More boating

We went through some backwaters again today. The rickshaw picked us up at the hotel around 9 for a 30-minute bumpy, bouncy ride to a little dock, where we boarded a bunting boat for our cruise through the backwaters. It was nice and quiet and we could hear the birds as we wound our way through the calm waters.

We passed by groups of people smashing coconut shells to remove the stringy material. They use this to make fishing nets, ropes, etc. One group invited us for a visit, so we went ashore and talked to them for a few minutes. They showed us what they were doing and Christina and the girls even got to smash a couple of shells. There were piles of coconut string all around the area.

We went ashore to another little island, which had a temple complex and a small playground. Yasmin and Roya played on the structures and the tire swings for a while and then we headed back to the boat. It was getting pretty hot by this time and the boat did not have a roof, so we were glad for any little breeze.

Along the way we saw people diving for shellfish with little nets in their hands. The people were very friendly and quite interested in checking out the foreigners. We only saw one Canadian couple out on the water so it was great to visit the area before it gets too touristy.

We got back to our hotel and went back to the beach for the afternoon. The current is very strong and the waves are high, so we are not venturing out too far from the beach.

NM