This region is known as Kerala and it is home to the famous Fort Kochi. Originally known as Kochi, this city is 170 miles from the southern tip of India. In the early days Romans, Greeks, Phoenicians, Chinese, Arabs and Jews all had a part in the history of this country and today the Jewish Commumity is still strong. After boarding our coach the first stop was cruise the harbour on a local tourist boat. Our guide explained about the history of the area and pointed out many buildings and interesting places. Many people were on the side of the water waiting for ferry boats and it allowed us to see some of the local activity as well.

We alighted the boat at Mattancherry to have a look at the Palace. An interesting visit here as the walls were covered in original paintings and there were many portraits of past Kings that had the unique quality that they seemed to watch as you walked by! The Palace had many tourists visiting and outside the locals were resting in the grounds and waiting for us to come out to the market area and buy some goods. Colour abounds here and the atmosphere was one of frenetic activity and encouragement to bargain. The next visit was to walk along Jew Street, where there were many shops selling a variety of goods. Hindu statues, tailors, jewellery stores and spices were all on sale and it was an interesting area to browse. The streets were very narrow and there was just enough room for small cars and tuk tuks to drive along. Bargaining was definitely the call of the day and much fun was had doing just that! Time to leave and go and see the famous Chinese fishing nets that are on the side of the river. These have been a tradition in Cochin and are used to catch fish for one of their biggest industries. The nets themselves are incredible to see as they are built with a wooden frame and have large blue nets attached and huge weights to work the lifting and lowering into the water. We walked along the shoreline checking out the scenery and came across a fisherman with a large fish that he seemed quite proud of! In general the fish appeared to be quite small but they must have a market for them. At the end of our walk we came across the Church of St Francis where Vasco de Gama was originally buried. The Church had a seafaring look as there were panniers hanging from the roof which looked like the inside of a Portugese ship. very appropriate to the history of Cochin itself. Back on board and we were taken to a large private home to have afternoon tea before returning to the ship once again. A vey hot but enjoyable day exploring Cochin. P & O Arcadia