First Glimpse of Kavaratti

Tossing and turning all through the night, I somehow managed to spend that night in that hot and humid ship cabin. Ship’s air conditioner was still not repaired. As the early morning sun peeped through the windows I went up to the deck and was greeted by a great sunrise together with nice sprinkle of clouds. Passengers Kavaratti already started disembarking from the ship.

Cloud Cover

Far away in the horizon we could see the island of Kavaratti. After breakfast we boarded the ferry which took us to the capital of Lakshadweep, Kavaratti. The water was crystal clear & we could clearly see the bottom.

Blue Sea

Boats at Kavaratti Harbor

Just like other islands everything started with welcome drink of coconut. The beach was again amazing with white sand. As we spent waiting for the tide to raise so that we can go in the glass bottomed boat ride, our team elders and kids had great time building castles & dungeons in the white coral sand.

Caves & Castles

Then it was time for a glass bottom boat ride. The water is absolutely crystal clear. You could clearly see the aquatic life and the corals from the bottom of your boat. There were live coral, marine ornamental fishes and associated flora and fauna all under us visible through that thick glass at the floor of the boat. Here are few photos (of the 1000+ photos) I took from the boat through that thick glass. Uneven thick Glass has resulted in distortion as well as chromatic aberration which I was unable to correct.

Corals from Glass Bottom Boat

More corals

More corals

Amazing Variety

Brain Coral

It was sight of our lifetime. Live coral species in the lagoon, besides shoals of different species of marine fishes, a large number of sea-cucumbers of varying size, turtles, sea anemones. Around 30% of the corals were live and the rest were dead corals. Patches of sea grass and sea weeds were seen in some shallow water zones.

Powder Blue Surgeon Fish

Corals

Black Surgeon Fish

In the lagoon area we could see patches of different coral species including live finger corals, Brain Corals, Porites sp., soft corals and other animals, besides the algal assemblages on dead corals. Everybody in the boat were screaming in joy at the sight of colorful fishes & corals and sea turtles.

Variety of Sea life

Finger Corals

Maldive Clown fish with Magnificent Anemone

Final part of the joy came in finding Nemo, the clown fish & sea anemone symbiosis. We could also spot different varieties of Surgeon fish among those corals.

Once back, we lazed on the beach again. Unlike in Kalpeni snorkeling was not free here. On payment of 200 bucks, you can get to go snorkeling. Initially I was reluctant to go snorkeling here because I had done it in Kalpeni, but the corals and marine life seemed better here, so took a shot.

The instructor Mr. Bashir was really helpful in explaining technique of snorkeling. We had great set of life jacket & snorkeling gear. Here snorkeling is in deep sea. He showed us how to do snorkeling in deep waters even though I was not a swimmer. The fascinating marine world really opens only after we learn how to do proper snorkeling in this deep coral filled sea. We were thrilled to see the colorful fishes, corals & fauna. They live their own sweet tiny little world. We saw fishes of all colors, shapes & sizes zooming past us. Amazing variety of sea life which I was unable to capture but my friend Prasanna who purchased Panasonic waterproof camera just for this trip has shot beautiful underwater shots which you can see in this Picassa album.

Life jacket helped me to stay afloat and correct technique of snorkeling he showed me it was breeze to learn and enjoy. The snorkeling at Kavaratti is a must-do. There were few from our group who went for scuba diving. Since I had opted for snorkeling instead of scuba I missed that. After an hour of snorkeling, I came out tired, then the lunch was served. The lunch was good here.

Folk Dance

Local Ladies

Post lunch, we had usual cultural entertainment in the form of folk dance. We also visited an aquarium and museum of Kavaratti. A large sperm whale skeleton, several shells and varieties of fish, sea creatures preserved in formalin were there for display. Marine aquarium featured of few reef marine life. We could spot some species which we saw in the morning during our snorkeling trip.

