Thursday 21 February
“Morning transfer to houseboat.”
We were picked up from the backwater resort on time, but
their card reader wasn’t working when we check out, so had to use cash ..
further deleting our cash supply. The driver took us to a nearby ATM, and SF
was able to use one of her cards as for some reasons neither of my cards
worked. We stopped in a nearby Bakery Shop (ubiquitous in Kerala) and had a cup
of coffee and some snacks, then were taken to board the houseboat. This boat was nice but not overly fancy ..
two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a kitchen in the back, and an open
sitting/dining area in the front. Two men ran the boat, taking turns steering
us across Vembanad Lake and through some narrower backwater passages. There were lots of other houseboats out –
some small and some quite large and elegant; and we saw a half-dozen species of
water birds (which we still need to identify and name). One of the men did the
cooking and served us huge and tasty meals that included a lot if fish,
coconut, and bananas. It was very relaxing just to sit and watch the scenery. They tied up for the night near Alleppy, in
an area with lots of other houseboats, and we went to bed around 9 pm.
