January 13, 2016
Week 42: To Tholpetty: Through foggy coffee plantations
"Did you photo bomb their picture?" Rachel asks Patrick after watching Patrick cycle close to the two guys standing by a motorcycle taking a selfie. Patrick replies, "I wasn't sure, it seemed like they were lining up the photo for when I passed, so I decided to get close."
We left town in the misty cool air and continue to ride past coffee plants. Some plants have beans that look ready for harvest, others must have already been picked and we see beans on blue tarps in the sun to dry. We can tell we are back in the state of Kerala-Gods Own Country-with the return of the Communist red flags with hammer and sickle. Although, there seems to be a competition for building the biggest and/or most Churches and Mosques along with most vehicles on the road being decorated with Hindu offerings.
At one junction, we missed the turnoff to a smaller road and ended up in Panamaram. Which wasn't a bad thing. We found a coffee shop and had a second breakfast of egg and vegetable puffs and a very nice cup of coffee. The beauty of having the map on the tablet, Patrick easily figured out another route that ended up being a couple kms shorter. We only had to be on a larger road for a few kilometers before going back to more quiet roads and eventually to a one lane road. It's so nice to be able to hear the birds sing without the constant beeping from vehicles.
We arrived in Tholpetty at the entrance to Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and looked for the Orange Villa where Patrick had booked our two night stay. There is no road sign for it, we ask people at the roadside stalls and they point back. We ask several more times and finally locate the driveway to the villa about 300 meters off the main road and a rocky driveway. For lunch, we walked back to the Mess House for a Thali meal. Dinner prepared at our guesthouse is another Thali type meal and very delicious, and breakfast is included with the room.
After lunch, we went back to the entrance of the Wayanard Wildlife Sanctuary, and no one was around to answer questions about arranging a safari. Finally, we found out that we need to show up at 7am or 3pm and there will be a jeep to hire. "I feel like we are nickle and dimed" Patrick says. There is a separate charge for entrance ticket, jeep, guide and for each camera. We wonder how they charge for people taking pictures on their cellphones. Online Rachel found out more information that the duration of the visit is only 1.5 hours, and entrance times are 7-10am and 3-430pm.
We'll see how it goes tomorrow.
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Today's ride: 57 km (35 miles)
Total: 11,351 km (7,049 miles)
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