Home sweet home

With an evening departure from Cape Town, we arrived in Heathrow at 6.00 am - just before the sun rose on a cool bright autumn morning - only 4C when we landed. Changing terminals, immigration and security checks to negotiate before we made it to the Lounge in Terminal 5 with some time to kill before our Edinburgh flight.

Excellent mini bacon rolls and croissants - although the coffee was a little disappointing. Interesting mix of working folk busily on their way to something important and those like ourselves who were homeward bound from holiday trips. Probably the busiest place I have been since we were here three weeks ago.

We left London in brilliant sunshine, but by the time we got to Edinburgh it had clouded over and the wind had picked up which made for an interesting - but very proficient - landing. Bags arrived safely and our taxi driver was there on time with his shades balanced optimistically on his turban. Didn't see the sun again.

Good to be home and get back to some degree of normality - although I'll be back at the airport on Thursday morning for a trip to see my Mum. I think we are home for about 4 weeks before we head back to Ireland for a week in the Burren.

PS - Thanks to Mr Page for his comments and encouragement during the trip

The journey home

Breakfast on the terrace on Monday morning before we packed up to leave. With an evening flight to London, we have planned to spend the day at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. 

This is a public holiday in SA - Heritage Day - and the gardens were busier than we have ever seen them - lots of groups having picnics in the shady parts of the lower gardens but still plenty of quiet space for us to enjoy the gardens and the wildlife. 

Double Pincushion

Southern Double Collared Sunbird feeding on Pincushion

We had to settle for a coffee and roll from one of the fast food outlets because the restaurant and tea rooms were mobbed but after the huge breakfast at Banhoek lodge, we didn't need much. By mid afternoon the temperature was around 24C so we were very glad of the shade. 

Uneventful drive to the airport - although a challenge to find the way to get into the airport filling station; Hire car returned without any problem - always feels good to get past that hurdle; Easy check in and a couple of glasses of Villiera Tradition Brut to prepare us for the  overnight flight.

We've had a great time on this trip - lots of spring flowers in three different regions; dozens of whales and a few dolphins; 24 more South African bird species to bring our current total to 328;  8 wineries; lots of good food with a couple of excellent meals and plenty of wines - including a couple of new favourites.

We also managed to catch up with old friends along the way and made a few new ones - hopefully it won't be too long before we are back here.

Back in the winelands

We are spending our last weekend at Banhoek Lodge - just outside Stellenbosch - surrounded by wineries, restaurants and mountains. Dinner on Friday at Le Pommier next door was less than memorable, a bit like their wine.

On Saturday, we met up with Sue and Ally - along with their friends Estelle, Petra, Trish and Ava - for a guided hike in Bains Kloof Pass up above Wellington.

Our guide - Jody - was enthusiastic and energetic but seemed to be winging it most of the time. We were on the 'Rockhopper Trail' which involved dropping down to the river and following it to a waterfall - where we planned to have a lunch stop - and then returning to the cars by a different route.

Due to the torrential rain last week, the river was higher than expected and even though we 'rock-hopped' for nearly 3 hours along one side, we were unable to find a safe place to cross.

Settled for a picnic stop and then scrambled up the gorge to the road and back to the cars. Not quite what we expected but a pleasant outing in good company - with a stop at a winery outside Wellington on the way home for a well-earned refreshment.

In the evening we treated ourselves to an anniversary meal at Delaire Graff - without doubt one of the best restaurants in the area. Excellent meal with matching wines and friendly professional service - albeit at prices that were closer to Edinburgh than those we have experienced elsewhere on this trip.

What a difference a day or two can make

On Monday I was settled in behind a sand dune, quite comfortably watching the whales.

By Wednesday, Linda was having trouble keeping on her feet in almost the same place.

Big Birds

We woke to clear blue skies and warm sunshine - still only 16-17 C but much better than yesterday. Our visit to the Cape Vulture Colony - one of only two in South Africa - started with a short drive to Potberg and then a 45 minute climb to the viewing platform. in front of the cliffs where the birds are nesting.

The Cape Vulture is one of the largest vultures in the world with a 2.6m (8.5ft) wing span and a body weight of up to 10.8 Kg. There are more than 280 birds in the colony at Potberg and they were very active when we were watching them. Impressive birds to see in flight - particularly as they pass directly overhead. 

