Captain Anthony Kennedy

On Monday afternoon Richard Pearse and I had walked from the hotel to Yercaud for a bit of excercise and to get an Indian plug for my four socket gang. The town consists of very poor housing and some retail outlets along the side of the road. The lake is obviously at the centre of the community. We were contemplating our return to the hotel when we were approached by an elderly Indian gentleman who had a military bearing and caried a swagger stick. He explained that he had completed 30 years in the Indian Army and had retired 30 years ago. He was very pro British; the Indian Army having taken many of their traditions from the British Army. It was clear that he wanted to befriend us and he would be delighted to take us out the next day on a tour of the area. It was our rest day but were not sure what plans the group had. He said he would see us at the hotel the next day. We were not sure what we were letting ourselves in for. He introduced himself as Captain Anthony.
Over the evening meal we decided that we should hire a coach and have a tour of some local places of interest.
First thing Tuesday morning, I went to the room next door to wish Fran a happy birthday, I had my massage at 8.30 so had to have a late breakfast. During breakfast Captain Anthony arrived. He appointed himself tour guide despite the Hotel Manager Joby Jose already having been appointed tour coordinator.
The breakfast was excellent as with most things in this hotel. We have to thank P.Karthik the pastry and breakfast chef for an excellent breakfast selection and for making a birthday cake for Fran.

Our first destination was a coffee plantation on the Blue Mountain Estate. We met the owners; brothers A. Suresh and A Sadan and they showed us the process up to the despatching the beans to the coffee manufactures. The estate is forty acres and the coffee plants are grown in amongst trees which supported pepper vines. We climbed to the highest point on the planation which is 3800ft above sea level. Captain Anthony knew all about the plants and the process. He explained that back in the early part of the 20th century an Englishman left the estate to the present owner's grandfather as a result they were also very pro-British.
Most people returned to the coach very weary as it was quite a hard climb and a difficult descent. We still do not know why we went up there but I suppose it was good excercise and a bit of a challenge.

The next port of call was an observtion post/watch tower which provided a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains and valley. We then moved on to Shevarayan Temple which is claimed to be the largest temple in the world. It also claimed to be linked to Mysore by a tunnel but I find that hard to believe.

I will let one of the other team members describe the temple as I was hungary by now and spent most of my time at the temple site trying to buy some bajjis and chai.

We returned to the hotel and four of us yearning for a bike ride rode down to a local very high waterfall. The climb down to the bottom of the waterfall via a steep series of steps starting of with a steel staircase which led on to concrete steps was precarious. Walking back up was a hard slog. A couple of months ago I could not have done it through breathlessness but since my operation things have improved.

One of the nice things for me on this trip is the smells and the taste of food. Both of these senses have been denied me over the past year.

All but two of the team sat down for an excellent evening meal followed by the cutting of Frans cake after singing happy birthday.

Our next destination is the Sparsa Hotel Thiruvannaiai a journey of 95 miles. It has been an enjoyable day off but I am dreading the bill which will include the bar, the restaurant, the spa and laundry. I hoping my use of the internet will be free. I highly recommend the Hotel Palace Hotel & Spa at Yercaud.
Nigel