Yellow Box fish in Aquarium

Kavaratti is the capital of Lakshadweep. It is also administrative center for all the islands of Lakshadweep with several Government offices. The Island land area is around 3.63 sq.km, with a population of 10,113 (2001 Census). Kavaratti has a lagoon on the west coast, which spreads to around 4.9 sq.km.

Rock Lobster in Aquarium

Due to some unknown reasons we were not shown the following two must see attractions of Kavaratti even though they were mentioned in the web site. First was the desalination plant set up by the National Institute of Ocean Technology which is based on pressure and temperature differential in the seawater and not on membrane (RO) technology. The plant was the sole source of drinking water being piped free of cost to every household in the island.

Critically Endangered Hawk bill Turtle in Marine Aquarium

Second was Ujra Mosque is the most beautiful among the 52 mosques in , Kavaratti, the capital island of Lakshadweep. The Ujra mosque is known to have been built by Sheikh Mohammad Kasim in 1670. The skill of Kavaratti’s craftsmen can be seen in the Ujra Mosque, the most outstanding of the 52 mosques of this Union Territory. The ceiling of the mosque is made of driftwood and ornately carved and painted in complementary shades of green and red.

When we asked the tour conductor they said the present itinerary of the Kavaratti trip did not include those two items. Since the time was running out we decided not to take risk of venturing in the island on our own and decided to take ferry back to our ship after the mandatory group shot at the beach. That was last island of Lakshadweep Atolls we are supposed to visit in this trip.

Our group

With heavy heart and sleepless eyes we bid farewell to the beautiful island. When we reached the ship we were in for a surprise. Ships engineers had repaired the air conditioner and we sighed a sense of relief. As the sun dipped down in the sea near Kavaratti ship started to sail away. Sharp 8 PM dinner was served after which we settled in our cabins for a well deserved good night sleep.

Setting Sun

Peeping through the clouds

Goodbye Lakshadweep

We were to reach Kochi harbor next day to conclude our 5 day journey.

You can check the other parts of this series here.

• Nir-Laksha Dweepa-Day1-Kochi
• Nir-Laksha Dweepa-Day2-Kalpeni
• Nir-Laksha Dweepa-Day3-Minicoy

Fishing Great Egret

Let me clarify those who are wondering about the title. Nirlaksha = Negligence in Kannada (Would be Nirlakshya in Sanskrit) Dweepa = islands. This is my trip report to the Lakshadweep between 17th April to 21st. I, along with my family and 18 other friends spent some lovely time in a ship called M.V Kavaratti and visited 3 of the 36 odd islands of Lakshadweep Atoll. You will notice why I named the trip report in this fashion in the course of the narrative. Till then it would be a suspense.

MV Kavaratti in parking bay

Due to luggage constraints I chose to carry very little of my photographic gear but I have managed to get some great shots. My Main workhorse was Canon EOS 5D mark II with Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens which produced some great wide angle shots. Canon EOS 7D with Canon 70-200mm f/4.0 L IS USM used as backup. Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM was great for the glass bottom boat shot when fitted on 5D mark II. It followed the boat floor without a hint of hunting on focus. All my gear was carried on Lowepro minitrekker bag. I will elaborate on gear as the report progresses. Let us jump to the trip report.

Chinese nets

We started our Lakshadweep trip from Mangalore. Our Trip organizer Prasanna who has already posted his album on picassa here had arranged tickets in the AC 3 tier Coach in Malabar Express train which left at 6:15PM from Mangalore railway station on 16th and reached Ernakulam Junction at 3:30 AM on 17th. A transport via a Mahendra Pickup Van took us to a nearby Hotel Anatha Bhavan on MG Road of Ernakulam. We took much needed early morning sleep before refreshing ourselves with bath and breakfast at the hotel. We checked out at 10AM and asked the Van driver to take us to the ferry trip and Jews Synagogue visit as the ship was delayed and they had asked us to report only after lunch time.

