Adventure in the deep seas

My cousin brother MC was our pillar of support and strength during the days we  spent in Kerala. So when I asked him if there would be any chance at all to go along with the local fishermen on one of their morning fishing trips into the deep ocean, he convinced me that it was the most dangerous thing I could think of doing.

But knowing him and his spirit I knew that he also thought that it would be once in a lifetime experience which he also had never considered doing. He actually ended up requesting some of the local fishermen at Marari if this would be possible. 

They  agreed with the condition that we would be doing this trip completely at our own risk. So that was the beginning of our boat ride into the middle of the Indian ocean. The fishermen got their little boat into the water and all of us climbed in very carefully. We were asked to remain still and to distribute our weight evenly in order to prevent any chance of toppling into the ocean!!

2 kms into the ocean and we could not see any signs of the land around us. This was the exact moment when I frantically started praying and hoping that nothing would happen. The fishermen put in their nets and also a flag indicating the spot and then continued moving into the ocean at around 3 kms from land. When I caught the first wiggling fish in my hand I was mighty excited. Little bunny decided against holding the fish with the fear that her hands would start stinking :-) 

The fishermen were so calm and composed and after pulling in their fishing nets asked us if we would like to
continue our journey into the ocean. With MC feeling a little sea sick we decided that it was time to head back to land.

 

All of us were really glad to be back on the shore and we realised that we caught about 65-70 fish and in turn the fishermen were also happy to get a gift from little bunny for all their hard work.

Sheer bliss!

Visiting extended family was definitely high on the agenda during our stay in Kerala. At the same time staying in a place where we had our own space was definitely also a blessing.

The Marari beach resort made a perfect getaway. Waking up to early morning walks on the beach, watching lone fishermen trying to get their own private catch, seeing the fish dry on the sands are sights that will forever stick in my mind's eye.

Little bunny made friends with the local fishermen and they let her sit with them as they were going about their daily chores. She definitely has her own way with people I should admit.

But her favorite past time was collecting shells of all types and sizes, sometimes needing her own assistant who could bend down and pick them up ;-)

Sheer bliss indeed!!!

Fresh seafood?

Got up early in the morning, woke up the kids promising them that they are in for some exciting activity for the next hours. All ready and set and we drove to the Malpe fishing harbour a cosy little fishermen's hamlet to experience first hand how the fishing industry works in practice.

We thought we were early but the whole place was thronging with activity with people putting up their catch for auction and and trawlers brimming with fish coming into the harbour to unload their precious booty.

 

Kingfish, pomfret, mackerls, sardines, prawns, ray fish, squids and many other fishes which I don't recognize could be seen everywhere. What I found interesting was that the men go fishing and the women would sell them in the nearby markets.

 

The catch at Malpe is distríbuted through the whole of South India together with fish coming in from the states of Kerala and Tamilnadu. We could also catch sights of the fishermen painstaikingly repairing their fishing nets in preparation for the next day's work.

Fort Cochin

I have a new favorite travel destination on my list now. It is the old and historic Fort Cochin in Kerala. The Portuguese were here in the 1500s and they definitely seem to have left their mark in this beautiful little place. What you experience is a mixture of cultures from Kerala, Portugal, Britian and the Dutch.

I loved the spice markets with their rich display of spices in pots and bags lining the streets. I learnt that there were times when the currency used for trading was mainly a barter of pepper.

The place even had a Jewish minority and one of the oldest Jewish towns in India can be found here.

Numerous Chinese fishing nets line the harbour and it is definitely a mechanical masterpiece.

Little bunny loved the ferry trip to the little island of Vypin from Fort Cochin and back. She and her grandmother checked out all the amazing bric-à-brac sold in the street markets of Mattancherry close to Fort Cochin and she quickly realised that convicing her grandmother to buy her all the little things she wanted was much easier than convincing me :-)

I definitely plan to go back to this place again and I really hope that this is going to be soon.