Many local farmers are cooperating with the conservation project by setting up 'vulture restaurants' where they leave the carcasses of any of their livestock that die naturally and thus provide a ready food source for the vultures - and a tourist income for the farmers.

Another new species to add to our list and perhaps one of the most impressive - and one of the most difficult to photograph.

When we got back, we headed down to the beach to spend another hour or so watching the whales and then it was home for a bottle of Black Oystercatcher Rose as we watched the sun go down. Followed by a bit of sorting and packing  in preparation for our departure in the morning

In fact it can rain quite a lot.

Despite the bright sunrise which greeted us on Wednesday morning, the rain had started before we had finished breakfast and we were interrupted by one of the guides who suggested that it would be a good idea to postpone our trek to the Cape Vulture colony until Thursday.

We spent an hour or two by a roaring fire in the lodge as the rain got heavier and then headed home to the cottage to try to get warm - it was around 10C outside and not much warmer inside until we got the fire going. Felt a little like being at Moyhill again.

By mid-afternoon, the rain had passed and the sun came out so we headed back down to the beach at Koppie Alleen to see how the whales coped with the passing storm.

They had moved a little further offshore but they were still in easy sight and seemed to be a little more active in the deeper water. 

Looking forward to the return of sunshine and warmer weather on Thursday - if not I'll have to buy some more firewood.

It rains here too

After the spectacular sunrise, Tuesday turned into a grey cool damp day. We stayed dry for our morning bird walk and got some great views of the Greater Flamingos, 

African Darter

Greater Flamingos

but by the time we’d had breakfast and driven to De Mond at the Southern end of the Vlei, the rain had arrived. Decided to head back to reception and take advantage of their Wifi.

Lunch in the cottage and then back to Koppie Alleen as the rain eased. What a difference a day makes – Monday was 26C and bright sunshine while today is no more than 16C and grey with regular showers marching through – at least it justified bringing all that gear to keep us warm and dry.

After an hour or so watching the whales from the shelter of the Café, we had a great walk along the dunes as the sun finally appeared– seems like it’s the adult whales which are breaching and tail-slapping today – with a few of the calves following their lead. Rarely less than four whales in the field of vision of my binoculars – hard to know which ones to focus on.

Dinner in the restaurant this evening – first time we have seen any of our fellow guests – good people watching as ever. I was slightly worried that the ‘domestic’ at the table behind me might come to blows at one point.  

A change in the weather

No clear skies this morning - but a pretty spectacular sunrise:

A few more birds and plenty of Southern Right Whales

Up early for the morning bird walk – just the guides, ourselves and a young Dutch couple who said ‘hello’ but nothing else. Our guide – Dillan – was a recent graduate on his first guiding job. He was personable and knowledgeable but needs a year or two’s experience to back up the patter. It was a warm sunny morning and we saw most of the birds we expected, so were quite relaxed heading home for breakfast.

Cape Robin-Chat

Greater Flamingo

Off to Koppie Alleen after breakfast for some whale watching – the bay here is one of the best nursery sites in the world for the Southern Right Whale and this is a record year with more than 650 female whales recorded – each with a calf. We spent 3 hours sheltering from the wind behind a sand bank and watching the whales swimming backwards and forwards within a kilometre or so of the beach.   

Some of the calves are still very small – in whale terms at least – and stick close to their mothers, while others are big enough to venture further afield and try their hand at a bit of breaching and tail slapping. Really magical experience to be able to sit in peace and quiet – apart from the wind – and watch them at play. With a flask of Rooibos tea and a Bobotie pie to sustain us we had a great afternoon.

Lamb chops and ratatouille for dinner with a bottle of Walker Bay 2016 Petit Verdot – another one we would definitely buy again.

Travel day

We only had about 170Km to drive from Stanford to De Hoop on Sunday morning and no chance of checking in until after 2.00pm. So, it seemed appropriate to find a lunch stop along the way and where else than Black Oystercatcher Winery which has grown a bit since our first visit – they now have brewery to complement the winery, tasting room and restaurant.

Luckily, we were able to get an early lunch table for a very good plate of pork loin and a bottle of Rosé, and be on our way as the bulk of their lunch guests arrived - quite a few of them flying in in their private planes. A short drive to Bredasdorp for petrol and some essential shopping and then onto the 50Km dirt road heading for De Hoop.

