Day 1 & 2 - The launch from Kollam and reaching Valiazheekal.

Day-1 - The launch  ; Kollam - Kureepuzha - Dalavapuram
NOTE : Pictures courtsey Jibin Thomas & Murugan Krishnan

The previous day,  we took delivery of five new kayaks at Changanacherry and had them transported to Kollam by truck, including the other five. We met two of our team mates for the first time - Kaushiq & Dani. By evening all the 10 expedition members had arrived, including Raj. The new Kayaks were opened up, rigged and few taken for trial.  Dani, took his kayak to get marine electronics installed.

Jibin Thomas, trying out the new kayaks. 

We took time to bond, pack things as per our checklist. The task of packing the contents for the expedition looked daunting. Joseph uncle, who had helped us on our first trip in 2014, came to meet us all.

Joseph uncle with Murugan. 

We got up early on 2nd January as the excitement got building. The restaurant was asked to serve breakfast at 730AM and the kayaks were loaded up as per the checklist. Hauling the kayaks out of the KTDC Tamarind gave us the feeling that we were heavily loaded. We had never thought about Kayak trolley as a mandatory item. Few team members have bought the trolley for their use and we found them handy for the trip and decided to carry all four of them. In an expedition, one needs to be well prepared to meet any eventuality!. Having completed the expedition, the list of contents in the checklist needs to be relooked for the next year.  

Checklist items ready to be packed.

Our family members had arrived early as we lined up the kayaks. There was resignation at seeing the poor quality of water that we were to launch into.  The area around Kollam boat jetty was still a big mess that we had seen during our last expedition, a year back. An abattoir and local sewage gets dumped into the back waters compounded by apathy from local public, who dump waste tied in plastic bags.

Heading towards Kollam boat jetty.

The Tamarind boat jetty gave a safe passage to launch the kayaks. One by one, we got in and readied to reach the Kollam boat jetty on the other side, taking great care no to touch the water.

The Kollam mayor, Honey Benjamin(seated), inaugrated the function.

ACP Kollam, at the inaugration function.

Our sponsors Mathrubhumi SEED, National games and Suchitwa mission planned a launch function that had the Mayor and ACP(Assistant Commissioner of Police), Kollam flag us off. There were a group of school kids who had come with their headmaster for the function. We gave our first copy of "Birds of the Indian Subcontinent" to the school that the kids represented.

Kayaks moored, Kollam boat jetty.

The ACP expressed his desire to get himself photographed in a kayak and we had to oblige him with prayers; the water was really bad and the kayaks tip over like aircrafts; during launch and retrieval. The ACP flagged us off, after our group snaps and good byes to our families, well-wishers, students and Joseph uncle(who promised to meet us that evening at Dalavapuram).We paddled off to the Puthiyacavu Central School, were we had halted during our 2014 expedition.

Standing Left to Right - Dr. Raj, Kaushiq, Jibin, Dani, Prasad. Sitting Left to Right - Adarsh, Murugan, Vipin, Mathew.

The  first point of attraction en-route to the school was the big naked statue of Vilakamma Estate, were a voluptuous damsel towers over the skyline with a torch in her hand. After taking pictures of Vilakamma we paddled on to the Puthiyacavu Central School.

Kayaker, awed by Vilakamma!

Being Christmas the school was closed and we got permission from the management to camp at their grounds, till we paddle for Dalavapuram, post lunch. Dani's Father came in an auto rickshaw full of tender coconut. Uncle's gesture looked like an omen as we got tender coconut all the way. Kaushiq could not resist trying his hands on the auto rickshaw and asked the owner if he could take it for a spin. As Kaushiq moved the vehicle, the driver ran behind fearing his auto may be driven away!

Dani's Dad got us some tender coconuts.

 We recollected the trip we had last year and the session we did for the students at the Puthiyacavu Central School. Gopu Keshav and Anoop, the co-ordinators from Suchitwa mission came with the meals all packed in steel utensils. Their effort saw us being more eco-friendly all through the journey. After the lunch we rested; it was 4PM and set paddling to meet the beautiful Ashtamudi lake. 

