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| Street market |
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| Munnar center |
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| Catholic church, Munnar. Shoes outside. |
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| Tea plantations |
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| Tea plantations |
23.10 – Ao chegarmos tomámos um delicioso duche quente, (daqueles que enchem o WC de vapor de água) e tive noção que já não tomava um duche quente há bastantes semanas. Desde Colombo, no Sri Lanka, se não estou em erro! As temperaturas altas e a falta de aquecimento na maioria dos hóteis por onde passámos têm feito com que a água fria se tenha tornado uma presença constante, sem que isso tenha, necessariamente, sido uma má coisa. Mas aqui em Munnar as temperaturas são mais baixas e a água da torneira é demasiado fria para ser apetecível.
No
dia seguinte fizémos um trekking pelas plantações de chá, a principal fonte de rendimento e de trabalho da cidade. É uma paisagem impressionante!
Disseram-nos
que por vezes se conseguem avistar elefantes mas nós só avistámos as suas fezes
em locais que pensávamos serem de acesso impossível para um animal daquele
porte.
Em
vez disso, tivémos a presença de sanguessugas nos sapatos! Bem, nunca tínhamos
visto nenhuma e pensava-as maiores e mais gordas. Algumas conseguem ser bem
pequenas e quase não darmos por elas e, por isso, depois de passarmos as pernas
por vegetação alta, fazíamos uma pausa para ver se alguma tentava agarrar-se à
bota ou que pudesse ter mesmo entrado para o sapato ou para as calças.
Estava
um dia chuvoso, o que não nos deu uma boa visualização do alto dos montes a
mais de 2000 m de altitude a que subimos (Munnar é uma terra localizada a
elevada altitude, por isso os montes não são altos como a Serra da Estrela, mas
estão facilmente a uma altitude mais elevada que esta). Mas essa mesma neblina
permitiu umas fantásticas fotos de uma paisagem que já por si era magnifíca. “Degraus”
de plantações pelas colinas fazem uma decoração natural perfeita para aquele
local tão visitado por turistas indianos pelo verde que eles tanto adoram.
Nessa
noite dormimos bem mas só depois dos festejos do Diwali terminarem. O chamado “Festival
das luzes” é das maiores comemorações Hindus na Índia, na qual eles acendem
velas e candeeiros nas ruas, templos e casas e vêem-se vários fogos de
artíficio pelas cidades. Em Munnar parecia Carnaval, com miúdos e adultos a
divertirem-se com estalinhos e morteiros.
Os
dias ali passados foram de descanso. O centro da cidade é pequeno, com vários
mercados de rua e lojas de chocolate. Três templos principais nas três colinas
da cidade (Católico, Hindu e Budista) constituem os principais pólos de
movimento dos locais. Num dos nossos almoços conhecemos um casal de italianos que trabalham em Mumbai e estavam de férias. Trocámos impressões do país e
ouvimos recomendações de comida e sítios a visitar.
Tempo
de apanhar o autocarro de longa distância para Bangalore, onde depois veremos
como podemos conseguir chegar a Hampi, o nosso próximo destino!
//
23:10 - When we arrived we took a delicious hot shower, (those ones that fill the bathroom with steam) and I realized we didn't have one in weeks. Since Colombo, Sri Lanka, if I am not mistaken! The high temperatures and the lack of heaters in most hotels where we stayed have made the cold water a constant presence, without this having necessarily been a bad thing. But here in Munnar temperatures are lower and the tap water is too cold to be delicious.
The next day we made a trek through the tea plantations, the main source of income and labour. It is an impressive landscape!
We were told that sometimes elephants can be seen but we only saw their dung where we thought impossible to access for an animal that size.
Instead, we had the presence of leeches on the shoes! Well, we've never seen any and thought woulb be larger and fatter. Some can be very small and hardly noticeable, so, after passing through high vegetation, we made a break to see if any tried to cling to the boot or could have even entered the shoe or pants.
It was a rainy day, which did not give us a good view of the top of the mountains over 2000 m of altitude we go up (Munnar is a land located at high altitude, so the mountains are not as high as "Serra da Estrela", but are easily at a higher altitude). But that same fog allowed fantastic pictures of a landscape that in itself was magnificent. "Steps" of the hills plantations make a perfect natural decoration for that location so visited by Indian tourists for the green they love so much.
That night we slept well but only after the Diwali celebrations are over. The so-called "Festival of Lights" is the biggest Hindu celebration in India, when they light candles and lamps in the streets, temples and homes and several fireworks can be seen in the cities. It seemed like Carnival in Munnar, with kids and adults having fun with firecrackers.
The days spent there were of rest. The city center is small, with several street markets and chocolate shops. Three main temples in the three hills of the city (Catholic, Hindu and Buddhist) are the main locations of the motion poles. At one of our lunches we met an Italian couple who work in Mumbai and were on vacation. We exchanged impressions of the country and hear food recommendations and places of interest.
Time to catch the long distance bus to Bangalore, where then we'll see how we can reach Hampi, our next destination!
Susana
//
23:10 - When we arrived we took a delicious hot shower, (those ones that fill the bathroom with steam) and I realized we didn't have one in weeks. Since Colombo, Sri Lanka, if I am not mistaken! The high temperatures and the lack of heaters in most hotels where we stayed have made the cold water a constant presence, without this having necessarily been a bad thing. But here in Munnar temperatures are lower and the tap water is too cold to be delicious.
The next day we made a trek through the tea plantations, the main source of income and labour. It is an impressive landscape!
We were told that sometimes elephants can be seen but we only saw their dung where we thought impossible to access for an animal that size.
Instead, we had the presence of leeches on the shoes! Well, we've never seen any and thought woulb be larger and fatter. Some can be very small and hardly noticeable, so, after passing through high vegetation, we made a break to see if any tried to cling to the boot or could have even entered the shoe or pants.
It was a rainy day, which did not give us a good view of the top of the mountains over 2000 m of altitude we go up (Munnar is a land located at high altitude, so the mountains are not as high as "Serra da Estrela", but are easily at a higher altitude). But that same fog allowed fantastic pictures of a landscape that in itself was magnificent. "Steps" of the hills plantations make a perfect natural decoration for that location so visited by Indian tourists for the green they love so much.
That night we slept well but only after the Diwali celebrations are over. The so-called "Festival of Lights" is the biggest Hindu celebration in India, when they light candles and lamps in the streets, temples and homes and several fireworks can be seen in the cities. It seemed like Carnival in Munnar, with kids and adults having fun with firecrackers.
The days spent there were of rest. The city center is small, with several street markets and chocolate shops. Three main temples in the three hills of the city (Catholic, Hindu and Buddhist) are the main locations of the motion poles. At one of our lunches we met an Italian couple who work in Mumbai and were on vacation. We exchanged impressions of the country and hear food recommendations and places of interest.
Time to catch the long distance bus to Bangalore, where then we'll see how we can reach Hampi, our next destination!
Susana
