Day 12 & 13 - Waterways of the untouched hinterland.

Day 12; Rairamangalam - Tanur -  Kiranaloor - Mannatampara - Kottakadavu

NOTE : Pictures courtesy Sandy Robson, Dani Gorgon, Jibin Thomas, Kaushiq Kodithodika & Murugan Krishnan 

We had a great sleep at the Rairamangalm School, with benches arranged neatly side-by-side to make the cot, the windows left open, functioning fan and the tiredness. It was 4:00AM when the alarm went off, the typical day was arriving one hour late, thanks to all the troubles(canal block and delay of  road transportation). The previous day, locals & Satheeshan Mashe(School Principal) helped us move the kayaks to a house next to the Conolly canal, close to the School that was 300 meters away(passing through a burial ground). Many of us reached the school past 9:00PM, settled down and had a meagre dinner!

Surely, this was not the day for coffee (3 days before we missed making coffee - the day we started, Kumarakom, Chavakadu) as we were late and there were enough challenges to prioritize. The previous night, Rakshit had given up on the effort due to "hurt" he suffered. We cajoled him to just give it a try and see if can paddle the last 35Km or so. Rakshit was much more malleable today as compared to his temperament the previous day. He showed his swollen middle fingers on both hands, seeking sympathy. We packed and moved to the canal bank; we rigged the Kayaks and got ready to launch, without waking up the sleeping souls. Then we realized that the paddles were stored inside the house and it was past 5AM, so we woke them up and used the opportunity to fill the water bottles.

Dani Gorgon; the star.

Dani helped everyone launch their kayaks. He was the star of this expedition, someone who really breathes expedition philosophy. He stepped up for everyone at all times, showing grit and endurance; when we all felt tired he would take off like a speed boat; challenging us to follow suit. Dani was the last guy to launch along with Murugan and the first to reach the destination on most days!

It was dawn when we launched into the Conolly Canal (build in 1848 on orders of collector of Malabar, H.V. Conolly) and moved towards Tanur Town. Like the canal towns we had crossed, all sewage water outlets in Tanur opened into the canal. We wondered how true Rakshit was in saying "Mallus (slang for Malayalees or Keralites) have so much water that they don’t respect it"! As we went past Tanur town, the canal looked lonely.

The broken locks, north of Tanur, Conolly Canal.

A broken disused lock indicated completion of this stretch of the Conolly Canal. We wondered how the locks would have been, when the canal was built and how years of disuse had led to change of attitude towards the canal and water in general.

Sunrise on Kadalundipuzha.

Palm fringed Kadalundipuzha.

We moved past the broken locks into the majestic meandering Kadalundipuzha. For the first time we turned east; all along, the route was northward. Conolly Canal, had multiple spans that join rivers in Kerala, we had to go east following the river to link up with the canal close to Feroke. The view of Kadalundipuzha was majestic, the water was flowing slowly with fog rising from the surface, and the tall coconut palms on either side had irradiance on their majestic green crown from the rising sun. As far as the eye could see, there were coconut plantations on either side with no human in sight. Any soul we saw, we asked for the nearest Chayapediaka (local tea shops, also called as Kapikadas in south Kerala).

Feeling satisfied after the breakfast!

We reached Poorappuzha at 7:30AM and watched in awe as the local fishermen landed their early morning catch of beautiful big pearl spot under the bridge. We climbed the stairs to the main road and saw the reason the fishermen were there, it was the fish market and had two buzzing chayapedika on either side. We picked the one on the western side and settled in as Dani called out "5 teas please.......this is only for me, for the others you take separate order"....."Give me 7 boiled eggs and one appam" came the cry from another corner...we feasted on Appam, Puttu, Egg roast, Kadalakari, Pazham pori, Neiappam, Poricha Pathiri, and what not....the typical bill on all previous breakfast break would be around 500Rs, at Poorappuzha, we ended up paying more than 900Rs! Without doubt; one of the best(quality of food, authenticity and service quality) Chayapedika's that we visited during the expedition was at Poorappuzha(the other one in Alumkadavu).

We trickled back an hour later, 8:30AM; started paddling again. The Kadalundipuzha stretch going upstream is full of laterite formation that scrapped the kayaks as we tracked the middle of the river, it made more sense of what the locals advised to stay close to the banks.  It was not far when we hit the Kiranaloor Regulator(Regulators control salinity in a river by blocking sea water during non-monsoon months) and it was almost 60 feet high with matching embankments. Our arrival initially spread panic among the sand miners who were mining on the other side of the regulator. Sand mining is the biggest curse to rivers in Kerala, fuelled by the dilution of joint families and Malayali's craze to build a BIG House(with a big car, booze and chicken every day; the general bench mark for success in "Gods own country")The laterite formations made landing tricky and we could not deploy the kayak trolley. One by one the kayaks had to be hauled up the regulator and brought back to the river on the either side. Kaushiq decided to try the western side of the regulator to cross over and he did it all by himself, hauling the kayak and then launching it on the other end. Prasad had the audacity to load the Kayak on his head and trek the regulator successfully. One by one, we got all the kayaks back into Kadalundipuzha.

