Cool Air and Early Mornings in Kumily

Babu was waiting for us downstairs at 5:00 this morning. I’m not so good waking up early in the morning. I have a hard enough time sleeping even when I have no schedule to wake up for. The possibility of meeting up with wild elephants and maybe even a tiger was a bit exciting for me. They said there’s more chance if we go early. I went.

The moon was still strong as we began our walk. The stars were still bright. I wondered where the jeep was that was transporting us to the park entrance. We walked for about 30 minutes before I realized there was no vehicle.

Babu never faltered in his gate. The darkness was in no way a deterrent in his speed. He seemed to have bat eyes guiding him through the forest. There was no evident path. Babu used just intuition, and a sense of familiarity. I simply followed him and Paul was right behind.

As we made our way deeper and deeper into the woods, the day began to emerge comfortably. The atmosphere in Kumily is one of the characteristics of the village I am liking the most. We are very high in the mountains. There is virtually no humidity. The air is noticeably fresh and clean. The sun shines brightly. Early morning, however, the sun too is just waking up. As we walked, I was aware of the sun attempting to make her way through the mist.

We refrained from talking for most of the walk. That was nice. We even had a 15-minute opportunity to sit on a rock, overlooking the forest, able to see the towns of Kumily and the Thekkady. As the sun rose, we each sat by ourselves in meditation. The quiet, the beauty, the calm all contributed to a perfect rest.

We walked for 3 hours. Babu had no problems with the trek. We later discovered that he was 29 years old. I have to say that both Paul and I had some challenges. Several times I had to remind Babu “No more going up!” It just seemed that we always were climbing. Isn’t there supposed to be a downward path too?

We didn’t see animals. We saw lots of elephant shit though, and some of it smelled strongly. It was clear that they were there ‘just this morning’. We also looked for cobras because we saw evidence of a moulted snakeskin left behind. We picked wild chilli peppers and curry leaves. We saw some awesome sights over the hills. The sun was wide-awake before we made it back home. It was a nice way to start the day. It probably would have been just as nice if we had started at 9:00!

Travelling brings many different experiences. Kumily is nice. Paul and I are appreciating the relaxing that we’re able to do here. The women who cook at our Homestay are excellent cooks and we can just hang out on our balcony, reading, writing and just talking. We’ll just relax today. Tomorrow we move on again…..to the backwaters of Kerela.