Kochi (January 18–January 20, 2012)

Our last stop in India was the city of Kochi, in northern Kerala. The city is spread across a strip of mainland and several islands, but we visited just Fort Cochin, the oldest part of the city. Fort Cochin has an interesting colonial history: it was granted to the Portuguese in 1503, captured by the Dutch in 1683, and then seized by the British in 1795. All three colonists left a distinct mark on the city’s architecture, making this tropical one-time fishing village a fascinating place. Our exploration took us past cantilevered Chinese fishing nets and relics from the 14^th century, and to the Jewish synagogue, the Catholic Santa Cruz Basilica, and the Portuguese-Dutch Mattancherry Palace (all 16^th century). One evening we caught a Kathakali dance show, arriving early to watch the performers apply their intricate and integral makeup. Kathakali relies on precise hand gestures and facial expressions to convey meaning and emotion to the audience, and the actors study these for years. We had never seen anything like it, but thought the show, a scene from the Hindu Ramayana, was tremendous.

On our last day here before flying out of the country, Nora lost her wallet. We weren’t sure at first if it had fallen out of her purse or had been pickpocketed, but when retracing our steps didn’t recover it, we were pretty sure all hope was lost. Thanks to a good Samaritan, however, the wallet (and all its contents) was recovered and returned to the police station, where we found it waiting for us when we went to file a report – it was a final, happy note to end six wonderful weeks in India.  

Click on the photo below for our Kochi photo album.