The Original Harmony

Tuesday:
We started the day with a light breakfast at the hotel then hopped in a "jeep" for a ride up a tea plantation. (Indian version of the jeep). The orthodox tea plantation, just over 100 years old, is the highest in the world. We went up to 7300 ft along a stone and dirt track. It was a bumpy ride with a lot of switch backs, and a bunch of fun.

At the top we took a short walk into some spectacular views. The air was even cooler, and soon the clouds rolled in and we started rolling back on down.

After a short rest we went to the local tea museum, learned about orthodox tea processing, watched a video about how "wonderful" the tea planters were letting people live on the land for free, with food and medicine, in exchange for work and currency that was only good with the company. We had the feeling that the video we saw might fit just as well with a different narration and less cheerful music. Even so, the planters started a culture of conservation that seems to have persisted. Unlike Mumbai, people here take pride in their land and take responsibility in keeping it clean. I think if there weren't tourists, this would be a near pristine place. Also, after indipendence, the western planters were slowly pushed out making way for Tata to take over. Tata eventually gave it up and the employees took ownership of much of the tea land.

While we were inside, a pre-monson shower passed through-the monsoon should start in as little as 5 days. Despite the rain, we headed for Eravikulam National Park. A quick shuttle ride took us up to the park's main entrance. From this point you can walk up along the mountains on along a paved path. We got caught in several downpours but eventually the rain passed and we could enjoy the views. We were mostly surrounded by golden grasslands and black cliffs. The landscape provides some amazing views which we enjoyed for about an hour and a half. We had hoped to see wild mountain goats or other wild life, but no luck...until we were back at the entrance waiting for the shuttle and a small group of goats were spoted high on the cliffs.

There are actually quite a lot of tourists here, but mostly Indian. This time of the year, this is the coolest part of India.

We ended the day relaxing at our hotel.

Also, at the park, I figured out my camera's panorama function. Pretty neat...only wish I found it sooner.