Beach life

Friday 19th. A busy day doing not a lot lay ahead. Swimming was interesting as both of us encountered fish. A very large silvery fish jumped out of the water in front of Christine, and I accidentally struck a smaller greenish fish with my hand whilst swimming.

After lunch we took a tuk-tuk into Kannur to arrange train tickets to Alleppey and restock our money supply. The driver suggested rather than spending an hour queuing at the station, that we go to a travel agent where for a few rupees they would make the booking online.

It turned out that all trains to Alleppey on Sunday were fully booked, the best we could hope for was to be number 27 on the standby waiting list. So we changed dates to Monday when we could at least get seats on a train, even if not air conditioned.

The driver then took us on a tour of likely ATM machines. The third one that we visited allowed us IR10000 on each debit card, so now we had enough cash for the rest of the Indian trip ( we hope). I think the limit is because most machines are stocked with IR500 notes and the maximum that can be dispensed at a time is twenty

Back we went to explain that we were now stranded in paradise for another day, which caused neither us nor the kind lady at the Blue Mermaid any grief whatsoever.

Another swim, and I think I have found some small dentalium shells ( shells of a scaphopod), then yet another magnificent meal featuring spicy fish. Oh it's a tough life being a tourist.

Saturday 20th. Much like yesterday except even less done. Eventually we did manage to book a hotel in Alleppey, the internet connectivity here is patchy to say the least. This is far outweighed by the combination of culinary excellence, good weather and a fantastic beach.

Sunday 21st. Gosh. Even less done than yesterday. It's fascinating that the profile of the beach has altered completely in the short time that we have been here. Weather still sunny and hot, but the waves were too strong for swimming today. Spiced fish with a very tasty thali for supper.