Day 38 -39 Cochin India

Heading due south again, day 38 was spent travelling on a very calm Arabian Sea toward the tip of India and our next port of Cochin. It was a great day for the pool and Luke, Louise and the kids spent hours swimming & playing pool volleyball. We all got an early night as we knew there was a big day ahead of us.

Luke had pre arranged a mini bus and driver to meet us at our next stop of Cochin in India. Arriving in the middle of an unseasonal monsoon rain we all stepped off the ship early prepared for a wet day. Fortunately the rain is quite predictable and within an hour, as our driver assured us it would, the rain disappeared.

With all 10 of us aboard the mini bus we headed off to the rural forest area of Kodanad which is home to the Kodanad Elephant Sanctuary. Here they care for orphaned elephants and older elephants in a quite riverside environment. The sanctuary is quite off the beaten track and the journey through the many villages was one to remember.

Each village was similar in layout with fresh fruit and vegetables at roadside stalls as well as meat hanging from poles in the open air.

At the sanctuary we walked around the grounds and watched as one of the bigger elephants dragged huge bunches of foliage into an area for the other elephants to eat.

The carers live in simple huts amongst the elephants so they can monitor the babies constantly. We were then able to ride a large 39 year old female named Tenetia bare back through the sanctuary. She is a huge African elephant and the size of her was daunting for the kids.

She came along side a rickety old platform that we used to get on her back and a rope like reigns to hold on to. Her short prickly hair felt amazing against our legs and her giant ears flapped against our shins and were really soft.

Unfortunately we were unable to get there early enough to see the elephants have their morning swim but sitting bare back on these glorious and powerful animals was areal treat. After exploring the sanctuary and seeing some of the other animals in the mini zoo we headed off again toward Cochin.

Along the way we stopped to see an Indian snake charmer. The children were fascinated by the thought of this and were even more surprised to see not one but four of the deadly Cobras rise out of their baskets. Simone was the only one game enough to sit beside him as he antagonized them into striking.

Close by on the shores of the harbour fisherman use huge Chinese style cantilever fishing nets to land their catch. The fresh catch is displayed on benches in front of their simple huts and they will cook it for you while you wait.

From here we explored further into the city of Cochin and ended up in the oldest part of the city known as Jew Town. The oldest known synagogue in India is located here as well as many antique shops and crafts. Marloejse finally found a teapot made in India and Louise, Simone and the kids found a small stall where a man using a sewing machine would embroider designs by freehand onto t shirts.

Everywhere we went throughout the city and especially the country areas the people were extremely friendly and easy to deal with. There is definitely an organized chaos to this country. At many places including the elephant sanctuary the children were as much an attraction to the locals as their country was for us. We were all extremely positive about our adventures and experiences throughout India and will definitely come back again.