March 29, 2019 – Kochi (Cochin), India
Today we arrived at 7 am as expected. We were up and ready to go. We received a letter last night that said we were in group “14” to be dismissed from the ship. My driver was already waiting for me off of the ship.
They called the first group at about 7:30 am. The second group wasn’t called for over an hour. Hamish announced all of the items we needed with to take with us to immigration. Key card, passport, landing permit, visa. The ship staff had already given two pieces of paperwork. We just needed our keycard and passport. Correct? Wrong. We also needed the visa that I applied for back home. It looks identical to the landing card so everyone in line to get off was as confused as can be.
Our group was called at 9:30 and we were off. A cab driver took us to meet our Tuk Tuk driver, Sudheer. He would take us to see the sites in Kochi. It was warm but the Tuk Tuk felt nice because there was nothing to stop the breeze as we drove to each destination.
Our ride for the day.
First stop was an area where men were making fishing nets.
These were circular nets that had stones sewn in all around the perimeter. One could cast the net into the ocean and centrifical force would open it up. The stones would sink the net and the fishermen would wait. They would then pull up the net using a rope that other ropes tied to the edges. This created a sack where the fish were trapped. We saw some fisherman use these but the catch was mainly small fish.
Our next stop is Douby Khana.
Washing stalls across from drying area.
Some items on the ground for drying.
Terri using the iron. Iron is filled with coconut shells that are burned for heat.
Next stop, Santa Cruz Cathedral.
The Chinese fishing nets are big attraction. Same setup as when Chinese explorers arrived in the 14th century. Big rocks are tied to the backend as ballast. Nets are lowered and then raised catching fish, soda bottles or other kinds of trash.
This woman is making papadam. Similar to what we had with Nim back in Sri Lanka.
A Hindu temple that only allowed Hindu’s inside.
A musical group here at a Hindu Temple that allowed visitors. Very repetitive. Reminded me of rap without words.
A visit to this temple required a sarong and shoes off.
It’s hard to understand some of these traditions. Taking your shoes off is meant to show respect. Cleanliness. For most folks, their feet are as dirty as the streets they walk on with no shoes. Our feet where filthy after we left the temple. So much for cleanliness.
The swastika means different things in different cultures. In Indian culture it refers to divinity and spirituality.
Terri and I both agreed that the following picture reminded us of the circumcision room we saw when we were in a mosque in Istanbul. What a thing to remember.
Last day of school for kids here and they celebrated by showing powdered paint at each other.
The Portuguese first colonized this area in the 16th Century, the Dutch in the 17th Century and the British in the 19th Century. Independence was gained in 1947. Lots of history.
We asked Sudheer to take us back to the ship about 2:30. We had seen plenty and couldn’t wait to back to the ship for a shower and cold drink.…