Like Mumbai this was my second visit in under a year to Cochin, also known as Kochi, but from here on until the end of this voyage in San Diego all the ports of call are new for me and Yangon (Rangoon that was) Myanmar will be a maiden port of call for Balmoral. Indeed Balmoral will be one of the first cruise ships to call at Yangon as this country slowly democratises.
Before I get on to the main business of the day – a cruise on the Alleppey Backwaters on a houseboat – let me tell you a little more about Cochin. You will have guessed by now that Cochin is a city and seaport on the Arabian Sea in the state of Kerala in the extreme southwest of India. Cochin lies at the northern end of a narrow stretch of land about 12 miles long by less than a mile wide in many places, and is separated from the mainland by inlets form the sea and estuaries of some 7 rivers draining from the Western Ghat Mountains. It is really a cluster of several islands some of which are man made that surround a natural harbour created by underwater Malabar mud banks that ensure calm waters. Today Cochin is one of the largest seaports in India and the headquarters of the Southern Command of the Indian Navy.
During the rainy season – the hottest months in Cochin are March, April and May and are followed by the “Wet Monsoon” blowing from the south-east from May to September and the “Dry Monsoon” blowing from the north-east from October to April - the backwaters are navigable but in the dry season some are less than 2ft deep. Today the seawater is held back by dams to keep the backwaters sweet since they are a major sauce of irrigation for the rice paddy fields and drinking water in this part of India.
The major industries of Cochin are shipbuilding, sawmilling, fishing and the manufacture of coir mats – Kerala being the centre of coconut oil production in India. The sawmilling explains the vast amount of teak to be found in yards all around the port upon which I commented in my Indian Ocean Blog in 2013. On this visit I found out that the teak is imported form Burma (Myanmar) our next major port of call after Colombo – Sri Lanka.
So the photos - taken from the bus – show just a small portion of one of the teak yards and the colourful and intricate decorated lorries awaiting their loads of timber.
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