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Published: October 27th 2007
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Turtle Soup
We killed this big sea turtle and ate it. Definetly not worth it because the meat was really tough. Just a joke! We found it like this I swear! India is home to the adventure and culture we've been chasing. After a week in Bangkok we made haste to the Andaman Islands. As soon as we got off the plane in Port Blair we were sure we wouldn't find any more surfers there. It was like stepping into a time capsule. There are blacksmiths, tailors, bakers, wood workers, and so on, but there are no one-stop-shops here. Every one has their own trade and they stick to it. And get this, if you order a coffee but its tea time, too bad come back when the coffee is brewing or learn to like tea. Plus all the stores and restaurants actually close at night and re-open in the morning. Yeah, there is no 24 hour 7-11's.
Every country we have been in has certain road etiquette, and India is no exception. Almost anything goes on the roads here and they're only as wide as a bus. At one time I saw a bus, a cab, an auto-rickshaw, 2 mopeds, 3 goats, a bull, 4 water buffalo, 2 chickens, a family of 5 and a dog all crossing paths on the same thin stretch of road. Try carrying a pack
Cattle Snooze
For some odd reason these things prefer to sleep in the middle of the road. and a surf board in the mud while all of this is going on, and still be aware of the fresh piles of cow dung. After the initial shock wore off we rented some scooters in search of waves on the west coast. We spent a day enjoying the beautiful country side and farm land outside of Port Blair, and we kicked ourselves for not bringing our bass fishing rigs. No waves, but a day well spent. Back at our hotel we met a few Indian kids that were on vacation and we ended up playing cards and sharing stories for a few hours. The next day they asked us to pose for pictures with their family members. Sounds weird but they were all stoked to see international travelers. After a few days land locked we couldn't stand the thought of world class waves crashing just around the corner so we headed to the sea. Our only problem was that we had to wait in line to buy our boat ticket. Sounds easy however Indians have a complete disregard for lines. It's more like a flood smashing into a damn, so if you give an inch someone will fill it.
Not a Dirt Bike
But it is a rental. Brett at the end of the road with an incredible veiw. We met a couple French Canadian girls there who said it took them 3 hours to get tickets. We quickly developed a technique we like to call The Flood Gate; it's a 6-foot-double-wide-power-stance that could stop a small army. After that, carrying our gear for 4 km at 4 am to catch our boat seemed like a walk in the park.
Now, we'll be referring to the island we stayed at as Anonymous Andaman Island (AAI). We have chosen an alias for two reasons. First, these blogs are used as informational tools by travelers so we don't want a bunch of surfer/fisherman going out there and stinking up the place just yet. Secondly, the Andaman Nicobar Archipelago is made up of thousands of islands, we want you discover some more! I should also note that these islands were devastated by a Tsunami in 2004 and relief efforts are slow in many parts. Most of the shops in town were constructed with plywood and corrugated metal sheets. Fallen trees, closed roads and empty slabs are commonplace and many islanders still live in Tsunami relief camps. Oh yeah and some of the islands, including the one we were on, still have
Amigos
Our friends at Hornbill Nest guest house. They wanted to know everything about American culture. But their biggest concer....'Who's the best dancer in America?' restricted areas reserved for tribes!
Anyhow, during our endless boat ride we met a reverend who let us know the best place to stay in town. It turned out to be the perfect place for us, and the reverend was good company too. Our first day on Anonymous Andaman Island (AAI) was pure discovery. We hit the beach with our machetes and started walking towards the swell. We found empty beaches and amazing reefs as far as we could walk. We would walk from point to point and just laugh at how amazing it was. We really lucked out that day because there was swell in the water and we locked down a world class slabbing left. Once we ran out of drinking water we hopped of the beach and into the shade of the jungle. There we ran into a group of Tsunami refugees from another island and they invited us to walk with them while they sang songs and collected fruit from the jungle. They were some of the nicest people I have ever met and despite their struggles they seemed to be in wonderful spirits. Our nights usually consisted of a card game with the previously
Us?? Lost???
I think that this map shows us going south. Wait a minute....it's upside down! mentioned French Canadians and one night we even lined up a dinner party with the other 4 backpackers on the island. Our days were 100% adventure. We surfed, rode the bus down every road possible, went hand-line fishing, discovered an under water thermal vent, got leaches during a deep jungle trek, walked miles of coastline and were regulars at all the local eateries. Plus all of our adventures were a little spooky because we kept hearing stories of man eating salt water crocodiles.
We really enjoyed everything this island had to offer, despite the endless string of mosquito bites. There's a great variety of people and we got different looks from all of them. Some would do a double take and stare, while others would approach us and practice their English. Most of them seemed proud of their home and they were happy to have guests that enjoyed the place as much as we did.
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RT'S Mom
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On the move again
Sounds like you had a great time there, the pics are great. On to Madagaskar!