This is our fourth visit, so we know our way around and not much has changed. This time we are in one of the larger cottages – Fish Eagle – and we were settled in with time to have a walk along the side of the Vlei (lake) for an hour or so before heading home for a sundowner – the Fynbos Purple Haze gin was so good we might have to make a detour for another bottle to take home.

Light supper with a glass or two of Sir Robert Stanford Sauvignon Blanc, and a roaring log fire to keep us warm.

A Day Off

We've had a busy week, so decided to have a long lie this morning. After a leisurely start, we stopped at the farmers market in town to stock up on goodies for the next week, and had a very good brunch at a cafe called Graze.

Next stop was the Klein River Cheese Co for a bit more deli shopping, then on the way back to town we stopped at the Birkenhead Brewery to taste a few beers and buy some essential supplies and finished up with a visit to the Fynbos Distillery for a bottle of their 'Purple Haze' Gin.

By the time we got home, we had taken care of most of the shopping for our week of self catering at De Hoop, although we still need some essentials such as meat, vegetables and firewood - which we can pick up at the supermarket on our way south tomorrow.

Finished the afternoon with a 2 1/2 hour stroll around the Stanford Wandelpad - a footpath around the outside of town which follows the River and the Vlei and was great for bird-watching - saw a few of our old favourites but also managed to spot a couple of new species and Linda got a great shot of a Damselfly along the way.

Home for a quiet glass of Lomond Sauvignon Blanc while I caught up on the day's sports results. Tremendous wins for the Springboks over the All Blacks and for Argentina over Australia  and even better to see that Simon Yates is almost certain to win the Vuelta a Espana - and Arsenal won away from home as well!

Dinner was a Bobotie Pie which we picked up in the market washed down by a bottle of Veldfire Pinotage - a great way to finish a very relaxing day.

PS: Internet access may be limited for the next five or six days.

Stanford, another landlady and a good meal

We spent a couple of nights in a lodge just outside Stanford on a previous visit and always planned to return at some point. Our self-catering cottage - Tranquillity Cottage - is spacious and comfortable but lacks any effective heating so still cool in the morning when it is below 12C. Our landlady - Robyn - gives the impression of an ageing hippy but is very pleasant and has offered lots of helpful suggestions.

When we told her that we had booked a table for dinner in the local pub - which had been recommended by someone along the way - her response was less than enthusiastic. So when we walked into the place on Friday evening to find that we had the only reserved table and that the place was open to the bar where it seemed that most people were smoking, we beat a hasty retreat.

Luckily we chanced upon 'La Trattoria' - a family run Italian restaurant - which served us  an excellent dinner and even persuaded us to abandon our 'local wine' rule and offered a very good Italian red. To finish off, they even offered a complimentary glass of a local Grappa - from the Fynbos Distillery - Linda's quite keen to visit them to see if they make any Gin.

Robyn had recommended another local bar where there was some live music but by the time we got there after dinner, the music had finished - apparently they have local curfew at 9.00pm - so after a  nightcap it was time to head home.

Whales and Sea sickness tablets

As I lay in bed on Friday waiting for the alarm, I was listening  to the wind outside and a little apprehensive about the weather for our whale- watching trip - Linda seems to have lost her sea-legs  and was relying on some 'Kwells' to keep her well.

The wind had dropped a bit and it had turned into a bright sunny day with clear skies by the time we got to Dyer Island Cruises in Kleinbaai. However there was still a substantial swell running so we were fitted out with full oilskins and life jackets - after the coffee and muffins that were there to welcome us. Following a brief but effective briefing we were off down to the jetty to board 'Dream Catcher' in company with about 40 other visitors.

It was definitely a bumpy ride as we headed out of the harbour, but we encountered our first Southern Right Whales - mother and calf - withing the first few minutes. We spent the next 15 minutes or so watching her - 60 tons of whale and a 8-10 ton calf - as she made her way slowly round the bay - trying to stay in shallow water and to keep herself between our boat and the calf.

We stopped to see two other mothers and their calves before we headed for Dyer Island and 'Shark Alley'. They claim that this is the Great White Shark Capital of the world but there are very few of them around at this time of the year. I seem to remember that Neil was on a shark diving trip here - after a heavy night out in Cape Town.

