A leaf in my eye...Kodamthuruth

I never know what to expect.  A leaf just blew in my eye as I sat on the commode.  It's an indoor toilet with a 3/4 wall and roof open to the palms and plantains, so a breeze, an ant, or a butterfly drifts in. It's ideal.

Kodamthuruth Is about 40 km south of Fort Kochi, the big city. We had some concerns as to how to reach this place since it's not on a bus route and most folks travel by canoe or motorcycle on rutted roads.  But our next best friend, Rajeem said, "Susan and Charles, I will drive you. No problem. Good for me. Good for you."  Rajeem  wears a crisply ironed shirt and his autorickshaw mirrors his style. For an hour, we travel through villages too small to be on a map, down roads that have been paved and repaved to accommodate monsoons, and when we cross a bridge or canal, he points out our island far in the distance.  And our island is far into the back country.  

Manu, the young owner along with his family, understand the comforts needed by travelors and have built 4 individual cottages along a lake overlooking egrets, ducks, herons, etc.  Each day Sugu, the boatman, gives 2-4 hour tours on a shaded houseboat to the deeper parts of the backwaters to see how families live.  Antoney, Manu's 90+ father, is the gardner attending to coconut based orchids tied onto trees, and his aunt and cousin provide rice and a variety of curries for lunch (fish from the lake, peppers marinated in a curry base, dal, crungy fried papardom).  His business is doing so well by advertizing on airbnb, tripadvisor, expediu, that he has hired and is training two cousins in hoteliering.  

Us?  Well our part is to take walks in the neighborhood, row a small canoe across the lake, sit on the porch and read books and type in our journals, watch birds, count butterflies, and smile.  We can do this!