Kodanad

Jonathan Russ, one of my co-workers in the U.S.A. decided to taste India for a month along with his family (his wife Ann and daughter Lexi).  It appears they had been following my blog, and then decided to come to India because Lexi wanted to see baby elephants, Ann wanted to see Lexi see baby elephants, and Jonathan wanted to taste the spicy food.  If someone wants to see baby elephants and eat spicy food, India is a great place to visit.

I talked with G.O.C. , and we setup a local trip to help them reach their goals. Our First stop was at Paniyeli Poru park. Here is a link:

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/02/06/stories/2006020601150300.htm

 

When we arrived at the park, we took two guides on the 4 kilometer hike. We really didn't know what to expect as it was our first time. After about one kilometer we reached the banks of the river.

 

We continued along the path to find some nice flowers and interesting formations.

 

We then found ourselves pulling up our pant legs to our knees as we walked across numerous pools and streams about 3 kilometers into the trip. The water was very cool and refreshing. Lexi, who is four years old, played and splashed in the water along with the female guide. The male guide would scout ahead looking for safe way to cross the next stream.

 

At the end of the hike we reached the final destination Paniyeli Poru. It was a great place to picnic.

 

Here are some stitched shots which show the beauty and expanse of the area.

 

 

 

Of course, Paniyeli Poru is not a baby elephant, but Jonathan and his family were enjoying the natural environment. After a while, we headed back on a different path - once again crossing streams and pools. It was a great hike, and a lot of fun. When we got back to the parking lot, our driver was having lunch at a local store, and so we went with the flow. Our female guide dropped us off at a small shop nearby, and we relaxed to tea and  fryed bananas as a energy boosting lunch time snack.

Once lunch time was over, we headed to the main attraction of the day - baby elephants in Kodanad where there is an elephant care center. The care center treats lost and found elephants, attempts to get them healthy, and perhaps put them back in the wild if possible. Here is a link about a baby elphant that was rescued:

http://www.newkerala.com/news3.php?action=fullnews&id=19231

 

Here is a baby and juvenile elephant at the care center.  There was a very small baby elephant in a protected area that we were able to get a glimpse of and everyone thought it was very very cute.

 

This elephant was drinking and taking a bath. The other elephants were also led to this area one at a time for some cool drinks and a quick bath.

 

I was surprised to find out that there was also a zoo at the care center. Here are only a few of the animals at the zoo.

This is a boa snake and a crocodile.

 

These are some spotted deer. Other animals at the zoo were monkeys, parrots, assorted birds, eagles, giant squirrel, owl, and others.

 

The next surprise came when we were told we could ride an elephant. Everyone thought this would be a great adventure except Jonathan who preferred to take the pics of his wife and kid riding an elephant. So, I got on first, and then Lexi and Ann went behind me while Jonathan took these pics.

 

It was an amazing experience. The massive muscles flexed and rippled moving us from side to side with no effort at all. The hairs on the backside of the elephant were fairly stiff, and they easily poked through the light materials worn by Ann and Lexi - much to my amusement.  It was a wonderous animal, and we thanked her (it was a female elephant) for giving us the ride.

For those who follow this blog, you may remember another blog post about this same care center. Savi and his wife visited the area a while back, and you can find more pics from that post. Here is the link:

http://www.therhogue.com/blog/2006/10/picnic.html

 

At this moment, you might think the adventure would be over, but only about an hour away was Cherai Beach. We estimated that we could get to the beach just before sunset, and we pushed on to the beach.

Along the way, we saw some local fisherman who were diving into the water to catch fish. On the other side was a Chinese fishing net that was hauling out the catch of the day.

 

We had about an hour to spare before sunset, and we watched people gather for another lovely sunset on a sandy beach in  India.

 

Overall, Jonathan, Ann, Lexi and I had a great and memorable day in India. I'm sure one of many to come.