Anyway - no sign of Great Whites today - so we headed around the island where we saw African Penguins and a huge colony of Cape Fur Seals - best to be upwind of these guys as they do pong a bit!

We also spotted a variety of sea birds before the fast bumpy ride pack to port -

glad to say that Linda didn't suffer from the motion at all and we were both more than ready for the hot bowl of soup that was waiting for us when we got ashore. All in all a good experience - would have been good to see a few more whales but that's always going to be pot luck - we were really lucky with the weather after all.

A walk in the woods

Did I mention that it is a little cool here in the mornings - and no sign of any central heating? This morning was no exception - the outside wall on the bathroom extension of the cottage was a single layer of tongue and groove with gaps which allowed the wind to blow right through.  No hanging around outside the shower here - even had to get dressed before I went back in to shave.

Sean prepared an excellent breakfast and we were ready to go by the time Christophe arrived at 8.30. Shorter trek today - only 8km with a lunchtime finish - but we still climbed and descended a few hills and valleys through the forests. There was a strong wind blowing all morning which kept us cool even though we had plenty of sunshine.

No new bird species today, but we did see a number of new flowers and the usual display of Pincushions, Proteas, Fountain bushes and Cone bushes. We also came upon a Mole Rat who was so intent on digging for bulbs that he didn't even notice us and crawled right over Cristophe's boot.

Another great day of hiking but again we were both glad when we arrived at our destination - Grootbos Family Lodge - for a very good lunch after which Christophe dropped us back to our car and we headed for our cottage at Stanford.

Lancastrian Landlady!

Our landlady at the B&B in Darling was a British expat who had followed her banker husband around the world for most of her life while raising 4 sons. On their retirement they had bought a home in Darling which included some extra rooms  and started the B&B to keep them occupied – as well as being pillars of the community.

I could tell you more because she talked at us non-stop over breakfast each day but I’m sure you would be just as bored as we were. On the other side, she was so uninterested in her guests that she only knew our names and address because they were on the booking confirmation and didn’t bother to ask anything else.

The food served at dinner at Bistro 7 – the only place in town that was open on Monday night – was good although due to the cool weather most of our fellow diners were wearing sweaters and jackets and a few of them were a bit disgruntled because their main courses had been mixed up. Being a ‘modern place’, they had replaced the table candles with coloured bottles with sparkly lights – none of which were working because the batteries were dead.

Probably summed up the place – we were quite happy to get on the road on Tuesday morning heading for Stanford and our three day Fynbos Trail hike.

Fynbos Trail – Day two

It was definitely a bit cooler in the bedroom and bathroom of the Fountain Bush Cottage than we are used to. However, there was plenty of hot water for the shower and we soon warmed up. Michael arrived at 7.30 to prepare breakfast for us and by the time we had finished it was warm enough to sit outside with coffee and watch the male Cape Weaver birds busy building nests for inspection by their prospective partners.

Cristophe arrived by 8.30 and we started with an hour or so bird-watching around the cottages and the dam. We have already recorded 304 bird species on previous trips to SA but still managed to add a few more before we started on our trek for the day.

About 12 Km today beginning with a steep climb over Grootberg – or Ben Lomond as it was named by the Captain of the Birkenhead which was shipwrecked not far from here. Coffee stop by a waterfall, lunch along the way, lots of bird sightings and amazing flowers species – all in all a great hike. However, I would have to admit that I was quite glad when our destination for the night – Witkrans – came into view.

Greeted by our host Sean – who is the botanist/conservation expert for the Conservancy project – with a bottle each of Rosé, White and Red wine from the local Lomond Winery. In typical SA fashion, after we had chatted for a while and tasted the three wines he headed off to sort out dinner and left us with the remaining bottles to keep us company.

Still relying on a wood-burner for our only heat source so very grateful for the cosy quilt on the bed.

PS: there are more photos to accompany this but they will have to wait for a future since our current WiFi is a little limiting.

A bit of a walk

On Tuesday morning - after another breakfast session with our Lancastrian landlady and her long-suffering husband about whom I will definitely write more - we sorted the bags for the next stage and headed south towards Stanford & Gansbaai.

