Journey Across Southern India

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Sunday, 16 December 2018 - Started the day early with a hearty breakfast before meeting Sandosh for a tea plantation trek in the hills above Munnar, climbed through foggy slopes and tea fields up to Letchmi Hills with sweeping views, visited a British-era Christ Church, toured the local Tea Museum and spice plantation, sampled Kerala coffee and Kingfisher beer, and enjoyed the scenery and culture of the high-altitude landscape.

We rise at 6:00AM dress and have a 7:30AM breakfast of cheese and chili omelet, pineapple juice and Arabica coffee, wild honey, toast and fruits.

india2018 — There were several poinsettias growing naturally all over the jungle. This one was one of several on the hotel grounds.

india2018 — A selfie in front of the poinsettia.

india2018 — Another Red-whiskered bulbul - a very cute little bird.

india2018 — 9:30AM we meet Sandosh and meet our guide for tea trekking and a tour of the Tea Museum.

india2018 — Hiking up into the hills of the tea plantation - our trek thought the tea plantation was several miles and up a steep hill. The weather was very pleasant in the 60s but there was a fog that moved over the hills.

india2018 — Virginia Ann and Cal in the tea fields

india2018 — The tea flows around rocks and hills - and is planted in every conceivable place.

india2018 — Silver oak trees dot the vineyard and release water to the tea trees when it's dry. This area has four - five months of monsoon from June to September. Women do most of the work in the tea fields with 50 - 60 women managing one hectare. There are 138,000 hectares in the plantation. Forty to fifty-thousand workers from more than 105 villages work the plantation with each village managing 5,000 - 10,000 hectares.

The leaves are harvested every two weeks and the tea trees are pruned every 5 years over a 50 to 60-year life span.

india2018 — Several old watch towers still stand - typically on the boundaries of fields.

india2018 — Our morning trek to the top of Letchmi Hills at 4,000 feet is a workout. As we reached the summit, clouds hung over the mountain range and a dense fog swept over the valley. We benefited from a refreshing breeze as we caught our breath at the top of the mountain.

india2018 — The tea needs a path for people to walk next to the bushes to pick the tea leaf.

india2018 — Beautiful purple morning glory blooms grow wild among the tea plants. We climb to 4,000 feet in the tea grove.

india2018 — The first tea plantation in Munnar dates back to 1880 and was run by the British East India Company. The business was sold several times through the years but the process of harvesting the tea leaves remains much as it was long ago.

india2018 — Tea - tea - tea

india2018 — After our climb down, we stop at Christ Church of Munnar built by the British in 1910 and was the first Anglican Church in Munnar. It now operates as the Church of South India.

india2018 — We toured the Tea Museum and tasting room.

We stopped at Government controlled liquor store to purchase some Kingfisher beer. The line was crowded and chaotic with no order, so Cal gave up in minutes and Sandosh volunteered to stand in line to make the purchase. While waiting, we saw a Jeep with Praise the Lord on its windshield and a Tuk Tuk with the phrase Gift of the Lord painted on its front.

india2018 — We took a tour of a spice field/forest and learned that black pepper and cardamom are native to Kerala.

india2018 — Flowers and plants were in a garden near the entrance to the spice plantation.

india2018 — Pepper is a big crop - since it is a vine they must plant trees for the vines to climb.

india2018 — Shameplant flower

india2018 — Angel's trumpet

india2018 — Spiky little ball

india2018 — Light ball of seeds....

india2018 — ... when the ball breaks open little dandelion like seeds.

india2018 — Pretty little bulbs

india2018 — An orchard

india2018 — A small pineapple - very low to the ground plants

india2018 — Fuzzy red flower

india2018 — The Munnar valley was foggy for most of our stay

india2018 — Tea plants and the protective trees

india2018 — Rock tea garden

india2018 — Sun illuminating tea plants

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