One of the coolest parts about being in Kerala was being steps from both the backwaters and the beach. For those not in the know, the backwaters are channel-like lagoons that snake through parts of inland Kerala, and the beach, well it's the beach. The backwaters are for most tourists one of the main reasons for coming to Kerala: images of houseboats floating lazily through small villages abound in any travel brochure. As we only had a little time in Kerala we didn't go for the full Keralan backwaters experience, but there's always next time! The place we stayed did allow for a taste of the backwaters though. We first got sight of some of these "cultural attractions" on the ride over the bridge to the island. These are Chinese fishing nets. They're incredibly sculptural and beautiful, at least to the eye of a former sculpture major!
Fish is a big part of Keralan culture, and so is fishing by default. Our first morning, I awoke around sunrise with Annie and went out to see what was happening. What I saw was really pretty amazing; from far up the river I watched a group of seven or eight canoes travelling in a group. They started out in a fairly wide circle, and then as if it was choreographed, the circle would of canoes would tighten and then all the fishermen in the various boats would throw their nets into the center of the circle. When they did this, the other person in the boat would use a long bamboo pole to stop the boat from moving, and the net thrower would haul in the catch. I don't know a whole lot more unfortunately about what they were catching, but it was pretty magical to watch.
Here's a little video, a little boring, but I think it shows the amazing choreography of this daily ritual.
I got Jo and Annie up and we all enjoyed watching the group of fishers progress down the river.
Well, Jo did at least, Annie enjoyed the snuggles
Later on, we continued to enjoy the river side in this little bamboo tree house near our room.
From there we were able to watch another interesting fishing practice; these women (yes, not guys) swum alongside their canoes, and then dove down and used what looked like a wire sieve being used to haul something out, which was then strained and then dropped into a bucket that floated next to the canoe. They stayed at this for hours, moving along the river. What they were catching I have no idea, but it sure made for interesting watching as we enjoyed the tree house.
Knitting in the tree house
Treehouses are fun!
From the sunrise each morning to our time in the tree house we really enjoyed watching a little bit of river life.
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