Kerala has lots of rivers coming down from the Western Ghats, so it is well-watered and green. Cochin, the main port, is built on islands, and as we had nothing planned for the morning I decided to take the local ferry across to Fort Cochin, the next island. The Indian Army gave me directions to the ferry terminal (which turned out to be for the wrong ferry) but 15 minutes later I came to the right place. There were no prices displayed or any timetable, but I met George, a tea trader, who told me they came about every half an hour and the price was 2 rupees. "Too damn cheap!" he said, and I agree - that's all of 3 pence. The current is continuous in the harbour, which gets a lot of water-hyacinth weed, and you have to admire how the helmsman manoevres the boat as we get close to the jetty.
The weed clumps into large islands in places, and on these the birds sit: masses of storks, egrets, grey herons, squacco herons and I'm sure I saw something like a buzzard, but he flew away.
Once in Fort Cochin, I walked down the road under repair, dodging the steamroller flattening the new chips and tarmac. It was all very peaceful, I think the population was largely interested in getting ready for New Year. I was aiming for the Chinese fishing nets which came here with the Mongolian invaders: Kerala seems to have been invaded about as frequently as Cyprus. The locals say the nets were designed so the Mongolians could go fishing without getting wet! They work by raining and lowering a large net on poles which are controlled by stone counterweights and a few men pulling them up. They didn't seem to be catching very much to me, but the array of fish for sale on the stalls was very impressive, even if I can't tell the difference between a baby shark and a dogfish!
After lunch back aboard, John and I went for a harbour cruise. This was delightful, two hours of gentle motoring in a soft breeze. It was so good I almost fell asleep. Instead of the morning's birds we saw terns on top of posts where yet another form of fishing net was stretched across the current, more Brahminy kites and another type of kite very like an eagle. (Actually it turns out to be a buzzard.)
It was a rush then to get back to the ships for a Captain's pre-dinner party on deck, dinner with our raucous but fun friends, and dancing on deck to the Royal Marines band. The last bit was where we bowed out, both noise and the day's activities taking their toll, so we were fast asleep when the electrical storm broke, the heavens opened and everyone had to rush indoors - this was about eleven thirty, I gather, so bad timing for the New Year.
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