Mountains and Munnar

Date: July 1, 2009
Time: 8:30 p.m. Indian time
Location: Zina Cottates, Munnar, Kerala India

The road clings to the ridge of the mountain. We follow it as if it was a ribbon wrapped around the mountain which is a gift from God. The gentle climb rewards us with majestic views of the valley. The tea plantations paint the hills in an endless shade of green. Soon we are in the clouds. A gentle mist makes the uphill climb bearable. We battle the hill/mountains for 30 kilometers before we conquer it. We are rewarded with a winding descend through the clouds and into Munnar. Entering Munnar, it begins to rain heavy. We pull into a restaurant.
I order, "Veg meal!" the Hindi set meal of the day. In minutes, the waiter places a large banana leaf in front of me and globs rice, curry, hot peppers, and bean and okra salad on top of the banana leaf. I use my right hand to mix the vegetable curries and the rice together and scoop it into my mouth. Together, we study the Lonely Planet Guidebook for ideas of where to stay. A description of Zina Cottage captures my interest.
"Nestled in the tea plantations...just outside of town..."
The rain lets up briefly and we cycle at first down the main road. It forks in several directions and we get lost in all the turns until we find a Kerala tourist information store.

"Where is Zina Cottage?" Steve asks a helpful lady inside. She calls Zina Cottage for us. The lady at Zina Cottage answers the phone and is very welcoming.

"You are from America! You must come and visit us! We will have a room waiting for you! We are directly opposite the Hill view Hotel."

We cycle onward. The rain begins again. We reach Hill View Hotel, and we do not see anything in front of it. We turn around and take another fork in the road. Still no Zina Cottage anywhere! The rain is heavy now. Combined with the altitude, the rain is cold and sends by body into shivers. Finally, we ask somebody on the street, "Where is Zina Cottage?" A friendly man points up a small rocky road leading into a tea plantation.

"I sure hope this is worth it, after getting soaked in the heavy rain and cycling in circles looking for it!" I exclaim, walking my bicycle up a steep grade. Finally, we see it! A small building with Zina painted on it and an old man waiting outside, waving wildly at us.

"Welcome!" he says, "Come, come. You are the Americans! We were worried about you! We thought you would come in Auto rickshaw! My name is Joseph Iype. You must come inside for some tea."

A warm welcome of tea, hot bucket shower, smiles, beautiful views of the tea plantations, a great dinner of gobi manchurian and roti--- Munnar is everything and more than we had hoped for it to be!

Thank you, Iype and your wife for your wonderful hospitality and welcome!