Parambikulam

Pollachi was not much of a town, but Parambikulam national park just 40k out of town was awesome. We rolled out of bed at 5:30 in the am to catch a 6:15 bus, giving ourselves plenty of time to figure out exactly which bus it was we needed to take. As always the extra time was put to good use since we never seem to find anything on the first try. After running back and forth between the two bus stands in town based on contradictory advice, somebody finally set us down on the curb where our bus would arrive with about ten minutes to spare, to that man I am grateful. The bus ride, was, well a bus ride in India, bumpy and long. We arrived at the park a little before 9 am. After taking some time to scavenge up the required guide for our hike in the park we took off for a nice long 6k hike straight up the highest ridge line in the area. Whoever builds their trails isn't all that interested in switch backs. On the hike it also became apparent that our guide was not a regular, due to the frequent stops and generally labored breathing as we climbed, but he did eventually get us to the top.

In a country teeming with people we were sitting atop a rocky mountain with miles of untrammeled forest surrounding us and just the sound of the wind in our ears. The scene was so peaceful I found to time to recoup some of the lost sleep from the night before. Too bad for me that I had rubbed my sunscreen off on the hike up and forgot to reapply before my nap. Pasty white skin meet high elevation sun and cower before its brilliance. Ouch. Outside of that the hike was spectacular and well worth the time and money. Now we are back in the thick of the heat in Thrissur, where my pores are currently expelling vast amounts of perspiration as I sit in the internet cafe and write this. I may actually be able to produce enough to short out the keyboard if I stay here long enough.

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