TREKKING IN THE RAINFOREST JUNGLE

Hello from the deep south... of India that is... a muggy place with beaches, mountains, rain forests, tribal communities, a democratically elected communist government, and a well-boasted 100% literacy rate among it's citizens. You haven't guessed the place yet? Well its tropical Kerala, located at the southern most tip of India. Kerala is known as the perfect place to watch the Arabian Sea collide with the Bay of Bengal.

We've been spending our time in homestays, mostly located in hill stations at the base of the mountains, just West of Tamil Nadu (check out the map link to the right). One of our most adventurous experiences was a trek into the Periyer Wildlife Reserve. Among many species of wild plants and animals we saw, these were especially breathtaking: sandbar dear, horned bills, trinket snakes, black languor monkeys, giant squirrels, wild boar, egrets, stork, bison, and Asian elephants (mama and baby!). We were told it was rare to see so many animals in one day of trekking. I think all the animals caught whiff of our Seattle-scent and recognized the pro-animal rights vibe, being from the great Pacific Northwest and all. Yep, and the animals wanted us to give a shout out to all you great folks keepin it live at the Salish Sea.

Maybe the animals weren't ALL so friendly: last year a tourist here was eaten by a sloth bear because she had her two children with her and couldn't run away fast enough. Now there are no children allowed in the jungle... it impedes ones ability to run away from the predators. Strapped up with our best running shoes, we first crossed a bamboo bridge covered with millions of rhana tegrina frogs. These black hoppers were piling on top of each other, trying to stay wet in the scorching heat and fast-drying marsh. Hearing the sound of all of them squishing together was reminiscent of stirring a hot casserole. Crossing the frog bridge was like walking on a moving carpet. Not stepping on frogs was impossible. Frogs not stepping on us was impossible. Later that afternoon, on our way back from trekking, the frog bridge had turned into a frog bake; and the egrets were happily picking off the crispy critters for lunch.

Other than the frog bridge, much of our trek involved wading through knee high yellow grasses, trying to avoid colossal piles of elephant dung. At one point, we realised we had walked right in between the scent trail of a male elephant and two females with a baby. We quickly cut across the savanna in time to see the two females and baby charge into the forest, chirping high tones as a warning not to follow them. At another point in our trek, deeper into the jungle, we found tiger paw prints in the dirt, claw marks scratching 10 feet up a tree, dear bones strewn about, and the rotting smell of flesh having been satisfactorily eaten and left in the sun for scavengers. Needless to say we kept moving!

That evening we boarded an old-school riverboat which took us out to watch the wild animals gather at the watering hole for a cool drink. The sun was setting by this time and Travis had taken well to his persona as National Geographic Wildlife Photographer: comparing lens sizes and shooting strategies with other photographers, competing for the best shots and showing off his talents to the locals. He got some wonderful pics that we will post here as soon as we get out of the mountains to a faster than snot-paced internet connection.

In celebration of our adventure, we ended our day with Ayurvedic massages (1hr.=$10) before gorging on a dinner of mutton curry and vegetable biriyani. It is our unanimous vote that south Indian food is far superior to north Indian food (as evidenced by our appetites). They use fresh coconut and hand picked spices in their dishes here... amazingly delicious. I am collecting recipes for when we get home. Who wants to sample the goodness first??