Tender Coconut water by the bottle.

The stretch from Kiranaloor regulator the Mannatampara check dam is just amazing, all verdant green, fringed by tall coconut palm trees, beautiful waters and not much habitation to see. We went past Palathingal Masjid and halted for tender coconut; thanks to Kaushiqs ability of connecting with the locals folks.

Mannatampara check dam.

The Mannatampara check dam loomed into horizon and we came to a full stop, as the kayaks had to be lowered on to the other side. Being a popular destination there we large groups of locals who were more than happy to help. Prasad jumped into the water as the kayak came to a halt, followed by Rakshit. Kaushiq was the first to get down and with help from the locals, lowered the first kayak, filling it with water! The bilge pump Kaushiq carried came handy and the wash did not prevent the garland (given to all kayakers at launch function at Kollam) on his kayak from washing off. With that learning all other kayaks were lowered to avoid water from getting in. On the lower side of the check dam, two of us were there to kraal all the kayaks till the bathing and photo sessions were over. Here again, the laterite rock formation fill the lower side of the check dam, creating major hurdles to powered navigation. We paddled on, with clothes that were wet and the time was now close to 1:30PM.

Kraaling Kayaks!

Hunger was taking toll and we picked on every nut and dry fruit reserve we had. Few of us felt really upset for the time was past 2:00PM and there was no sight of a lunch or our destination; Kottakadavu. We paddled on and passed islands that had so many discarded "earthen tiles" forming the embankment. Only when we realized out proximity to Feroke, did we realize were the tiles had come from. In and around Feroke, it’s a hub for tile earthen manufacturing; with increased regulation on clay mining the tile factories are dwindling. As we paddled on, we saw aircrafts on their final approach to Karipur Airport. Dani called us over to share his share of dry fruits and took off once again to revive our spirits aided by the fact that Sandy Robson(Solo kayaker from Germany to Australia) was joining us at Kottakadavu and we had the CP Brothers School function to support. We moved on, asking the locals about the distance to Kottakadavu. Lucky for us, the tides were still neutral and it was close to 3PM, when the Kottakadavu Bridge loomed into the horizon.

Gopu Keshav was at the southern side of the bridge and waved to us and one by one we pulled into the covered boat jetty at the disused DTPC (District Tourism Promotion Council) property. Thanks to Gopu and Anoop, lunch was ready and so was the arrival of Sandy Robson. I was seeing her after a span of 4 months, having met her previously at Vishakapatnam. The DTPC property at Kottakadavu is a living example of how public funds are not put to right use in Kerala, and even if they are, there is no maintenance and upkeep of facilities. After the quick lunch three of us headed for CP Brothers School in an Auto, along with Sandy.

Welcome procession at the CP Brothers High School, Kottakadavu.

Sandy Robson, mobbed for autograph.

Group picture at the CP Brothers High School, Koattakadavu.

The school had closed for the day and kids from the eco-club, students police and Junior Red Cross were there to receive us, though we were late by an hour. We joined the public representatives for the function and all of them were thrilled to see Sandy and to know what she was doing. Kaushiq and Dani led the school interaction. While the session was going on a small note came across to Kaushiq on which was scribed "My paternal grandmother got married in the year 1906 at Kottayam when she was 13 years old and came to Kozhikode after a 14 day trip, by boat". 

Namboothiri Mashe's handwritten note.

Namboothiri Mashe, ex-Principal at CP Brothers High School, Kottakadavu

We met with Nambothiri Mashe(teacher) who was past principal of CP Brothers School, and got to know more about what the note mentioned. Fondly loved by the kids and staff, Namabothiri Mashe was well versed in Nature! We had tea, played volleyball with the school team and then left for camp. Coming back to camp was a surprise; all the panchayath representatives (all women) were looking around the kayaks and wanted to see one being paddled. After showing them the way a kayak is launched, paddled and retrieved, they left.

When Women Panchayath members wanted to know more about Kayaking.

