Elephants and Aliens

Date: July 2, 2009
Time: 10:00 p.m. Indian Time
Location: Zina Cottage, Munnar, Kerala State, India
Accomplishments: 70 k.m. from Munnar town to top station view point

The monsoon arrived today and it stayed. Heavy rain that does not stop. Once and a while it takes a break and becomes a gentle mist, then it returns to full force, pounding on the glass windows. We awake to the song of a bird that sounds like a human whistle and of course the rain. We have tea with Joseph Iype while we wait for the rain to give clear skies a chance to shine. At 9:00, we realize that the rain has come to accompany us wherever we go today. we decide to cycle to town and buy rain suits (plastic jacket and pants). We cycle up through the gentle hills with the rain knocking, pounding on our wet suits. It does not penetrate through our rain gear. Because we know that the tea and the people depend on the rain, we accept and welcome it. We cycle all the way to the top station view point on the border of two states (Kerala and Tamil Nadu). The views are breathe-taking. On the way back, a forest guard stops us an says, "Elephant!" Even though it is raining, the elephants come out to eat. At first, they look like large boulders in the distance. Then I see the large trunk move and indeed there are two elephants-- a mother and a baby! A funny joke-- while we are "Sight-seeing," the Indian people are also "sight-seeing." We stare and marvel at the views, endless rolling tea plantations, brown monkeys playing in the trees, the elephants grazing in the distance... The Indians stare and marvel at the aliens on space-ship bicycles, crazily cycling in the monsoon. Every little while, a car or a motorcycle stops. At first a shy smile, then "Please, photograph?" On at least four separate occasions, we are asked if we will pose for a photograph.

An all day cycling adventure and the winning favorite moment of the day is seeing the elephants while riding down the road on my bicycle! We end the day with a hot bucket shower and hot tea. Then at 8:30 p.m., we turn on the television and Muhsin, the guy we met in Manarkadd, is singing! He is singing in an American Idol style television reality show. Although I cannot understand a word, the song is beautiful!