Once again I have allowed myself to get behind with the blog. I am writing this late on Thursday; Wednesday seems so long ago, such a lot has happened..
The theme for Wednesday , if I have to choose a theme would be the manufacture of bricks. As we traveled towards the mountains on flat plains we saw about 50 brick yards. We stopped at one and saw women mixing the clay with water and slapping the mixture into molds. As we traveled past the bricks yards the quality of the bricks varied but once fired they all had a similar colour as the source of clay would have been similar. I do not know how the bricks over here would stand up to the effects of frost but I do suppose it even gets tested.
Had I mentioned a theme for Friday 10th it would have been the carving of granite. We passed many businesses on the side of the road with statues big and small with a Hindi or Hindu nature..
The production of food from the land continued on the flat plains in the form of rice and sugar cane. I regretted that I had lost the opportunity to take a photograph of a sugar cane harvester. I have seen several of them which have a John Deere tractor perched on the top as a power source for the machine. The tractor is minus wheels but still has the axle’s front and rear in place. I suspect that when the season for harvesting sugar cane is over they remove the tractor and return it to its normal use. Sugar cane is an 18 month rather than a 12 month crop.We started to ascend the mountain towards the border of Tamil Nadu province and Kerala, the roads became more challenging once again with hairpin after hairpin bend as the road zig zagged upwards . Ted Curtis’s bike suffered and blown clutch and alternator case failure which meant we had to stop half way up the mountain to await our backup crew who robbed the spare bike of its case. As we waited in the in the sun at least we had some nice views to admire.
As we climbed; the production of tea became evident once again with acres of tea plantations and their intricate patterns formed by the pickers as they work between the plants.
The border crossing was quite with two sets of barriers manned by men at the customs posts. They were not interested in us as we had no toll to pay.
Munnar our destination for our two night stop is described in some guide books as a shanty town. It is full of life and vibrant. A good place for trading goods. The wholesale food market which we visited in the evening was very well stocked with all manner of fruit and vegetables. I saw yams as bit as footballs.
At our hotel the Clouds Valley; we were expected and welcomed once again with cool drinks and a garage for our bikes where any repairs could be done by the support crew. A dry hotel once again but we managed by buying in beer.
Thursday was to be rest day but some off road riding was suggested and I suggested we visit The Wild Elephant Hotel where we stayed in 2010 where many stories have stemmed.It was good days riding and most of the team agreed that it was sad to think that we are nearing the end of our tour with only three days riding left.
Nigel
No comments:
Post a Comment