Kerala

Sensuous, sticky air hangs lethargically over rows of bending palms along the Kochi highway. Silken saris sweep by a string of tempting spice shops where bubbling masala fish curry and freshly grated cardamom percolate into beads of sweat piling up on our skin. Chinese fishing nets curtsy to the brackish water like lace-clad cotillion girls with their modest hauteur. Burgeoning rice fields spring forth triumphantly from spongy soils, folding cheerfully into the sinuous backwaters of Alleppey. 

Burly, wood-planked boats crawl sluggishly downstream; their bamboo and palm-leafed roofs creak gingerly under a determined sun. Skirt-clad fisherman in flat-bottomed canoes maneuver swiftly across murky waters in search of mullet and Karimeen. Kingfishers glide over green lagoons keeping a sharp eye out for mudskippers and frogs. Long-haired ladies squat on lush, green banks dipping piles of cotton into foamy, green billows of water. Young boys bob in and out of lily pad bunches, heaving themselves up with their sinewy arms to the tops of wooden poles. Clamorous singing erupts from a small school of children repeating lines in Malayalam. A team of ducklings paddles wildly to their mothers; their whimsical quacks force a merry laugh from each us. 

The end of the day broods on. A burnt orange ball slinks surreptitiously behind endless rows of sleepy coconut trees until it slips off the edge into the unknown. The inky night sets in as mosquitos emerge from their hiding places. Giant, fruit bats hang upside down from tree boughs peering at us with their unflinching, red eyes. The captain calls us down for dinner. Curried prawns smothered in coconut milk, hot rice roti called pathiri, steamed rice with spiced okra, pickled cabbage slaw that will burn your mouth off, and a whole pineapple are served. We eat until we fall into a blissful coma with Waylon Jennings rocking us to sleep on the stereo. 

Goodnight, Kerala.  

Now that's a work of art!

Chinese fishing nets.

Of course we had to buy fresh seafood! And our guesthouse owner cooked for us.

Aaron and Lanier checking out the rice fields - being total AG dorks. 

Lanier really enjoyed all of the communist party posters.

Munnar - tea gardens

Lanier and Aaron enjoying the mountain air and a plate of onion pakora.

Cherai Beach

We swam all day until we were exhausted and sunburned.

Had the beach all to ourselves.

Keralan prawns in chili and garlic sauce, calamari fry, lemon-infused rice and rice roti.