Fort Cochin, Kerala

We have taken a vacation from being at the beach, and have spent the last several days in Cochin, a large port town on the Arabian Sea. This place is vaguely familiar to us due to the large "western" influence it has experienced over the centuries. Beginning with the Portugese, this part of India has absorbed a European flavor. The Dutch came next, then the Brits. The amalgam of architetural styles is very interesting to see. Our hotel is a beautiful old Dutch home, with wide teak floor boards and high ceilings. The people occasionally appear somewhat Spanish looking, and we see various names such as Santa Cruz, Vasco da Gama, of course Maria. Tonight there is a Maundy Thursday service at the St.Francis Church nearby. There is also an area called "Jew Town" and we went into the old Synagogue.
So far we, have loved Cochin, and have made plans to visit Munnar, which is about 5 hours drive inland, up the Western Ghats mountain range, where we will stay on a Cardamom plantation, and hike in the cool hills. We just have to survive the drive there!
Highlights:
-Kathakali, a traditional dance form of Kerala
-Seeing the big Dutch style buildings, homes
-We tried our hand at barganing today, and ended up with some textiles, and also a carpet...hope we werent bamboozled! "just looking"
-Went a 6 hour lazy boat trip through the brakish "backwaters" where we saw how Coir rope is made from coconut, also saw cashew fruit trees from which cashew nuts are harvested, along with pepper plants, nutmeg trees.
As always, the local people have been extremely gracious and kind.
Love,
Teri and Matt