December 28th

Yesterday I awoke with a sore throat!!  🙁  Jeff gave me his cold. Thankfully he is better, so it won't last long. Because of this I did not feel like doing anything! We had breakfast at our place – I”ll be honest, I don't  even remember what it was. But I do remember omelets and our hostess, Deeja, made me a “coffee” for my sore throat. It was very aromatic and very soothing (very little if any coffee, but it was much-needed, and appreciated). Then we just hunkered inside. Jeff did go out once to get us drinks. Supper we had here: Chinese Veggie with cauliflower and maybe a poblano (?) pepper, served with a bread; and butter chicken curry (Jeff really like this dish, a lot!) with another kind of bread and watermelon. She also gave me hot water. 

Now today, I felt better maybe 70% – no more sore throat or achiness, just congestion with a cough. Breakfast was the curry with hard-boiled eggs, with a chapati bread; a yellow stew with parotta; and boiled bananas. Francis brought up room cleaning, which we were going to ask for today. We also brought down laundry to be done. Then we went on walkabout. 

The Alleppey Lighthouse is finally open. So we hiked there, paid entry fee, and hiked up the nice spiral staircase! The last climbing bit was a boat type ladder, but was only 10-15 steps. It was doable, and outside was tolerable in the shade. The lighthouse was established in 1862. It seems quite a ways from the shore, but it is still working. Good views. There were surprisingly a largish number of people visiting. Francis, our host said it is a busy time for tourists right now. Many seem to be native, touring their own country. Speaking of touring, when we left the lighthouse, we happened upon 'Mission One Rupee'. It is two guys on two bikes, joined together with a metal cover. They are slowly going around India to raise money for housing for Indians in need – “differently-abled”. Jeff had seen them on our way to Alleppey from Kochi and read about them. It is fascinating and we wish them well (and we did donate to their cause).

We went back by way of the road, at least it has occasional shade, as opposed to the beach, and I am worn out. We frequented our water lady's stall. She sees us and smiles,”Water?”, when we stop, (which is just about everyday). We also stopped at little cafe for a brownie and fresh grape juice. It hit the spot for a light lunch.

When we arrived in our room, I laid down to cool off. Then we showered and siesta until sunset time. We went out around fiveish to our restaurant. Our waiter guy was back. I said we noticed him gone for two days, and asked if he had time off. He directed us to a table and said he was in Kochi. HIs mom is in the hospital. I asked if she is better now. He shook his head in the negative! (We will pray for him and the family.) Anyway, we ordered the Butter-garlic Fish. It was King Fish and he said it was good. (I was going to get a different fish, but he shook his head, “not so good.”)   So we got the same thing, it does not happen often. I had the Orange Mojito and had the Lemonana. Sunset was nice, mostly due to atmosphere of the setting. 

We arrived back at our place, and put out this blog as Jeff read and then edited it. God Bless to all.