Tea with Sandy Robson

Settling back into the camp we were glad to see Dr. Raj come back from Cochin. We used a neighbourhood house to freshen up and they were glad to offer help. Dinner was served and it was decided that the last day of paddling will be comparatively short and hence we wake up at 5:00AM. Sandy shared her inputs on what she had observed about the quality of kayaks and our paddling skills. She wanted to give us some tips as we paddled to Beypore, the next day. One could feel the tension in the air as each of us felt pain, for the expedition was coming to an end. We pitched tent among the swarm of ants and thorn bush and said good bye to the 12th day of the expedition, having completed 35Km (add effort for the 2 places we moved kayaks over the regulators).

Camping at DTPC grounds, Kottakadavu.

Day 13; Kottakadavu - Beypore

The alarm went up at 5AM and we woke up to make coffee. The solo stove for 96$ was worth it, compact and efficient, it took 15 minutes to boil 2liters of coffee for our team of ten. Though close to sea, Kottakadavu was cold. Sandy shared how she was not prepared for the chill. Dani lowered the cloth line, the kayaks were rigged and one by one launched. Sandy took a group snap and gave instructions on basic paddling and then we headed east, to re-enter Conolly canal. We had gone past Conolly canal entrance the previous day to reach Kottakadavu, were the CP Brother school is located. 

The sun was peeking through the horizon, shining red all around. Sandy called us and gave inputs to improve our paddling skills and it was not long before we turned left to enter the Conolly canal. This stretch of the Conolly canal is so well maintained - Embankments were new and very few sewage pipes emptied into the canal. We paddled on to enter the Beypore backwaters, the current was favourable; paddling leisurely Sandy took snaps of the group and we put some of her instructions to practice. Jibin and Kaushiqs family were expected to join us for the closure; Dani's dad had also come the previous day. Then news arrived that the flight which Kaushiq's family was taking from Dubai, was delayed. The birdlife in this stretch of the river is amazing, thanks to the sanctuary nearby; we had missed visiting Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary the previous day which was so close to where we had camped. Locals were inquisitive to know what we were up to, we had 2 local folks who rowed a boat to reach us and to know more about the expedition.



Kaushiq had one of his friends help arrange the breakfast and everyone was looking for Mr. Seenu. Finally Seenu waved to us, close to Karuvanthuruthy Bridge and we pulled over. Locals were amazed by the long trip we were doing; Students on their way to school and small kids with mothers, came to see what the commotion was. After the breakfast (all food picked neatly clean) and thanking Seenu for his help, we left for Beypore.

Breakfast, thanks to Seenu.

Chaliam fish market loomed as we took a corner with rows of country fishing boats moored on the side. Motorized boats were cruising in with the local catch. Kaushiq, Rakshit & Sandy, paddled to the market and we could see from a distance, the crowd moving like a swarm to see the 3 kayakers. The time was still around 9:00AM and we decided to hold for another 30 minutes or so.

Sandy took the opportunity to help Adarsh do a wet entry after showing how it’s done. Both the techniques Sandy demonstrated were repeated by Adarsh and that’s when his Father, Murugan Krishnan felt inspired to follow suit. Murugan repeated the wet entry technique and the team was ready to paddle to the finish point - Beypore.

Guru Pappu : "Appa, you dont push....you need to jump in, the way I did it"

With Jibin and Kaushiq, leading the pack, we crossed from Chaliyam to Beypore. Ria (Jibin's Daughter) was there to garland the Kayakers as they came ashore. One by one, the entire team came ashore for pictures and congratulations. Kaushiq had arranged a boat for the kayakers and kayaks to be transferred to his club.

Family and friends waiting at Beypore

Group picture at the finishing point.

It was 1:00PM, when we arrived at the club and had to rush for the valedictory function at the Beypore, Government High School, were the lunch was also arranged. So we rushed to the school and after the sumptuous lunch headed for the grand welcome. The school band, student police, Junior Red Cross and teachers joined us outside the school campus for a grand march. We were escorted into the school campus and after the march headed to the auditorium. The kind of energy you see in kids at a Government school is so different and positively contagious, as compared to private schools were kids look disciplined(read subdued). The session got started with District Collector as the chief of ceremony. Kaushiq got a kayak by road to the school for the kids to understand better.

The welcome procession at Government High School, Beypore.

After the program, Gopu Keshav and Anoop said goodbye's and we took pictures with teachers, kids and said good bye to the school, heading to Jellyfish. The evening was spent unwinding with some tea party that Kaushiq has organized and later to his home. The kayaks were already trucked and in the evening we headed back to our regular world, bring the curtain down on the amazing 13 day expedition; NW3 K4!

Dani took the early morning flight to Dubai; Rakshit and Murgan took the evening train to Bangalore; Prasad went with the truck that moved his kayak to Kannur; Adarsh, Raj, Mathew & self, took the evening training bound to Thiruananthapuram, Jibin, Kaushiq & Sandy would continue to be at Kozhikode with friends and family.

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