Cochin, India

I put this photo at the beginning because I liked the butterfly buildings.  This shoreline, in the mainland portion of the city, was across the water from our berth on the manmade island of Willingdon, one of three islands in the Port of Kochi.  

Called Cochin by the British, the locals have reverted to calling it Kochi.  The area was first colonized by the Portuguese in 1503 as part of the lucrative spice trade, specifically peppercorns.  The Portuguese were supplanted by the Dutch East India Company in 1663 and maintained control until 1795 when the British came.  It is the capital of the state of Kerula.

The first part of our excursion was a one-hour harbor cruise around the islands that form this metropolitan area of 2.1 million.  Our boat was a twin of the one shown above.  We were told we might see dolphins and were rewarded by these two.  

Our guide pointed out the local typical fishing boat... 

 in contrast to these "coracles", or round basket-like boats which originate from areas farther inland in India.  In the one closest to us, the husband took care of the rowing, and the wife let out or took in the net.

He also pointed out the fish auction taking place in this covered dockside area.  

Of particular interest are these "Chinese" fishing nets.  They are a horizontal net raised and lowered by means of rock-weighted ropes which act as counter weights.  

I enjoyed the graceful movements as the nets were lowered and raised.  The catch was very small and the guide pointed out that there is no size limit.  The nets are only in the water for a few minutes before they are raised and the handful of fish pulled out.  The fishermen can stop and take their catch to a place a block away where the fish will be cooked for them.  This is very much a hand to mouth existence.  

I'm not sure if these were caught in the Chinese nets or not, but they were for sale in the same vicinity.  The prawns were huge and we were told they were quite inexpensive.  

The Mattancherry (cheri means street) district contains the remnants of a Jewish settlement begun in 1344.  They were also involved in the worldwide spice trade.  Although the community is quite small now, there is still an active synagogue, the oldest in India.  

 I struck out on my own from the group for a few minutes of extra shopping.  It was nice to be able to browse the shops and enjoy the beautiful scarves, household furnishings and jewelry.  These sari's  are the world's best "one size fits all" garment made of 6 1/2 meters of fabric.  They were tempting, but I resisted.

Where every there are tourists, there are vendors trying to sell their wares.  In contrast to those who followed us for blocks trying to interest us, this man looked worn down by the heat and humidity and was content to sit with his necklaces draped over both arms.

Our guide called these trees "rain trees".  They are a mimosa with tiny leaves that fold when it rains.  These were huge and very gnarled.  He said they weren't good for making furniture and that is why they are still standing.

 The following three photos are of sights that made me scratch my head.  The first one--"Do not throw waste" in front of a crumbling building.  There is so much trash everywhere and so many buildings in need of maintenance--even a coat of paint would help tremendously.  Our guide told us that Indians are very excited about new projects, but don't do a good job maintaining them once built.

 Our visit to India coming from a cruise ship has put us in heavy contact with bureaucracy.  We had our e-Landing card inspected at the bottom of the gangway, in the immigration tent, and as we left the tent by a man standing no more than five feet from the man who scanned the QR code and stamped it.  The reverse process was followed to get back on the ship.  Our departure was delayed by over two hours because a crew member hadn't come back on the ship.  The immigration people had to get approval from the local police, who had to get approval from headquarters in Delhi.  Here are a group of police cadets marching.  My thought is that these young people would be put to better use picking up garbage than learning to become part of the multiple levels of bureaucracy.

Several times on our tour I saw women using this kind of broom.  Maybe there is something about that style that I don't understand, but I couldn't help feel that it's not very easy on one's back to have to bend at that angle, and it's not very effective because the bristles are too soft.  I kept thinking that if someone would just import some decent brooms, some real cleaning up could happen.  I know I'm trying to put a western expectation on a country I don't begin to understand, but it was hard to see such poverty and filth.  The contrasts in this country are mind- blowing and it makes my head hurt.

Berthed behind our ship shown above was the Sapphire Princess, a 2,600 passenger behemoth.  The vendors in these tents probably had customers all day long.  Haggling is a way of life over here, but I haven't succeeded in doing it well when I've decided I want a item.  Only if I don't really want something do the prices start to drop.  They see me coming.  

We have a day at sea (yeah!), then Goa and Mumbai.