Another day, another adventure! We are still in Kerala and heading into the Edakkal caves!! This was my favorite day of our trip! After taking a few hikes on the coffee plantation and at times the kids getting really tired and whiny about it all - We forewarned them that this was going to be a TOUGH climb (I had no idea just how hard!) and that there would be "No complaining and Dog Gone It...We will have a fun time!" Hahaha!
On advice from the owners of Tranquil, they told us to get to the caves early to avoid the heat and the crowds. We ate a fabulous Indian breakfast and then met up with Cladius so he could drive us to the caves. Cladius had never been to Edakkal before and of course, neither had we. The car kept winding around these narrow roads and we kept climbing, climbing, climbing. When we came to the first parking area Cladius pulled over and parked the car and we got out. (Big mistake - We could have stayed in the car for another 10 minutes and avoided climbing, climbing, climbing on foot!) Hahaha! It's all good, right? We needed to burn off our breakfast anyhow.
After we spent a good long while in the caves we started the trek back down. As we were descending we started to meet more and more people along the path that were arriving to do the cave climb.
The kids were TROUPERS! Man!! People kept stopping us on our way down as they were heading up, with skeptical eyes and they would say, "You made it?! The kids too!?"
One of the funniest things that happened on the way down was the masses of people arriving. Again, they wanted to know our names and where we came from. Then they started with the hand shaking. Crazy-Crazy-Crazy hand shaking!! I must have shook at least 250 hands that day. As the throngs of people kept coming it was getting harder to shake their hands and keep moving so I started giving "high fives" instead. This took the insanity to a whole new level! THEY WENT NUTS!! They LOVED it! Everyone was squealing and cheering with delight and when I said we were from the US - they added clapping and laughing to the mayhem! They were on top of the world. Shoot. I didn't have the heart to tell them - "Yeah. I'm just a housewife from Massachusetts. I have no reality television show or anything. Really and truly - Just your average homemaker." Nope. Didn't matter. They were loving it and Shucks!! So was I!! The rest of the way down that final hill, I had a spring in my step and a cheesy 'ole grin on my face. Slapping fives. Making someones day. Who am I kidding?! They made MY day. That kind of happiness and enthusiasm is infectious. It was a great day!
On advice from the owners of Tranquil, they told us to get to the caves early to avoid the heat and the crowds. We ate a fabulous Indian breakfast and then met up with Cladius so he could drive us to the caves. Cladius had never been to Edakkal before and of course, neither had we. The car kept winding around these narrow roads and we kept climbing, climbing, climbing. When we came to the first parking area Cladius pulled over and parked the car and we got out. (Big mistake - We could have stayed in the car for another 10 minutes and avoided climbing, climbing, climbing on foot!) Hahaha! It's all good, right? We needed to burn off our breakfast anyhow.
Mind you - By the time we were seeing this sign - We've already been walking up a steadily increasing incline for the last 15 minutes or so. Oh yah! The buns were burnin'!!
I'm not gonna lie. I was worried. I mean, we hadn't even entered the Edakkal cave park yet and it looked like some of the kids were going to start dropping like flies. They all had terrible colds (nothing like waking up in the morning and listening to four kids sniffling, clearing their throats, wiping away their snots and hacking up mucous...eww! Can't believe I just said the "M" word but if I didn't use the "M" word you wouldn't have fully understood how sick and how DISGUSTING my kids sounded!) So, they've already got a strike against them on this hike b/c they are probably only breathing with the capacity of one lung. I kept thinking, "Great! So much for the 'having a fun time' part of this climb!"
Ready, Get Set, GOOOOO!
Right after we entered the park, the kids saw this huge rock and it was "ON!" They were ready to conquer the caves.
Stopped long enough for the token "CHEESE" for their Momma.
Oh, yes we are! We are heading...ALL.THE.WAY.UP.THERE!!!!
The monkeys were a nice distraction during the "wide path" part of our ascent.
Some of these monkeys were a little too close for my comfort level.
I kept telling the kids, "Don't make eye contact! Keep your head down and look submissive!" I was so sure that one of those Imps was going to attack the kids!