The three hour drive - which seemed longer - was incident-free and we arrived in Stanford with enough time for a quick, but excellent, sandwich at the Ou Meul Bakkery before heading for the Grootbos Reserve and the start of our three day Fynbos Trek.

Our guide Cristophe was great company, both personable and very knowledgeable and as a result we had an interesting afternoon hiking through the reserve. It was great to have an expert who could identify the plants and the birds that we were seeing while at the same time maintaining a normal conversation.

Although we only walked about 6km, there was a fair bit of climbing and descending and we were more than ready to finish up by the time we reached Fountain Bush Cottage where Michael was waiting to greet us and cook us pizza for dinner - and provide us with a bottle of a local Shiraz.

Slightly cool by the time the sun went down so we were glad of the Wood-burning in the stove in the living room - although a pity that there isn't one in the bedroom where it may be a little cool in the morning!

Drumsticks

Yellow-eyed Sorrel 

Pinhead Protea

Orange-breasted Sunbird

West Coast National Park

One of the main reasons for our visit to the Western Cape in their Spring is to the see the wild flower display - which we have read about and seen on TV but never seen.
So bright and early on Monday morning we left our B&B - and the Lancastrian landlady, of whom there will be more later - to drive up to the Park and in particular to Postberg - the northern tip of the park which is only open in August and September.
We managed to get there before too many others and were truly amazed by the sight. The vast meadows of flowering spring colours in every hue you could imagine. Almost impossible to capture the scale of the floral display but Linda did a great job with the camera.

It all ended well

Woken by the muezzin's call to prayer on Saturday morning at 5.38 - we are on the edge of Bo Kaap which was a predominantly muslim area, although a bit gentrified in places now. Thankfully I had rolled over and fallen asleep again before he finished.

After a leisurely start to the morning, we loaded up the car again on our way to meet Sue & Ally in Paarl and then head off for lunch. From there on things got a little bit challenging. Firstly, our satnav decided to take an hour off and would neither connect nor calculate a route; then my windows phone - with the SA sim - decided it didn't want to communicate with Google Maps; and finally I took a wrong turn and was halfway up Table Mountain before I realised we were heading the wrong way.

Having finally got on the right road, the satnav decided to work again but by now we were running late, so we arranged to meet Sue and Ally at Tokara in Stellenbosch. Then we got stuck in some major road works on the way to Stellenbosch with the result that we took 2 hours for a journey which should have taken no more than 45 minutes.

A glass or two of the Chardonnay which Sue poured as we arrived at Tokara was all that was needed to re-establish my usual calm persona, and of course a good lunch with excellent company.

Headed back to Ally's lovely home in Val de Vie - our bed for the night -  a few more glasses of wine followed by a Braai with enough meat to feed an army. It turned a little cooler after the sun went down and was around 7C when we woke on Sunday morning, but as you can see it turned into a lovely morning with the temperature getting up to 20C by lunchtime.

For Jimmy C

Dropped into a local wine/tapas bar in Cape Town this evening for an early supper and saw this sign on the wall which made us both think immediately of Jimmy C!

However that was the second time that we had been reminded of him within the last 24 hours - I'm sure some of you must have seen the BA safety notices which feature a number of celebrities - including Michael Caine - we were both struck by the way that he is growing to look more and more like Jimmy C.

Outward Journey

Our flights to Cape Town via Heathrow were relatively uneventful and as comfortable as could be expected.

I do like travelling on the 747 - there may be bigger more modern aircraft nowadays - but I always feel relaxed when I get settled in my seat on the 747. For our Cape town flight we could have chosen either A380 or the 747 but I had no doubt which one to chose. It may be something to do with the fact that almost all of my international travel - starting in 1971 - has been in the 'Jumbo' era. I know that all the US airlines have dropped the aircraft from their passenger fleets but it will always be my first choice.

Our arrival into SA was very efficient - no immigration queue and bags through promptly - until we got to the car hire. The first step with Hertz was straightforward and all looked good as we loaded up the bags and prepared to drive off, but having noticed some chips on the windscreen which were not noted, I went to get someone's attention while Linda had another look around the car. Not sure how we - or they - missed it, but she noticed that we had one very soft tyre.  That meant another 20 mins of paperwork while we changed the car and transferred the bags over and got on our way down town.

We're staying at Rouge on Rose again - think this may be our 5th visit - and it is great to be greeted like family or old friends even though we haven't been here for 18 months. Definitely feels like coming home!