Mudflats of Ashtamudi Kayal

Chinese nets at Sambrani jetty, Ashtamudi Kayal.

We reached Sambrani jetty and entered Ashtamudi lake as low tide took hold. Water levels were receding as Pappu got stuck on  a mudflat.We paddled leisurely to reach the Church at Thekumbhagom and Joseph uncle was there with his grandchild. Last year, it was here, we had run with hooligans and Joseph uncle became our saviour and the church courtyard became our camping ground. Raj, jumped ashore to get some hot Samosa's and Pazhampori from the local Kappikada (Tea shop in Kerala, also called as Chayapedika in North Kerala).

The church at Thekumbhagom, Dalavapuram.

After enjoying the snacks Raj got we moved on as our stay this time was going to be at a place further up. Dani, had met Fr. Robero, who ran an organic farm in Dalavapuram, few days back. Fr. Robero was hosting us that evening and it was now Dani's turn to plot the route.  It was Dusk by the time we reached Fr. Robero's farm and the weight of our fully loaded kayaks bore on us. We took turns hauling the kayaks and trying the trolley to reach our camp, which was 200 meters from the water front. Murugan and Mathew looked visibly tired.

The team with Fr. Robero

Father Robero, was a very interesting priest; down to earth and with a vision to look at things differently. He was avid promoter of scientific organics. His farm had everything from papayas to horses! What attracted us most was the Neera (Coconut palm sap) that was collected from palms all over the farm. Fr. Robero had a meditation hall were all religions are represented with Christ at the centre, seated in meditation Buddha posture. He did all he could to make us feel comfortable as we settled into our rooms. A country boat outfitted with a outboard motor took us another kilometre or so, to attend a public function to build awareness on waste segregation. Balancing on a country boat is an art of its own; it gets much complicated as the number of passengers twists to maintain their balance. After the public function we came back to a great dinner with some amazing fish curry sent by Dani's Mom. Dani's place is Neendakara, close to Dalavapuram. Joseph uncle was there to share his experience of life and his visit to the Cochin biennale.

Extraction of Neera, Fr. Robero's farm, Dalavapuram.

 After dinner the Neera arrived and it was the first time many of us tasted it. Neera or "non fermented coconut palm sap" is a great refresher, the traditional drink of Kerala before the IMFL (Indian made foreign liquor) took over. From British times the tapping of Neera and its cousin Toddy (fermented Neera) is closely controlled. For a tropical place as Kerala, Neera was the drink of choice as it lowers body temperature. Unfortunately we fancy things that are not native and today Kerlaites gulp the maximum(19Liters per capita) of IMFL in India, which increases body heat! Hopefully the local government realizes the importance of Neera and takes it off the excise list. Murugan and Mathew were tired after the days effort and complained of headache; Neera was served as advised by Fr. Robero. We said good night to Joseph uncle and Dani's Father, as we pulled curtain on Day-1, completing 9Km!

Day 2 - The stretch begins; Dalavapuram - Chavara - Alumkadavu - Vallikavu - Azheekal - Valiazheekal

It was 4:00AM when the alarm rang and we called up Mathew to help with making the brew for the team. We were trying the solo stove for the first time, to make coffee for the group of 10. After the coffee and packing the kayaks, we attached the trolley to take them some 200 meters to the launch point. The launch point was different to where we had landed the previous day, as it gave better access to the water. Moving the kayaks using trolley was an activity we learned and it was taking time. Fr. Robero was up early and helping us to launch the kayaks and it was past 530AM, when we bid goodbye to this amazing padre. 

The blinkers on the buoys that indicate boating channel of National Waterway 3 (NW3) were not working as local fishermen gave us the bearing to Chavara Thodu (the next leg of our journey that connects us to Vattakayal). Teams formed to ensure all 10 members were accounted for, slowly starting blurring as it became challenging to manage individual competence. The water quality we left behind at Kollam Jetty now reappeared, with abattoir, industrial and sewage waste competing to choke the small canal that makes Chavarathodu. We paddled on to see huge amounts of waste being discharged by KMML. Who questions the Government? When government fails in its duty, environment fails! It was after crossing Kovilthottam, Chavarathodu slowly regained its breath and we paddled on to reach Vattkayal.

