Row row row your boat

   We drive on, and  leave the westn Ghats behind us. Slowly the hills make way for larger villages and towns. In the mountains we noticed the effects of the lack of rain (like dried up waterfalls), but in these flatlands there is more water. We come across the first canals that are part of the elaborate system of the Kerala backwaters. These are made up of over 900 kilometres of waterways and lakes. 38 Rivers, deep inlets and creeks from the sea and dozens of man made canals. Prtly freshwater, where the rivers flow from the mountains, partly brackish, where the sea meets the streams. The backwaters stretch across almost the whole of the Kerala seashore from, north to south. Kochi itself really is just an island on the oceanside of the backwaters.

   The typical houseboats cruising the backwaters, originally shipped grain and rice inland from the fertile lands between the waters. Nowadays, most of them are rented out to tourists, for a cruise and a n overnight stay on the waters. And that is precisely what we are going to do. Of old, the boats were made of wood and reeds, nowadays they're made of metal and plastics. And they come in all different sizes, to accomodate the tourists. We are sailing on a private boat. The sun is shining, the engine is humming and the intoxication landscape of Kerala is passing before our eyes.

   We are provided with a lunch and a cup of ytea. For a visit to the smaller canals, we hop onto a smaller boat. Besides the houseboats, a few of which I think are housing people permanently, fisherman are cruising the waters. There are watertaxi's and a large number of jetties, to take the residents everywhere they want to go. Along the canals we see houses, and behind them enormous rice paddies. Half of the rice had been harvested, the rest was still waiting to be harvested. The backwaters supply the massive amount of water needed to irrigate this crop of rice.

   All alomg the waterside you find banana and coconut trees. The fruits are hanging low, so we have to resist the urge to pick some. they are owned by the residents, who are trying to sell at least part of their crop to the passing tourists. If they're not selling anything, you can find them sitting on a wall, trying to catch some crabs. Large parts of the canals are covered with watrelilies and waterhyacinths. Iy is so dense, you might mistake it for solid ground, especially as the waterbirds are walking around on the green leaves.

   Early in the evening, our houseboat docks, among half a dozen other boats. We go for a stroll by the waterside, after which dinner is served. As we're sitting on the foredeck to enjoy our evening coffee, we are devoured by mosquitos, so we flee indoors. Next morning we are woken at 6.30 am by the starting of the engine. The boat is returning to its home. But in the meantime, we can still enjoy the relative coolness of the morning, and awe over the sights in the hazy morning light.