Yet another awsome adventure

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Wow and wow again. Hard to find words to describe the wonderful experiences we are having. We have been finding the people in Kerala to be so very genuine and welcoming. We are staying in Kollam at a place called Ashtamudi Villas. What a wonderful place,right on Lake Ashtamudi, a little out of the city, a serene place away from the hustle and bustle. Both the owner Joseph and his driver Francis speak english very well and have been a great source of information for us. Last night, Francis took Andrew and I and two others into town to see some of the festivals going on at the temples.( apparently it is festival season and over the next few weeks every temple in Kerala will host a festival) These are very elaborate affairs and are devoted to one god or another depending on the temple. Francis is extremly knowledgable about the history and reasons for each festival. He took us to see the highlights of several of them. It was wonderful. Then to make the evening perfect, he took us to his home to meet his wife and little daughter. Then, this morning he picked us up bright and early to drive us into the backwaters where he had arranged for a canoe to take us through the canals. What a lovely peaceful place. On the way he stopped so we could see a large group of women, each with their own cooking pot and little fire, preparing an offering for yet another goddess. It just keeps getting better and better.

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Photos

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More elephants, all dressed for the celebrations

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Elephants being seranaded by drums and horns

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Drum and horn group. Note the circular horns

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close up of circular horns. The have a very haunting sound

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yet another elephant, by the way, each picture is different elephat

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Women preparing offerings for some goddess

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life in the backwaters

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drying coconut to be pressed for oil

Comments

[Katrina]

Travis loves all the elephant pictures! But we'd like to see you two again too!