Along the way, the dry fruits neatly packed and distributed as rations by our colleague Kaushiq came handy. Raj had a speaker atop his kayak that blared Tamil hip-twisting numbers. Vattakayal for a change this year looked much pacified, the stationery waves were missing as we crossed to reach its north channel around 7:45AM, to reach Kozhikode. This was the Kozhikode way south of the big city of Calicut (Kozhikode), which was our final destination. Kaushiq looked amused for he was from Kozhikode and had never heard about any other place by the same name. Hunger looked written on all faces, as we enquired how far Alumkadavu was. Alumkadavu, was a favourite halt of our last year expedition, with a friendly Kapikada owner with some authentic local delicacies. We paddled on, talking to locals who had read about the expedition in the days newspaper and it was 9:30AM, when we pulled into the big boat jetty at Alumkadavu.

The Kapikada at Alumkadavu.

Kaushiq & Raj, enjoying their riverview breakfast

The acquaintances from last year were refreshed as we settled in for sumptuous breakfast. Fish and Tapioca, Fish fry, Kanjee, Parota with veg curry,  Pathiri, Tea  & Coffee(the guy had it made with coffee powder bought by Kaushiq!) and other specialities flew for the next hour or so. It was 10:30AM, when we left Alumkadavu, flanked by fishing trawlers that were berthed on either banks of the Canal, that got deeper and narrower as we headed north.

We went past the boat jetty at Vallikavu were we had camped last year. This year our daily targets were recalibrated; for the expedition in 2014, we started with a graduated approach that saw daily targets increase by the day. This year we had planned for daily targets of 25Km, irrespective of the tides. The low tide was taking us faster towards our destination of Valiazheekal. It was 12:30PM or so, when we reached Kayankulam Kayal (kayal = back waters). The low tide was in full strength, what was an advantage till we reached Kayankulam Kayal, now turned out to be the challenge. Combine with the mid-day sun the receding tide made paddling very difficult. Valiazheekal sits on the northern side of the channel opening into the sea, the receding tide was much stronger here as Kayankulam kayal is huge and stretches kilometres north or Valiazheekal. It took all our efforts to reach Valiazheekal School, situated on the corner where there Kayal bends to empty in sea. Valiazheekal is one of the areas in Kerala that was devastated in the 2004, Tsunami. 

Reception at Valiazeekal.

The local contact, Deepu and Anoop were at Valiazheekal to receive us and we trolleyed the kayaks to the school, were we camp for the day, being a Sunday. After the quick lunch we got ready for the public function organized by the Sree Muruka Arts Club that was presided over by the local panchayath (peoples) representative. The welcome and procession was accompanied with traditional percussion ensemble. Some of them were familiar from or last trip. Many of us fell to tiredness and started dozing, some of us were busy tapping on to the phones to update our family and friends. 

Clean up at Valiazheekal School.

After the function we did a clean-up of the school premises. Being a government school in fishermen community, the school is under pressure on resources - no toilets for boys, girl’s toilets have no doors! After the clean-up drive, we started the daily chores of taking bath and washing clothes, supported by the lone tap. Dani, was our clothline supporter for the entire expedition, he put them up on arrival and removed them as we closed camp. Murugan engaged a group of local kids for birding, teaching them the basics of the trade. 

Tsunami memorial at Valiazheekal.

After the evening tea and local snacks, we snarled our way to the Valiazheekal Beach to see the memorial to the Tsunami victims. The art work is amazing for the effort has ensured the Tsunami victims are not forgotten. Their memorials are represented on rock faces that form the sea wall, each of them brought to life with some amazing art work. As we finished the walk at the Tsunami  memorial and headed back, the full moon was shooting up into the sky, beckoning the photo enthusiast in our group to capture the horizon. 

The day came to an end as we finished early dinner. We had to wash our plates and the container in which the food was brought to the camp. The class rooms were so big, they accommodated 10 Kayaks and us. We slept on the floor and slipped into deep sleep, thanks to the hard effor of sun and tide; having kayaked 24Km.