Fort Cochin
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We have spent a couple of days exploring Our first visit was in company with Jackamy and Sol Maria,
after catching the ferry from the marina across to It was all an education…the ticket office had a
separate queue for men and women and the ferry had an interesting control
system ! As you can see below, the passengers all sat around the
exposed engine which was operated manually with levers. The driver outside
could not see or hear the operator and gave instructions by ringing a bell
– 1 for stop, 2 for go, 3 for faster etc !
Amazingly we arrived safely by which time we were all ready
for lunch. Lisa had bought her Lonely Planet guide book and so we took
jumped in some rickshaws and headed off to a local restaurant recommended in
the book – what a great find. Our hosts were a local couple who produced delicious local
Kerala dishes for us along with freshly made lime and ginger soda’s (most
restaurants here are not allowed to serve alcohol here)
After lunch we took a mini tour in our rickshaws, first stop
was St Francis Church, then the Basilica below which was very ornate inside
with fantastic hand paintings on the ceiling Second stop, the ginger processer and wholesaler. The ginger is dried in the sun then graded and ground into
powder ready to sell.
We arrived at the same time as a new delivery of raw ginger
arrived by cart. Gavin couldn’t resist getting stuck in and helping them
unload !
Finally we headed through the streets, back to the ferry terminal.
This time the ferry was segregated too – women at the front and men at
the back in separate compartments. Well, I agree, we should travel first class
while the men travel economy ! |
