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Published: March 16th 2010
So, Saturday morning, up at about 6:30am. Great coffee waiting for us, and some filling food to sustain us on the climb. About 7:15, our 'jeep' arrived. Actually, it was the Indian equivalent of a Vauxhall Corsa! But we all fitted in, even with the big lunch and huge bag of bananas and bottles of water provided.
(A word about the water. On our first night, we were interested to be given a jug of liquid, and when we poured it into our glasses, it was a faint rosy colour, so we expected some form of fruit, Actually, it was quite warm, and it tasted part medicinal, part chemical, so we assumed it had been treated with something; it would have been an acquired taste, if you had the inclination to acquire it! It was only much later that we learned it was infused with a whole lot of ayerdurvic herbs, and was designed to be exceedingly beneficial! After we discovered this, it tasted much better!)
We set off on the 40 minute drive to where the trek would begin. Lots of monkeys on route, white-face and black-face. Once there, we sorted out the permit, and met our tribal guide. Jils, our driver told us he would accompany us too, as the tribesman spoke no English.
The trek was very gentle to start with - as you would expect. But as we got higher, and the sun got higher, it got harder. The tribesman, of course, bare-footed, had to keep stopping to wait for us, but I'm sure that was normal to him.
There were recent signs of tigers and elephants, but sadly not the animals themselves. But we saw barking deer, otherwise known locally as forest goats, malibar squirrels, bison, and a lot of monkeys. So fewer forms of fauna than in the back garden at home!
The trek to the peak took about 4 hours, and we felt pretty good about ourselves. At the top, we sat in the shade of some big rocks, and ate the lunch provided by Bhina - a sort of cous-cous, with lots of vegetables mixed in, served on banana leaves. Really delicious, and great for stamina. Then some rock-climbing, to get to a cave which is the home of about half a million bats. Baska hated the climbing, so I kept her company, along with Sarah, only Stephen venturing in. He said it was fantastic, as the bats are just winging around very close. But he took some video, so we sort of experienced it!
The journey down was a bit faster, but still took about 3 1/2 hours, and by the time we got back to the 'jeep' we were pretty exhausted. Back to the farm, and yet another of Bhina's wonderful creations - beef curry, served with a vegetable curry made from the seeds of the jackfruit - we didn't even realise they were edible, but she got brought out a jackfruit and showed us how she prepared the seeds. The beef curry was delicious, though the meat itself was so tough it was pretty impossible to chew. Then Varghese explained that in Wayanad, beef means buffalo; the meat of a cow is simply called 'meat'!
And with the dinner, a few bottles of ice cold Kingfisher appeared on the table! Boy, did that go down well. And by about 9pm, we were tucked in and snoring.
Sunday, we are heading off towards Hampi - not yet sure of how we will get there, but I'm sure we will manage it. Watch this space!
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Pat Kehoe
non-member comment
Batty
Hi Mick and Baska ...are you a 'batty' man or what, Mick Johnson? Climbed all that way and then didn't go into the cave!!! Kept Baska company... any excuse! No, I'm sure you were being the perfect considerate husband. Sounds like you are having a really exciting time, and the food and 'water' sound good too! But you'd expect that in the land where our most popular take-away comes from. Love Pat