Monday 17th September: Brunton Boatyard Hotel, Fort Cochin
How do millions of Indians start their day? Doing yoga of course! So to get us in the swing of things the bravest members of our group headed for yoga at 7am with Yoga master Aswathy Padivattom.
It would be fair to say it was like no other yoga class we had experienced. He was a short dynamic and of course, very flexible, man who delighted in telling us very important things about yoga, most of which we couldn't understand.The best aspect of his class was that we had to relax and lie still for a few seconds between each move while he chanted "Breathe in and out" (well I think that's what he was saying!) So that gave our bodies time to recover before the next move!
Breakfast was to everyone's taste: Indian dosas were the favourite choice.
Then it was Conference time -yes we are here to do some serious work!
A fabulous session about Crooked problems, presented by Marcia and Linda, provoked a great deal of discussion which continued for the rest of the day.....and will probably continue far longer.
In the afternoon it was time for a guided walking tour of Fort Cochin which sits on the junction of the Arabic Sea and, like many of the Fort areas we have seen elsewhere, has been occupied by the Portuguese, Dutch and the English. Each have left traces of their architecture in this old town.
The experience of actually lowering and removing the traditional community fishing nets was a high point especially trying to not fall down a hole in the platform, get tangled in ropes or being hit by a rock being used as a weight. All very exhausting!
The local celebrity was the explorer Vasco Da Gama whose house we passed on the way. The photos tell the story as we wandered around town, had delicious high tea at Trinity cafe and returned to the Boatyard via the beach and a superb sunset.
After some quiet time recuperating from all of that exercise assisted by the odd G&T we headed to the Malabar Junction restaurant for a great dinner which included seafood Biryani and Chocolate samosas with nougat ice cream.
After another busy day bed was a wonderful sight!
your well-fed and happy correspondent
Dianne
How do millions of Indians start their day? Doing yoga of course! So to get us in the swing of things the bravest members of our group headed for yoga at 7am with Yoga master Aswathy Padivattom.
It would be fair to say it was like no other yoga class we had experienced. He was a short dynamic and of course, very flexible, man who delighted in telling us very important things about yoga, most of which we couldn't understand.The best aspect of his class was that we had to relax and lie still for a few seconds between each move while he chanted "Breathe in and out" (well I think that's what he was saying!) So that gave our bodies time to recover before the next move!
Breakfast was to everyone's taste: Indian dosas were the favourite choice.
Then it was Conference time -yes we are here to do some serious work!
A fabulous session about Crooked problems, presented by Marcia and Linda, provoked a great deal of discussion which continued for the rest of the day.....and will probably continue far longer.
In the afternoon it was time for a guided walking tour of Fort Cochin which sits on the junction of the Arabic Sea and, like many of the Fort areas we have seen elsewhere, has been occupied by the Portuguese, Dutch and the English. Each have left traces of their architecture in this old town.
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| Vasco Da Gama's house |
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| The grandmothers in the group in front of the tree known locally as a 'Grandma's Tree' |
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| St Francis Church, one of the earliest Catholic churches in India |
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| A Hindu ceremony to farewell Ganesha on the local beach |
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| And there was some shopping of course!!!! Anokhi. |
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| And more of the endless river traffic......... |
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| And the local salesman at work |
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| Coloured powders for festivals |
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| Some of the (not very large!) catch from the nets |
The experience of actually lowering and removing the traditional community fishing nets was a high point especially trying to not fall down a hole in the platform, get tangled in ropes or being hit by a rock being used as a weight. All very exhausting!
The local celebrity was the explorer Vasco Da Gama whose house we passed on the way. The photos tell the story as we wandered around town, had delicious high tea at Trinity cafe and returned to the Boatyard via the beach and a superb sunset.
After some quiet time recuperating from all of that exercise assisted by the odd G&T we headed to the Malabar Junction restaurant for a great dinner which included seafood Biryani and Chocolate samosas with nougat ice cream.
After another busy day bed was a wonderful sight!
your well-fed and happy correspondent
Dianne
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