On a hot, muggy morning, we made our approach towards the pilot station. There had been a shift change in the port and as a consequence he was running late; Port Control advised us to ‘keep coming’ and they would meet us in the channel.
Overview of the approach
The harbour, our track in orange to the berth. An alternative berth on the east side, is the solid red line, however we didn’t use it.
A muggy sunrise
Cochin is another port I visited long ago and unsurprisingly, it has changed. The approach though is wonderful, passing the ‘old town’ of Mattancheri on our starboard side as we did so.
Coming down the channel
The old town and foreshore
‘Chinese’ fishing nets
Fishermen hauling nets in preparation for another day’s fishing
Into the final channel, Mattancheri’s east side
A vehicular ferry
Approaching the dock
Having docked, we all then had to go through India’s Immigration procedure, face-to-face with passports, visas and heaven knows what; a ‘shore pass’ and a copy of the passport were then given to guests and crew alike. It’s not quite over though, when going ashore, all passes are checked at the gangway and similarly, when coming back, checked again, phew……………
That having been accomplished, time to get those photos for you. Whilst a number of guests chose tours or taxis and tuk-tuk, we chose to get a ferry across to Mattancheri, the terminal being some 200 yards from the bow. A (very) hot walk and, when we were a short distance away, the sight of the ferry leaving, darn it. We stood in the shade as we pondered waiting 20 minutes for it to return when a gentleman suggested that a passing ferry, not assigned to the route, might take us if we were willing to ‘wave’ some rupees at him. That did the trick 😉 and off we set, heading for the Boat Station in Mattancheri’s Jews Town, as it is called. An opportunity for photos as we crossed.
On the dock
Another view
Our ‘missed’ ferry
A passing fisherman
Lovely children waiting for the ferry
Big children, :-), on the ferry
Approaching the dock, (climbing across 3 boats to reach land)
Jew’s Town is a maze of shops and bazaars, the ladies browsing and me photographing.
Decorations galore
Magnificent carvings
And colours
Ladies tidying their shop
Colourful carvings
And vast statues
The street
A spice shop
Buses have ‘no glass’ air-conditioning
Bags of spice
All forms of transport
Advice as one alights at the Boat Station
Then, off to the north end of the island, this time though we took our lives in our hands and went by tuk-tuk. Weaving through the streets was a life and death experience, horns sounding, avoiding anything on wheels and on legs, goats to be precise, scores of them. One had to ensure that our drivers, (they were 3 of us in 2 tuk-tuks), did not stop at ‘nephews, uncles, brothers shops on the way. 🙂
To the Forthouse hotel for lunch; on the north shore, with lovely views, what else but curry?
The entrance
The view
Patiently waiting for curry
Chicken
And mine, prawn. (There is a big bowl of it, out of shot and yes, I ate it all…delicious!
Replete with lunch, another hair-raising ride, this time to the area where the Chinese fishing nets are. The inevitable stalls, however a photographers delight.
Meals-on-wheels, one of many food carts
The nets, they lower them into the water
Going it alaone
