Poovar: Backwater Boat ride (August 5, 2023)

We drove south of Trivandrum to another coastal area, Poovar, that offers a backwater boat ride and a stop on the Golden Sandy beach at the Arabian Sea.

We were inside a small motor boat and felt like we were in a jungle.  We drove through mangroves and saw many fish, ducks, birds and other interesting sights.  The trees were hanging over the water and the forest was thick all around us. It was fun and funny because it felt like the Jungle Cruise at Disney.

Shaji helped us negotiate the price of our boat.  There was a cost for 1 hr, 1.5 hrs or 2 hours.  We paid the 1.5 hour rate but he agreed to give us the 2 hour ride. It was supposed to be Rs. 4500 for the two hour ride. He said we needed to pay Rs 3500 and then Shaji said give him Rs. 3000 and he would take it.  It worked.

This is a kingfisher bird and it's beautiful.  It is found mostly near the water and we have a few near our home.  I have seen them dip into our pool.  Marshall swears that if he tries to get his phone to take a picture or walks toward him, he will fly away. 

Kingfisher is also the local beer in India. Some places it is the only beer to drink. There is Ultra, Premium and Strong. They mostly come in a size a little larger than a tall boy so if they bring it in mugs at the restaurant, they will bring two mugs and set them on the table.

Great sight today. Common sight is concrete stairs leading into the water where you can wash clothes and yourself.  We first saw a man washing his dog in this water and then saw this man washing his cow. There were three other cows tied up in the jungle, presumable waiting for their bath. Guess this is bath day.

We saw many bald eagles.  We were very excited when we saw the first two and by the end of the ride, we probably saw 20 of them.  I really enjoyed watching them fly too.  Evidently, they are fairly common here.

We love seeing a cross or Christ representation here.  We know that we are surrounded by Christians.  Most of the Christians are Catholic but they call themselves Christians.  One of Marshall's friends had never heard of Protestants and had a hard time understanding so many different churches in our country.  It makes me wonder what God thinks about the way we have separated what was meant to be One church.

There is a small island in the middle of this area and these rooms are part of the Poovar Resort and you can have a floating room.  We had hoped to get to the Maldives and stay in a cabana over the water but it doesn't look like we will make it this time.  Marshall has promised to bring me to the Maldives one day!

On the other side of the water is Golden Sands.  It is a sandy beach between the canal and the Arabian Sea.  Our boat stopped so we could walk on the beach.  We stood in the Arabian Sea.

There were many tourists here but the area is roped off and they will not allow you to swim.  It was quite rough.  People were squealing when the waves crashed and rushed onto their feet.

Everyone is friendly and asking where we are from.  People ask to take pictures with us many places that we go.  A young lady said to Marshall "I saw you at the temple earlier".  I guess they recognize us wherever we go!!

We had the opportunity to ride a camel but we passed.  We saw a few others take advantage of this opportunity.

When we rounded the corner of the middle island, we saw these young boys bathing in the water with their father.

We loved our canal boat ride through the mangroves and backwaters in Poovar.