The First stop was off the Fort Kochi near the famous Chinese nets. The Chinese fishing nets (Cheena vala) of Fort Kochi (Fort Cochin) in the City of Kochi (Cochin), in the Indian State of Kerala, are fixed land installations for an unusual form of fishing — shore operated lift nets. Huge mechanical contrivances hold out horizontal nets of 20 m or more across. Each structure is at least 10 m high and comprises a cantilever with an outstretched net suspended over the sea and large stones suspended from ropes as counterweights at the other end. Each installation is operated by a team of up to six fishermen.

River road behind Chinese nets

The system is sufficiently balanced that the weight of a man walking along the main beam is sufficient to cause the net to descend into the sea. The net is left for a short time, possibly just a few minutes, before it is raised by pulling on ropes. The catch is usually modest: a few fish and crustaceans — these may be sold to passers by within minutes.

Houseboat on shores of Vembanad lake

The system of counterweights is most ingenious. Rocks, each 30 cm or so in diameter are suspended from ropes of different lengths. As the net is raised, some of the rocks one-by-one come to rest on a platform thereby keeping everything in balance. Each installation has a limited operating depth. Consequently, an individual net cannot be continually operated in tidal waters. Different installations will be operated depending on the state of the tide.

China Vala

It is received wisdom that the nets are Chinese in origin. This is not as improbable as the 5,000 km distance from China might suggest — Kochi is a very important centre for the spice trade attracting traders from far and wide. Some suppose that the nets were introduced by the Chinese explorer Zheng He.

Dolphin in Vembanad Lake

After visiting these Chinese nets we took a boat ride in Vembanad lake. Ferry took around the mouth of Vembanad lake which is largest back water lake of Kerala State. We saw several Common Terns, Whiskered terns, Gulls and Great egrets jostling for fish along the lake mouth. We also had luck of seeing Dolphins but from a great distance.

Common Tern

I hate Plastic

The Vembanad lake, the second largest wetland in India and the largest tropical wetland ecosystem on the country’s southwestern coast. It is recognised as a Ramsar site , a wetland of global importance as defined by the Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, and joined by India in 1981. Like many other permanent backwaters, its environmental condition is in a state of precipitous decline, representing a looming ecosystem crisis. There are plastic bottles everywhere you look. Other plastic and solid rubbish lines every shore and canal, regularly clogging motorboat engines. The water is more like slurry , you cannot see deeper than the first inch or two.

Kochi harbor with prominent Port Trust Building

Common Terns on Vembanad lake

Whiskered Terns on Vembanad lake

Common Tern on Vembanad lake

Along our trip we visited a fish market and saw many Houseboats (Kettuvallam) which are famous tourist attraction of this lake. We also saw our ship parked at Willington Island Bay close to Taj malabar Hotel. It was a short boat ride which dropped us off at the Jew Town on the bank of Vembanad lake.

Fishermen turning up at fish market to auction their catch

Kettuvallam

We wanted to see the Jew Synagogue but unfortunately it is closed on Fridays and Saturdays. So we walked along the street which leads to the Paradesi Jew Synagogue and all the antique shops along the sides of the street. These shops sport huge collection of antiques expecting to sell them to foreign tourists who throng these places. Kerala which proclaims itself as God’s own country attarcts huge number of foreign tourists for whom Kochi is one of the main attraction.

Antique dealers in Jewish Town

Paradesi Jewish Synagogue

Even Antique wall is for sale

Head of the Buddha

Pefume with Toddy!!

After window shopping in sweltering heat at the Jew Town, we left to the Kochi port to have lunch. We had a sumptuous and tasty vegetarian plantain leaf lunch at BTH restaurant inside the port.

At around 1:30PM we went to the check in counter of SPORTS office which is checking in site for our trip to Lakshdweep. The Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism and Sports (SPORTS) is the organization which conducts this Lakshadweep Samudram Package is a Five-days cruise to visit the islands of Kavaratti, Kalpeni and Minicoy by ship- M.V Kavaratti.

