Leg 3 - The sprint of 66km.

Prime water front properties in Kochi, where resident dare to touch the water!

The day started early at 0400 and we were ahead of our plan, launching from Aroor at 04:45AM. It was pitch dark and the lights from Chinese Fishing nets made direction a challenge. If you go too close to bank, you end up in Hydrogen Sulfide fields, full of prawn seedlings and gut wrenching stench. The curse of Andhakranazhi stretches all the way to Aroor; stagnant with prawn processing plant waste and all kind of stuff dumped by mankind.

   When Government fails its people; effluents pumped out from KMML, Chavara.

India's development has come at the expense of Nature, cities like Kochi with prime waterfront properties are source of waste, making it unfit for any recreational activity. Fishermen are forced to earn their livelihood, fishing these polluted water. Sandy Robson, the famed Australian Kayaker was told by a port official in India that, 'The sea is so vast, you could send a lot of stuff"!. The situation along the waterways and coast of Kerala are no different; boat yards, ice plants, prawn processing units, industrial effluents, house boats and all kinds of domestic waste are dumped in waterways. One barge operator shared how the premier space agency in Kerala had a load of noxious rocket waste dumped, 15km out at sea. The ubiquitous fishing eating Malayali (as the natives of Kerala are called), sends a lot of crap into these water; only to have it back on their dining tables. Whether its awareness or diagnostics, god knows, cancer rates have soared in Kerala!

Sunrise at Perumbalam, Kochi.

Jim and the rising Sun.

It was still dark as we went under the third & fourth pier of  the Aroor-Edakochi bridge. The outgoing tide was adding to our drag, compounded by logs that were sunk by local fishermen in the backwaters. With just two of us, paddling was much easier and a long day lay ahead. We crossed the Arror Kumbalam Bridge, tracking National Waterway - 3, southbound. None of the Buoys were working and this made navigation difficult. In Kerala, politicians are like crabs; climbing over each other to inaugurate public work and then not bothering to keep it maintained. Once in a while, a lone fisherman would cross our path or a fish/shrimp would jump in panic to land in the cockpit(we don't use skirts while paddling inland).

 

Break fast at Sukuchettans Kappikada.

As the dawn arrived, we had Perumbalam island in sight. Overhead, huge swarms of migrating birds made patterns only an artist could imagine. The red sun rose majestically to our left and in the distance one could hear the passenger boats, connecting Perumbalam to the rest of the world! The tide had considerably weekend, yet there was large distance to cover before breakfast. Our destination for breakfast was Achanthuruth, where a friendly tea shop owner was our regular port call. It was close to 745AM, when we arrived at Sukuchettans Kappikada (Malayalam for food shack). He was glad to see us and wanted to know, where the others where? Exchanging pleasantries and having charged up with breakfast, we pushed south, with Thavanakadavu as our next destination.

Jim with Suku Chettan.

It was 930AM, when we halted at Mattel Church for Jim to take some snaps. The red sun was now white, the heat was building and we were paddling through some amazing stretches of backwaters in Kerala; so still, it looked like glass! We pulled into Thavanakadavu past 10AM and parked ourselves next to the boat jetty.  Morning paddle had water hyacinth all over the backwaters and Thavanakadavu was full of it, even though the public boat service agitated them every 30minutes. 

Jim at Mattel Church.

Vaikom was our stop on the last expedition and had a KTDC hotel next to the jetty, serving good food. For lunch, we decided to take the boat to Vaikom. Coming back from lunch, Jim wanted to buy a local oar for him to take back to Australia, which we sourced after a autorickshaw trip to Puchakkal. After an hour of sleeping on a wooden boat, we said good bye to Thavanakadavu at 245PM, with Thaneermukkam bund as our next way point. We had already done 23KM to Thavanakadavu; Thaneermukkam was another 9KM and our final destination Kumarakkom was further 11KM!

Glassy waters off Vembanadu Lake, South of Perumbalam.

