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'

Along the road up up up to Munnar, Kerala...

it was such a great drive from Cochin to Munnar

even though it was a long one...but it didn't feel long..

we found ourselves sitting in the car trying to take in all the scenery

meaning our heads where going from side to side trying to look at everything...

so hang on ....

I promise it will not take five hours to look at the pictures...

even  though there are plenty...

in Cochin we drove by the old bridge that the englishmen built....nowadays only for bikes and walkers....

flower vendor ...and a Keralite or a Malayalis,  in the traditional lungi...the guys wrap around...

I forgot to tell you that in Kerala they don't speak hindi...

they speak malayalam...

hmm....a palindrome....

 it really sounds different compared to hindi...at least when listening with our ears...

beautiful colours and so neatly displayed...

bananas bananas...everywhere we saw bananas...

did you know that there are 15 !! kinds of bananas...I didn't...

Kerala is famous for their banana chips....or fries....looks like french fries....

the greenery was impressive.....do you know what this is ?

it's a vegetable....

it was tapioca....the roots are like big potatoes...just sweeter....

everywhere we saw ananas growing...

yes, it is ananas in Hindi....

it's the same in swedish

some fruit ready for harvest....

half way we had a short coffee stop...got our own little hut....

and had some really nice coffee and

of course a snack...our first bananas...lightly fried and

 oh so good....

peeked out from the hut and saw and heard this wood pecker....

a black rumped flameback woodpecker !

bitter nuts or areca nuts or betel nuts, are grown all over....

often eaten wrapped in paan, betel leaves.....

and of course we did see rice fields....this is a drenched one....that's what they do when it's been harvested....

before planting again...

then we got to the first waterfall...

Cheeyappara....big and everybody wanted to have a look and walk behind the water....

the fall dropps in seven steps....

since it's a tourist attraction many vendors are drawn to the falls....

like this beautiful lady selling pineapple, mango, pickled things etc etc....

Kerala is also the coconut state...grows everywhere and eaten every day....

drink the water as a drink and eat the meat fresh...

yummy

not far away we stopped at waterfall number two...smaller but still as beautiful..

this one is Wallara waterfall...

the road up is on winding serpentine roads....

now you can see that we have travelled up a bit....

saw this sign early on and thought ...

why are they having warning signs for pirates ?

haha....it was of course warning signs because of DANGER.....sharp curves and narrow lanes...

the view was already breath taking....

third and last fall was Kallar waterfall...powerful one....

after a couple of hours we where up at our homestay Kollenkeril..

and they had a tree house that we climbed up into...

so peaceful, fresh air and views to kill for....

it truly is Gods own country

our little home stay Kollenkeril

on our way up we also stopped at a spice garden and an elephant place

so I guess I'll show you some of that in my next post

so if you like spices be sure to check in...

Kochin, Kerala....Gods own country

as most of you already know I, we have been on the road...in the air...on the boat
for the last couple of days
and sometimes when you're on the move.... wifi is not your best friend...
but maybe it was a good thing...
I didn't have to worry about the blog (kind off)
and what a vacation we've had

we've been in Gods own country, Kerala and as I told you on FB
this is as close to paradise I will ever get
as you can guess we've seen a lot and done a lot so I have so many things to share
it's going to be a week filled with Kerala here on the blog
so if you are up for a trip to the  south
hang on....

we started out by flying to Cochin
took us 2 hours and 50 minutes...
where we stayed one night at a homestay, Arches in old town

I will tell you about Vasco di Gama, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British in the last post from Kerala because that's when we did the sight seeing in town

felt like we had the place to ourselves when we sat on the rooftop restaurant and had our seafood dinner....then it was good night....

at 7 the next morning we where up and on the go....our street Rose street....suits the Rosens don't you think ?

we walked the street down to the water....see it ?

down by the water we found many really nice home stays and hotels....

picturesque streets with rain trees giving shade

it was the englishmen who brought the rain trees here from Brazil..

Rose street from the water...

everybody who comes to Cochin wants to have a look at the Chinese fishing nets...they are really all over the waterways around here....and they are special..well, at least if you haven't seen them before...

 the net is in the water when the rocks are up in the air

yes, we where really touristy....but it was fun....

Mr M sang along with the fishermen....

anyhow, now the rocks go down into the water and the net comes up...

such a clever invention.....

see the net is up and he's looking to see what's in there....we got a coconut, some garbage and some tiny fishes...

taking care of the fish...

by the way, the net goes up and down about 5-600 times a day !

catch of the day so far was this cat fish...

and a mix....they had also caught a lot of shrimp...looked like the kind they sell dried....

such a beautiful place early in the morning...

then it was time for us to get into the car and start our journey up to Munnar

so if you are curious of what happened along the road up up up

be sure to look at the next post