We collected the boarding passes from the SPORTS office. From there, they arrange transport to the jetty for boarding. Now, this place resembled a war torn country area where people were lining up for free food. It surely resembled a refugee camp. Picture this, a small walled area of about 200 sqft and about a 100 odd people waiting to rush in through a small door.

Everyone had luggage, but we were stunned when we saw the islanders. They generally travel from Kochi, which is their only source of shopping. Everything from vegetables to blankets to cartons full of provisions to LCD tvs were lined up as luggage.

MV Kavaratti in parking bay

There is no separate line for tourists. You need to jostle your way through. or like what we did is to wait patiently for all the passengers to finish their check before entering the queue. Just then, the small door opened and one by one, all the luggage belonging to the islanders was put in.

The staff was efficient, but fell short for the volume of the work they need to do. If only they had managed the crowd outside the counter too in an humane and efficient way it would have been great.

Then we got our luggage scanned and we were quickly taken to the jetty via a bus. There stood the impressive MV Kavaratti. Majestic from the outside, we expected it to be the same from inside as well. Even though we were told that luggage is supposed to be transported by porters, since we did not seen any one around it was our turn to carry our luggage up the dicey ladder leading to 4th floor deck of the ship.

Tug pulling ship from the parking bay

The ship then waited for I don’t know what… by the time it started moving, it was 5 pm. The first class cabin allotted to us was quite nice, it had bunker beds, a table, a fan, cupboards, an attached bath and was air conditioned. 21 of us were allotted 11 rooms. Even though it was half rate for kids they were given a separate bunker.

Post Sunset

Few of us who were allotted rooms on the 4th deck were cramped compared to the ones in the 5th deck. There was hardly a space to climb on to the top bunker bed in the 4th Deck. On the last day of the trip we found out that this was a trick SPORTS kept on doing on all the gullible tourists who have opted for Samudram package. 10 cabins in the 4th deck were really 1st class AC cabins meant for the 1st class passengers who opted for 1 day trip from Kochi to Kalpeni island, but instead allotted to us for full 5 days. So if you have choice of selecting cabins or you are booking via travel agent insist one from 5th Deck. They are spacious and the port window is open-able to let in fresh air. Also if you are booking rooms in group notice all the odd number of cabins are on the right side of the ship ( starboard in the nautical term) and all even number of cabins are left side of the ship (port in the nautical term).

Now, there are constant announcements on the ship which are audible in each of the cabins. Food was served at a very punctual rigid time schedule which needed a great discipline to follow. One important info about the food. The food at best can be termed decent in good quantity but bland for the our taste buds.The food court was divided into Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian. Menu was identical on both side except an extra non veg item for meat eaters, curds for grass eaters.

Away from Kochi

We set sail from the Kochi harbor at around 5PM and left for the great sea in search of first destination which is Kalpeni islands of Lakshdweep Atolls. The journey out of the port on to the great sea was uneventful we could feel the gentle side to side motion of the ship inside the cabin. Sea sick feeling was there but I did not see anybody grossly affected by it.

After Sunset from the Top Deck

Wait for my next blog for the day 2 where we reach first of Lakshdweep island – Kalpeni.

P.S My good friend GN Ashokavardhan who accompanied us on this trip has posted his version of day 1 at his blog ಸಾವಿರ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಲಕ್ಷಗಳಿಸುವ ಯೋಗ.

Silhouette

It was late in the evening and light was not sufficient for any meaningful hand held bird photography. I saw the male Loten’s Sunbird(Cinnyris lotenius) on a Peacock Flower (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) plant searching for nectar in the nearby flowers. I had my Canon EF 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM on Canon EOS 7D. The dark dried pod of Peacock Flower was giving a nice silhouette against the setting sun. So I under exposed by 2 stops to get this result with only outline of the bird, complimented by the dried pod. I was on ISO 200 which gave a very sharp outline without any noise.

Loten's Sunbird

You can read more about Male Loten’s Sunbird in my earlier posts here and here