Our coach left the Spice Village at 8am, and we endured the bumpy, hair-raising ride down the hills towards the coast. The scenery was magnificent, all misty mountains and twisty roads, but the traffic density was amazingly high, and the overtaking on blind bends was terrifying at times. We passed back through the tea growing areas, and past all the rubber plantations.
Back on lower ground we started to see paddy fields full of rice and long channels of water. After about five hours the coach pulled up at the side of the road, we said goodbye to our driver and his assistant, and we transferred into tuk-tuks for the final 3 kms down to the boat yard.
Our groups has been divided between two boats, and once our luggage was on board we set off through the mixture of lakes and broad canals that form the back waters of Kerala. The boats are much bigger than I expected, with a large lounge/dining area at the front, four double bedrooms down the boat then a kitchen at the rear.
The density of houseboats is high, apparently there are over 600 privately owned houseboats on these waters, and the driving style is slightly reminiscent of the roads. The views and birds we see make up for everything though. We also have an excellent lunch on board.
The density drops dramatically as evening approaches, and by the time we moor at around 5.30 we can only see two other boats. As the sun goes down our crew attach mosquito nets round the lounge area, and we soon realise how necessary these are. Dinner is served about 7, another delicious meal, then we sit around reading, writing and squishing bugs, and watching the occasional fire fly.
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