Day 9/10 - June 3/4 - Kanyakumari (Cape Cormorin)

This weekend we took a team trip to the most southern tip of India. We stayed at the YMCA guesthouse - AC twin sharing rooms with private baths. Very different than our dorm style living with fans and bucket showers and squat toilets. It was a nice way to reset and refresh for another week of work. We did find that the AC was a bit chilly now that we have been living with the natural winds and ceiling fans.

We drove to Kanyakumari on Friday afternoon. During the drive we saw hundreds of wind turbines (probably a wind farm) along the windward side of the Western Ghats and the coastline of Tamil Nadu. It was pretty shocking to see the change in environment as we drove. The CASA center is pretty dry, receiving little to no rain. We passed through a good bit of rain on Friday afternoon and it rained for the majority of Saturday - making the lands very lush and green around Kanyakumari. After settling into the YMCA, we went to Hotel Sangam for dinner. Everyone ordered their own dish, however we quickly realized we had too much food and it became a family dinner, passing all the dishes around. We had three different kinds of masala, chicken 65, parotta, chapatthi, noodles, rice, biriyani, and more. It was so delicious. On Saturday we awoke to the loud music from a temple or church around 5 in the morning... so much for sleeping in. We have found that the Indian population likes to rise rather early and celebrate life by making lots of noise. I'm glad that the CASA center isn't close to a place of worship so that we can at least sleep until the rooster crows around 6:30am. 😜 Breakfast was a bit delayed after some confusion, but eventually we had masala dosas and idili with sambar. From breakfast we continued on to Padmanahbapuram Palace and then to the Mathoor Hanging Bridge/Aqueduct. It was a long, fun day of exploration and a e returned to Kanyakumari just in time to watch the sunset over the tri-sea gathering. The clouds and sky were so beautiful. I'm not sure if it was the angle we saw the clouds from, the spray from the crashing waves, or our position relative to the equator, but there seemed to be a rainbow in the clouds. It was difficult to capture by camera, but it sure was a sight. Afterwards we retreated to the YMCA for downtime.

One of the best examples of traditional Kerala architecture, the palace was constructed in 1601 by Iravi Varma Kulasekhara Perumal and rebuilt by King Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma around 1750. The palace is named after King Marthaanda Varma's family deity Sree Padmanabha, a form of Lord Vishnu, whom he dedicated the kingdom to. Hence the name Padmanabhapuram or City of Lord Padmanabha. The palace is complex inside with an old granite fortress around four kilometers long. It is located at the foot of the Veli Hills, which forms a part of the Western Ghats.

The longest and highest aqueduct in Asia, the Mathoor Aqueduct was constructed in 1966 by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, K. Kamaraj, as a drought relief measure across the river Pahrali. Its purpose is to carry water for irrigation from an elevated level of one hill to another.

On Sunday we went to the Amman Kumari Hindu Temple. It was an enlightening experience. Afterward we walked to the sunset point to see the Thiruvalluvar Statue and take a dip in the ocean. A few of us bought some traditional Indian clothing from the shops nearby and then we all checked out from the YMCA. On our drive home we stopped at the Vattakottai Fort. It was quite a sturdy complex and provided some excellent views of the sea, beaches, and coastal town of Kanyakumari.

Kanyakumari is a coastal town in the state of Tamil Nadu on India's southern tip. Jutting into the Laccadive Sea, the town was known as Cape Comorin during British rule and is popular for watching sunrise and sunset over the ocean. It's also a noted pilgrimage site thanks to its Bagavathi Amman Temple, dedicated to a consort of Shiva, and its Our Lady of Ransom Church, a center of Indian Catholicism.

And now we are back at the CASA center! It was a good weekend trip, but we are all happy to be back. A few of us went into the community tonight to check out the work that had been completed while we were gone and to chat with several community members.

Night!

- Caroline