Pivot Point - Kochi

So now we are in Kochi, formerly Cochin, on the southeast cost of India, in the state of Kerala, and everything is a whole new kettle of fish. For one thing there is fish. In abundance. It is our first time seeing the Arabian Sea, and there is a large deep sea port, a huge naval base and coast guard base here. It is serene and lush, full of coconut palms, flowers and birdsong, over 30 degrees and humid so we are a bit wiped out with our head colds zapping almost all our strength.

It’s one of the most organically multicultural places you could find. It has been on the spice route for centuries, with trade between Greeks, Romans, Jews, Syrians, Arabs and Chinese since ancient times. The Chinese left their mark with fishing nets that are used to this day; great cantilevered things that catch prawns. Martin was invited to pull up the net to reveal a modest catch - one huge tiger prawn, hundreds of baby prawns and a couple of pearl sport fish.

Martin heaving the 3 weighted level to life the net
out of the water

nets not in use, with a small hut for a person to sleep in for security

well-named pearl spot fish

The Portuguese were the first outsiders to settle here, in 1500. If you want to blame anyone for globalization, top of the list would be Dutch explorer Vasco de Gama, whose first voyage to India (1499) joined the Atlantic and Indian oceans, and thus the West and the Orient. He died in Kochi in 1524, and his body was buried here, until his remains were taken back to Portugal.

During that time of Portuguese settlement, Jews arrived, having been chased out of Kodungailur to the south, where they’d been living since the first century AD! By the mid-17^th century, the Dutch arrived and took over. Nowadays it is hard to imagine that small Portugal and Holland were once the rulers of the world. Something that not-too-many future generations might feel the same about Britain. Or even the USA.

The Dutch East India Company was THE world player in international trade, until the British came along in 1814 to share space and then take it over. In 1947, when India achieved colonial independence, Cochin was the first princely state to join the union by choice.

We are now mentally (if not physically yet) prepared to make the leap to the trekking part of our trip. We will be hiking, camping, staying in hill stations, wandering through tea plantations and spice farms, houseboating and hostelling, and it’s very unsure as to the potential for wifi, so if you don’t see any posts for the next 11 days you will know why. A bientot!