Airports again

Earlier in the year someone said - 'Let's take full advantage of the festival season'. It seemed like a good idea at the time - so we have been at home in Edinburgh for all of August, and to be honest it has not been a bad month.

With a little encouragement and instruction from the boss, I managed to find a reasonable mix of theatre, music, comedy and other events for us to attend - and a couple of good restaurants in amongst the street food.

There were only two events which could be classed as bad choices, while most of the rest were in the excellent category including a great new musical called 'Buried' about 2 serial killers, and some exceptional stand-up from Marcus Brigstocke, Jay Lafferty and of course Frankie Boyle. Cora Bisset's play - 'What girls are made of' - was one of Linda's favourites, while the NYO Jazz orchestra was probably the musical highlight.

However, I now understand the attitude of some of our neighbours to the entire event - journey times across the city are a least 50% longer, it's almost impossible to move freely anywhere between George Street and the High Street, and the queues to get a drink....... It may be boom time for lots of local businesses but I can see that the proposed visitor tax will probably get nodded through on a show of hands

However September is upon us and there are signs that Autumn is fast approaching so we are off on our travels again today - an evening flight to Heathrow and onward through the night to Cape Town.

Spring in the Western Cape should give us some amazing floral displays in the fynbos and reportedly huge numbers of whales off the southern coast. There may be a bottle of wine or two along the way and who knows what interesting fellow travellers we may meet - watch this space.

Fellow Travellers

Alongside the friendly people of Kerala, we met a number of fellow travellers who were pleasant company. In particular, our fellow yogis at Hinterland were generally a nice group to spend time with – mostly European - divided between young women travelling on their own and ladies of a certain age, with a token male or two thrown in.

However, for the last few days we were joined by an American Israeli lady from Connecticut who was – to say the least – a little pushy, loud-mouthed and opinionated. Rather annoyingly, she made a special effort to get to the yoga sala before morning or afternoon tea to ensure that she placed her mat at the front of the class but would then always manage be the last to arrive for the class.

At Kaivalyam, we met couples from France, New Zealand and the UK who were pleasant company but we were slightly wary of an Indian family with a young child who screamed through most of dinner and then also screamed through most of the night. Our neighbours at breakfast commented on this and expressed their concern for the poor mother who had to live with this – but appeared totally unconcerned about poor me who had been trying to sleep in the room next door.

After the first two weekends of the Six Nations, Linda delighted in explaining to any French groups we met that ‘Les Bleus’ had been beaten by both the Scots and the Irish. Since there were quite a lot of French travellers, she had numerous opportunities to make her point.

At Thekkady, we were joined by a group of young Germans who were exploring India on hired Royal Enfield bikes – unfortunately one of them had a guitar and their evening singsongs on the rooftop went on a little longer than I thought acceptable. However, since there were 6 of them – and Jimmy C was far away in Hua Hin – I thought it best to suffer in silence. In contrast, we met a very pleasant, worldly couple from New York in the bakery and enjoyed a good chat.

At our Marari homestay, our neighbours were a family from Bristol who had live in Toulouse for 15 years or so and never made it down to the beach in the 4 days we were there.

Despite there being 17 or so other couples at Xandari, we never got more than 'good morning' from many of them and the majority just seemed to avoid any contact with the other guests.

Heading Home

Sitting in the hotel lobby with a couple of hours to kill before the taxi arrives to take us to the airport and time to reflect on our trip.

Despite initial reservations - which I still blame on the jetlag - we have really enjoyed our month in Kerala. The weather has been great throughout - it has only felt a bit too hot in the last week or so - and we have only seen one evening shower of rain - and of course no snow!

The accommodation has generally been good - only one homestay was poor - and we have eaten well and cheaply almost everywhere. With the exception of a couple of breakfasts, our pizza in Munnar and a pasta night in Thekkady, it really has been curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner - in fact we've been choosing the Indian breakfast option for the last week or so even when there were western options on offer. It has also been great to learn about the Keralan style of cooking and I am sure some of this will creep into our menus at home.

Linda tells me that over the last 30 days we have slept in 8 different beds - but only had alcohol on 6 days and no coffee either. However there is a good chance that we will be out for a steak and a bottle of red wine as soon as we adjust to the temperature in Newhaven.

