A spice garden and an elephant farm !

As I told you in my last post we did some stops on the way up

to Munnar....

we did all the touristy things along the way

well, you can't travel to the state where the spice trade started way back in 1498 when Vasco da Gama arrived as the first european to set foot in India...

and then don't see or buy any spices....

so we stopped at a spice garden that also had fruits, trees and flowers etc
here's  some of the things we saw..
a little warning...many many pictures...

first thing I, we ran into was this BIG spider.....

when I asked if they bite they said yes, dangerous mam !

good to know

first trees where pepper....green but harvested when red to become black

I tasted the raw green ones...first time ever....tasted good but a little spicy

 ginger...used in so many dishes here...

anyone who knows ?

it's cardamom...air roots with the seeds....

this was a very rare chilli plant....

so of course I got a little green chilli fruit with me....

got to try and see if it grows back home....

coffee beans...and the coffee tasted really good I tell you...

see the tree with the white spotted bark ?

that's cinnamon...

and in front you can see cloves ..

nutmeg !

a beautiful flower...

this is a Bird of Paradise....

a Kerala lemon that's used for pickled lemon

coco beans....two kinds...

these red ones where wonderful in colour...and I could pick one to bring home...

a tree tomato

wild bananas..

and giant banana !

normal banana....??

wow ! did I ever learn a lot with the help of the guide

and then when we where walking out this guy came running across my feet...

a lizard...not sure of what kind though !?

he was such a cool guy...

we did finish our tour by shopping spices in their shop

and did I shop or what ...

then we jumped in the car and drove for another 15-20 minutes..to the elephant farm...

I sure didn't plan for this but there we where so of course we went for a ride..

I have mixed feelings about seeing these animals in chains

they sure have big and funny looking heads when you look at them from this angle...

he posed for me....

and that charming elephant was blind on one of the eyes...

this was the big guy....and they are big animals...

I sure hope they treat them well...

if you're curious about the tea plantations and our trekking be sure to check in tomorrow

see ya'