“Morning visit spice plantation. Later drive to
Kumarakom. On arrival check into hotel
X”
The drive from Kumily to Kumarakom took us through some of
the same route we had taken yesterday, but headed off a bit south and towards
the coast. We really appreciated the
skill of our driver on the mountain roads, today with heavier traffic.
The spice plantation was very
interesting. It is one that grows spices
and herbs for Auryavedic medicines – we saw cardamom plants; pepper vines;
cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg trees along with a lot of other local medicinal
plants.
Fig tree
Our driver encouraged us to stop at a small bird sanctuary near to our
hotel – and we did but only for a bit as it was hot and mid-afternoon, not a
good time for birdwatching. Did hear
about 5 or 6 different bird songs. Checked into our hotel which has ‘resort’ in
the name – but it is rather disappointing as it has no amenities besides a
small odd restaurant (we were hoping for a cold beer and some good South Indian
food), but we are facing a ‘backwater’ area and can watch boats and birds, get
caught up on rest, hydration and laundry as we will be here a second night.