We have seen most of the central area of the state from the sandy beaches on the coast to the spice and tea plantations in the Western Ghats. There is still a lot of Kerala to see to the north and south, and of course 28 other states in India. We recorded 93 new bird species - not as many as we have seen in SA but still a reasonable haul and we have only seen three people begging on the street - less than you will see on Princes Street any day of the week.

So if any of you are thinking of travelling to India, Kerala is a very good introduction - relatively clean and safe with little sign of people living in real poverty such as you see in the major cities across India. There is still a lot of plastic pollution  - although there also lots of plastic free zones - but it was hard to travel anywhere without the ubiquitous plastic bottle in your line of sight.

However the overriding memory will probably be the friendly, helpful and welcoming nature of everyone we have met along the way.

Kathakali - something different for the Edinburgh Festival?

Having seen a Kathakali demonstration and show in Thekkady, we booked tickets for the show here - very easy since the Kathakali centre was just around the corner.

As part of the introduction, we could watch the performers putting on the intricate makeup which can take more than an hour for each character.

Arjuna starting his makeup

About halfway there.

The finished article.

Even with a 'crib sheet' to explain the plot, I'm not sure I followed much, but it was a fascinating spectacle to watch - although I might pass on the full 6-9 hour performance.

I think this was Shiva and the goddess Parvathi

Slightly disconcerting to find that the all-powerful Shiva seemed to make a noise which sounded like one of The Clangers!!

Our last weekend in Kerala

Three days at Xandari was just enough and we left yesterday morning for a 1 hour drive to Fort Kochi and a couple of nights at Tissa's Inn.

Bit of a shock to the system being in the busiest city in Kerala as we are right downtown with a main road junction about 200m away. Lovely place - only 9 rooms and a rooftop swimming pool - in what was originally a very grand private house owned by a British Advocate - probably an admiralty lawyer!

Some interesting wiring arrangements

Since the Portuguese arrived here in 1503, Kochi has been an important port city which was taken over by the Dutch in 1663 and then handed to the British in 1795. Alongside the Hindu temples and the mosques, there are a huge number of very large Christian churches - both Catholic and Syrian Orthodox - along with convents and church schools on nearly every corner.

These guys are selling Perfume oils and Incense - some of the coloured powder is for the joss sticks while some is just to attract customers.

We have spent our time here wandering through the streets and Bazaar, visited a few shops and a couple of museums and eaten some very good seafood. However this is the hottest place of our trip - day time temperatures reaching 34C and only dropping by 5 or 6C at night - and the temperature will  just going to keep rising over the next couple of months -  before the monsoon comes in June and cools it all down again.

Even the goats were searching out a shady spot

Feels like it is time to head home even if our overnight flight will deliver us into a cold and wet Edinburgh on Tuesday morning. Have really enjoyed our travels around Kerala and Linda is already planning another Indian trip for years to come. 

Red Weather alert for Scotland and storm Emma in the South West of England

Hi to everyone affected by the wintry weather, hope that you are all keeping safe and warm and that any travel plans you have are not too badly disrupted - thinking especially of Ali and Neil, and Steve and Dawn who are all due to travel this weekend.

The only red warning here is for some of the sunburnt bodies beside the main pool at our latest home. After 10 days of Homestays of varying levels of comfort, we decided to treat ourselves to a couple of days at the Xandari Pearl resort - about 600m along the beach from our last homestay.

Quite a contrast - we have a large villa with AC and fan, a very smart outside shower and an enclosed garden with our own private plunge pool. However it is quite a small place with only 27 villas in total which also means that it doesn't have a liquor licence so we are back to 'mocktails' again. Lots of friendly helpful staff and excellent food - although a bit pricey - more like Edinburgh prices. In addition, there is easy access to the beach so we can watch the fishermen sorting their catch as the sun is rising.

Our last homestay was probably the best of the bunch but still a little challenging at times - the owners were very laid back and we were never quite sure if things that were requested or organised would actually happen. However it was right on the beach, they also served good food - although the menu was limited - and they could provide cold beer whenever we wanted it.

Will have to make the most of the hot weather here since it looks like it will be well below freezing when we get back to Edinburgh next week. Or maybe we should just stay here for another week or two - may have to check how much it costs to change our return flights!