The sun was now on the western sky, fast dipping from a White to Red. This stretch did not have any tidal effect and the Western winds were now pushing us to our destination. It was 4PM, when we arrived at the locks at Thaneermukkam. A friendly lock operator let us to the other side, to find ourselves in a patch of water hyacinth we struggled to cut through. We were now back in fresh water and Kumarakkom was just a bearing to follow. Both of us decided to keep pushing with a filled bladder and legs crying for a desperate stretch. It was an hour later, when we took a break, climbing up a wall to eat chips and other snacks, we bought at Kollam for the sea leg. We were surprised to see a skinny female dog(sure she had litters) in this desolate place, wagging her tail and decided to leave all the remaining food for her. After the break of 20minutes, we paddled on, aiming for the big white cross at the entry to Kumarakkom Jetty. Jim marveled at the setting sun; having seen it Red in the morning and evening; a rare sight in his part of the world.

Desperate for Potato Chips after a long day of paddling.

It was dusk when we entered Kumarakkom jetty; 6PM, reaching the banks close to Mathew's home. The target for the day was Mathew's ancestral house, another 4KM away. We were so tired, we decided to quit and ask his caretaker, Ashokan Chettan to help us move the kayaks. Mathew's mom was at the church and we got access, thanks to his Aunt who was home. It was a really tiring day, one that Jim remarked, 'we rarely do in Australia'. We settled in after 43KM of paddling; the next day was 25KM, as the crow flies.

Jim, Towing the extra kayak.

Waking up at 530AM, we were at the waters edge by 615AM. The plan was to tow an additional kayak to Mathew's ancestral home, which we reached in half an hour. Paddling on, we reached H-Block, a vast stretch of combined rice farm. A local shack was our port call for breakfast and it was sad to see a Open Billed Stork being brought in to be butchered. We tried reasoning with Sabu, the owner, about the criminal act he was about to commit by poaching wildlife. Even warning him about it being a non bailable offense had no affect. Huge numbers of wetland birds visit the rice fields of Kottayam and Allapuzha during their winter migration. Except for the Kottayam Nature Society that puts annual effort in Bird count, there is no focus about these winged visitors. With dwindling wetlands and large number of winter visitors, Kerala has no reserves or sanctuaries for their conservation. Loss of habitat due to reclaiming of backwaters and wetland is a big concern in India; a signatory to the Ramsar Convention. We entered Box-Kayal (the way we call it) next to H-Block; an amazing open body of water with beautiful aquatic plants, visibility, bird life and fish. We marveled at the sight of Coots taking to the air, akin to amphibious aircraft, when disturbed. The place looked perfect for snorkeling; unfortunately no one does in Kerala. If one stopped paddling, fish could be seen swimming close by. We paddled on with motorized boats cutting path for us through water hyacinth, north of Kavalam. It was 1030AM, when we reached Kavalam and halted briefly by the Krishnapuram temple.

Water Lillie's of Box Kayal

The air was still and sun baking, making paddling challenging. Being the last day, we wanted to reach Changanacherry at the earliest. We pushed on, periodically taking shelter under trees and to take a sip of water. Paddling was at its slowest, each stroke looking difficult and demanding real effort from our tired bodies. It was at 1PM close to Kidangara bridge; we called up home, asking for the pickup vehicle to arrive. Half an hour later, we had reached our destination at Allapuzha-Changanacherry road. Congratulating each other, we jumped with all our gear to take a swim; when we heard the driver call us. He had come ahead of plan, cutting short our refreshing dip.

Loading both the kayaks, we reached home by 2PM. The 300KM, three leg circuit was completed in a span of 12 days, with no support from any sponsor. The plan for sea was a bit upset by Cyclone Vardha, yet we had completed the circuit. Another wonderful adventure with nature has concluded, with the hope to be back next year.

Kayaks and equipment, washed clear of salt and getting dried.