I had a friend tell me about when they were in the jungles of India on a trip how a monkey chased after her daughter. Grabbed the little girl by her skirt, whirled her around and threw her down on the ground!! Then the monkey ran for the hills with the girls....Popsicle!!!
While I worried about the monkeys "showing the kids who was boss." Matt kept encouraging David to "do your monkey face!" Geesh! I'm just glad that the monkey didn't "Go Ape" and remained on his stoop watching David.
While Matt snaps a picture - Mikey sneaks a hug! Aw!
"This is hard work! Time to air out the pits, Rach!"
We kept getting stopped along the hike as people kept asking us to stop to take their picture with them. Hahaha! Rachel LOVED it!! She said, "Mom! It's like we're famous or something?!"
Climbing and Resting
Once we made it to this cave we gave our hearts and legs a rest. Doing good and lovin' it!!
Only one way traffic here. Waiting for this long line of people to make it down so we can start climbing again!
We met some of the friendliest Indians on this hike. Almost each and everyone of them that was coming down the stairs was smiling from ear to ear. They all wanted to shake our hand and then many of them asked us "What's your good name?" or "Where do you come from?" One gentlemen in particular held up the whole line of people behind him b/c he wanted to know all of the kids names and ages because his wife (who was not with him) was going to be having their first baby and they needed a name. (As a side note, the Indians think Erica's name is Eddica. So, ya' never know - Sometime in the next nine months somewhere in India some lovely gentlemen and his wife might name their firstborn "Eddica" hahaha!)
Even though there was a long string of folks behind the man looking for baby names- No one seemed to mind. Everyone stood silently and watched or waited their turn b/c they too wanted to talk with us, shake our hand and make an American Acquaintance. It really was the craziest thing! I started to think Rachel was right! I was starting to feel a bit "famous" myself at this point! Haha!
And we're back to climbing again!
YAY! We made it and the view was spectacular!
Lots of cool carvings on the walls inside the cave.
An elephant.
Shiny Happy People
Crazy-Deep Crevasse
"That's what she said!"-M. Scott
After we spent a good long while in the caves we started the trek back down. As we were descending we started to meet more and more people along the path that were arriving to do the cave climb.
I had to laugh when we past a mid-50ish couple. She was large as a barge and he sounded like he'd been smoking 5 packs a day for the last 30 years of his life. I admired their ambition but I really wanted to pull them aside and say...."You're in India. You will find no EMT on your way up there. No one will offer you oxygen or a stretcher if you keel over - I'm pretty sure you might croak or die of a stroke if you proceed any further!"The kids were TROUPERS! Man!! People kept stopping us on our way down as they were heading up, with skeptical eyes and they would say, "You made it?! The kids too!?"
One of the funniest things that happened on the way down was the masses of people arriving. Again, they wanted to know our names and where we came from. Then they started with the hand shaking. Crazy-Crazy-Crazy hand shaking!! I must have shook at least 250 hands that day. As the throngs of people kept coming it was getting harder to shake their hands and keep moving so I started giving "high fives" instead. This took the insanity to a whole new level! THEY WENT NUTS!! They LOVED it! Everyone was squealing and cheering with delight and when I said we were from the US - they added clapping and laughing to the mayhem! They were on top of the world. Shoot. I didn't have the heart to tell them - "Yeah. I'm just a housewife from Massachusetts. I have no reality television show or anything. Really and truly - Just your average homemaker." Nope. Didn't matter. They were loving it and Shucks!! So was I!! The rest of the way down that final hill, I had a spring in my step and a cheesy 'ole grin on my face. Slapping fives. Making someones day. Who am I kidding?! They made MY day. That kind of happiness and enthusiasm is infectious. It was a great day!
David stopping for one last break on the way down and it looks like he's totally in a "Zen" state of mind?! Hahaha!
Hands down - My favorite day of our trip! Hope we make it back to do it all ONE MORE TIME before we leave India! :)
The view was beautiful at the top! Glad the kids did so well. That is hilarious that everyone wanted to stop, talk, and shake your hand (love the high-five's)! What a great day to remember with the whole family! :)
ReplyDelete