet of night is broken only by the calls of nightbirds; the dogs are mostly friendly, unlike their city brethren.