Goodbye Backwaters

 This was our last morning in the backwaters. We were scheduled to stay 3 more days but decided we had seen(and heard) enough in that area and it was time to move on. The next scheduled place in Varkala said they could take us early so we are off! We had a lovely breakfast, packed up our things and went for a walk through the little rural  neighborhood we were staying in. We saw a guinea fowl, what an ugly but smart bird! The owner could tell it commands and it would follow. I think we need one! We said goodbye to the Austrians and the people that run the cottages and we're off in a tuktuk to the train station. 

The train thing is confusing here. There are a lot of trains going a lot of places and it's impossible to figure out without some help. We managed to buy our tickets but then we didn't know where to go or which train we were on. The station master helped us a bit and we somehow made it on the right train, on a car with two seats and we were off! As soon as we were moving Lee was in the arms of the nice man sitting cross from us. Then the lady behind him. The trouble was he was tired and hungry. I tried to walk him to sleep down the aisle but every person wanted to hold him or play with him so o had to go sit back down. There was a family with a baby near us, the mom watched me struggle with Lee screaming for about 15 minutes and said she thought he may be hungry. Her English was very good so I told her he would fall asleep if he could nurse but we're on this crowded train. I've been weary of breastfeeding in public here because I don't know if it is ok. I tried to google it before I left but couldn't find any info. All the women with babies that I have seen have bottles and formula so I thought it might not be ok. The woman on the train assured me it was totally fine and made a spot for me next to her so I could feed him. She said I could feed him anywhere here, if I'm out shopping or whenever he is hungry and no one will even notice because it is the norm. I was so relieved! And Lee stopped screaming so everyone else was relieved also. Her husband took the opportunity to chat with Tommy. It was great. We finally reached our spot and off loaded from the train, our tuktuk driver was waiting and we were off again. As stressful as the train was(mostly due to Lee being a lot to manage in a closed tight space) it was an excellent experience! At one point I was sitting there thinking about how I wanted to buy some limes when we got where we were going and not a minute later one rolled onto our seat. I made Tommy keep it. 

We drove through some back streets then along a fairly terrifying cliff and we were at our destination. It's a beautiful row of cottages right on the beach of the Arabian Sea. The water is warm with big beautiful waves. The sand is black and fine like flour. We walked a bit then came back for tea then dinner. A long day of travel but some relaxing days await.