Wildlife Safari by Boat -- Thekaddy (Kerala)

Monday, January 26

This morning we watched breakfast be delivered as apparently we were the earlybirds. We enjoyed a great view from our restaurant balcony: a cascade of flowers and trees down the mountainside and across the Ghats.

Claire tried the rice cakes and approved of them, kids had one last turn in the playground, and after attending scraped knees we headed to Thekaddy. The drive went fast, much of it retracing our steps from the prior day.

We were in Thekaddy by noon, checked in the Green Forest Hotel – a new resort in the center of down and went to an Ayurveda massage place, recommended by driver. (Chearper and better than hotel spa, he said.)

Ayurveda (the 'science of life') is a system of traditional medicine native to India and practiced in other parts of the world as a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, the word Ayurveda comprises the words āyus, meaning 'life' and veda, meaning 'science'. Evolving throughout its history, Ayurveda remains an influential system of medicine in South Asia. The earliest literature of Ayurveda appeared during the Vedic period in India. Ayurvedic practitioners also identified a number of medicinal preparations and surgical procedures for curing various ailments and diseases.

I was taken around the building, tromped through a run down area and went inside a non-decript room where very relaxing “massage” music was playing. The masseuse told me to take everything off and had me lay down on a table covered with a layer of cloth. She proceeded to oil me up and rub me down, head to toe. All my travel aches and pains disappeared in short order – nearly every part of me was massaged and oiled up, even breasts. Thorough, I guess…

She rubbed me down with a few cloths to get a couple layers of oil off, told me to wait an hour and then take a hot shower. All this for less than $14.

From there I melted into the car and we had lunch – the Kerala bread is delicious – a puffier version of flat bread with lots of layers. That and a vegetable dish flavored with coconut and local spices made for a lovely lunch.

Next we headed to Periyar Wildlife Refuge for safari by boat. A bunch of tourists – local and foreign – milled around waiting for boats. Five came in at once. We watched as 4 of them lined up, one next to the shore. Each positioned itself so that the doorways led from one boat to another – and in typical Indian style everyone tried to exit at one time.

And no, there was no organized cue for getting on, either. I’ve become better at pressing my way in, carrying Ava and hanging onto Claire. A lovely Sikh family helped ensure she got on without being railroaded by overzealous tourists.
Thus all passengers on boats 1, 2, 3 and 4 gathered in a big group and pushed our way onto our respective boats; Claire scored us 2nd row seats on top of our boat, behind the people who helped us navigate the boarding process, two grown sons and parents who spoke English. Ava and the mom became fast friends and she spent part of the trip sitting on her lap, showing her an Elmo band aid and eating candy the woman gave her.

The object of our boat ride was to spot wildlife – safari by boat. We’d done jeep and elephant safaris in Corbett park, so this was a nice variation on a theme. Very relaxing and beautiful as the sun glinted on the wide waterways we passed through, with green grass and forests on each side. Big old dead trees stuck up here and there in the middle of the canals, several that passed through the park, which extends from Kerala into Tamil Nadu.

We did spot much wildlife, as it was late afternoon -- feeding and watering time for many of the animals. First sighting: wild boars wandering along the water. We then came upon a lone elephant that moved into the forest; we could see him stopping here and there to eat.

A bit further on we saw a group of elephants – 15 or 20, perhaps, with 2 calves. We later saw a similar group on the other side of the waterway. Around one bend was a small group of bison – 5 or 6 adults and a calf. As we traversed the canals we saw many birds, some with nests in the dead trees. We saw at least three nests with baby birds in them.

Also sighted: a single otter along the bank and later a group of 8 or 10, eating fish and coming in and out of the water. We saw more wild boars and a few lone deer. On the way back two deer were in the water – one had a recent gash from a predator. Four foxes were hovering nearby on the banks – orange-red with black tails. And of course we saw plenty of monkeys!

A great wildlife experience in such a relaxed and beautiful setting.

On the way back Ramu left us at a shop of some friends – nothing there we couldn’t live without, so we meandered to the hotel, stopping at a flower festival teeming with people.

Kids had popcorn while we wandered through the booths selling trinkets and food. A carnival was set up on one side and in other areas displays of medicinal plants and flowers galore. On stage was traditional music and dance, later political speeches. Today is Republic Day here. During our drive we saw many school children participating in ceremonies at their schools, then being dismissed late morning to enjoy the day.

We also saw many red flags and gray jeeps packed with people headed to political events and parades. Most were communist as that’s the prevalent party in Kerala (which happens to have the highest literacy rate and lowest amount of poverty of any state in India. It’s also cleaner than other states.)In one village we drove through a parade.