Day 17 Cochin

Day 17, 11th June Cochin

Monsoonal rain threatened our visit to Cochin, however we were fortunate the rain held off till after our departure.  There were 12 of us who joined Gary and Joanne's private tour to the backwaters of Alleppley (Alappuzha). Land reclaimed by manmade dykes to grow rice or farm fish in the monsoon season on the flooded rice paddies, have enabled people to live alongside these waterways. On top of the dykes people have built houses, schools, churches and shops, all under the shade of coconut trees which line the banks. Most of these banks would be no more than 20 feet and in some areas less.

Once boarding the tour bus, we travelled 60 kilometres south of Cochin to Alleppley. The area has an abundance of coir factories which make door mats, ropes and other products from the coconut fibre. 70% of the population of Kerala are educated and the people are proud of this statistic. There are more females than males and both sexes are equally employed. Apart from exports of coconut products, fish and spices, a lot of the people work overseas and as a consequence the province has a lot private foreign money coming in.

Traditionally houseboats were used along the water ways to transport rice from the country side to markets but are now used as holiday houseboats. They are quite popular with honeymooners. These houseboats are made using material from coconut trees; the roof is woven from coconut fronds and the haul from the timber.

As we motored along the waterways we saw everyday life taking place. People washing themselves, clothes, cooking utensils as they stood on steps cut into the embankments. These steps were either made of stone or cement as well as the cut outs. Women in beautiful saris, stood ankle deep in the water to wash clothes by smacking them on stone pillars. We saw several women hanging washing on lines strung out between trees. Chickens, goats, dogs, ducks and the occasional cow appeared to roam freely around the houses. We saw a fishmonger alongside the embankment, in his open boat, selling fish to a lady who had come out from her house. A couple of chickens were scratching around them as the transaction took place.

We ate a lunch of local curries, rice and vegetables.  I know a lot of people back home who would have loved the curries. (Nic)

We returned to Cochin to visit Fort Cochin. The area housed various nationalities over the centuries. Firstly the Chinese, Jews, Portuguese, Dutch and lastly the English settled here. We saw St. Francis Church, the oldest church in India, built by the Portuguese in 1510 and is the original burial site for Vasco de Gama, the great explorer. His remains were later transported back to Portugal to its final resting place. Just nearby are the Chinese Fishing Nets.