A dip in the sea
Waking up on our houseboat was a treat - with the sun rising over the water, and a refreshing morning breeze. As we set off from our morning, a delicious breakfast was served, including fresh banana, pineapple, toast, butter, jam (similar to the strange red jam in Nepal, except this is a luminous yellow pineapple version), omelette, and the highlight - masala dosas (pancakes stuffed with sweet coconut). A huge portion of this later, and barely able to move for being so full, all I could do was sit back and take in the views as we were steered back towards Alleppey.
There, I waddled off the boat and into the car, looking forward to a walk on the beach! We arrived at Marari beach not long after, and it was much prettier than I had imagined. As soon as we were away from the hundred metres or so of fairly inoffensive umbrellas and chairs, the sandy beach stretched away endlessly before us. I paddled along the waterline, getting caught out by the occasional wave (it was so hot I didn't mind) and watching the birds take off before we reached them. There were also a number of pretty wooden fishing boats, some with men emptying nets of fish beside them.
On the way back, with temperatures rising, I just couldn't resist going for a dip. I wasn't really appropriately dressed - but that's been overcome on a humber of spontaneous swims before, so in sports bra and leggings I had a lovely, if salty, 400 m swim along the beach. Warm sea water is a real novelty to me, yet in the 30 degrees heat it was still refreshing. I did feel a bit guilty about being slightly soggy as I got back into the car, but again, it's so hot that I had dried out relatively soon.
Upon reaching Fort Cochin, I de-sanded as much as possible, and we walked along the more industrial coastline there, surveying the large Chinese fishing nets, different to any I've seen before. We then decided we were just hungry enough for lunch after that huge breakfast, and sampled some of the local catch in the form of a mango fish curry and tempura prawns, which were just what was needed.
Fort Cochin seems a fairly relaxed place, and the early afternoon was easily passed wandering the streets. A few interesting examples of street art could be found, as well as lots of large "Happy New Year" illustrations chalked on the road, which I vaguely remembered from our night-time visit here a week or so ago. Indeed that felt far more than a week ago, and in the evening we reversed our previous journey, being driven back to Cochin Airport, ready for tomorrow morning's flight to Delhi.
Waking up on our houseboat was a treat - with the sun rising over the water, and a refreshing morning breeze. As we set off from our morning, a delicious breakfast was served, including fresh banana, pineapple, toast, butter, jam (similar to the strange red jam in Nepal, except this is a luminous yellow pineapple version), omelette, and the highlight - masala dosas (pancakes stuffed with sweet coconut). A huge portion of this later, and barely able to move for being so full, all I could do was sit back and take in the views as we were steered back towards Alleppey.
There, I waddled off the boat and into the car, looking forward to a walk on the beach! We arrived at Marari beach not long after, and it was much prettier than I had imagined. As soon as we were away from the hundred metres or so of fairly inoffensive umbrellas and chairs, the sandy beach stretched away endlessly before us. I paddled along the waterline, getting caught out by the occasional wave (it was so hot I didn't mind) and watching the birds take off before we reached them. There were also a number of pretty wooden fishing boats, some with men emptying nets of fish beside them.
On the way back, with temperatures rising, I just couldn't resist going for a dip. I wasn't really appropriately dressed - but that's been overcome on a humber of spontaneous swims before, so in sports bra and leggings I had a lovely, if salty, 400 m swim along the beach. Warm sea water is a real novelty to me, yet in the 30 degrees heat it was still refreshing. I did feel a bit guilty about being slightly soggy as I got back into the car, but again, it's so hot that I had dried out relatively soon.
Upon reaching Fort Cochin, I de-sanded as much as possible, and we walked along the more industrial coastline there, surveying the large Chinese fishing nets, different to any I've seen before. We then decided we were just hungry enough for lunch after that huge breakfast, and sampled some of the local catch in the form of a mango fish curry and tempura prawns, which were just what was needed.
Fort Cochin seems a fairly relaxed place, and the early afternoon was easily passed wandering the streets. A few interesting examples of street art could be found, as well as lots of large "Happy New Year" illustrations chalked on the road, which I vaguely remembered from our night-time visit here a week or so ago. Indeed that felt far more than a week ago, and in the evening we reversed our previous journey, being driven back to Cochin Airport, ready for tomorrow morning's flight to Delhi.
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