Up and out, we are waiting for the ship to be cleared on deck 3 where the gangway appears to be set up. Arizona and Canada are all there too – as they are doing the same tour in Goa. We’re hoping for different van partners, but we’re not optimistic. We’ve scoped out the gangway situation and know that there is also one on deck 2. Rich, the cruise director, comes by and says something about deck 2 for the gangway, so we’re primed if we have to move – and move we do. The minute they announce the gangway change – we’re gone (Amazing Race style) – and we’re out the door in no time.
We find Lijo, get our bus assignment, and actually get the front seats of the van this time. And lo and behold, who comes next? Arizona, followed closely by Canada who remarks that we really took off when they changed the gangway. Yeah, well, that’s how it works, get with the program or get the back seats. Today we are visiting a fruit and vegetable market, two historic churches and then the spice plantation for a tour and lunch. We start off in a tussle with Arizona asking the tour guide when we will be back to the ship. The tour guide asks her when we need to be back. She answers, “I know when we have to be back, what I want to know is when you will get us back.” Nice. She refuses to give him the all aboard time, and eventually they come to some agreement – suffice it to say, he’ll get us back on time.
Off we go…..through the crazy streets with the horns and the nutso traffic. Our first “tour” is the embassy area, where we pass the Portuguese embassy with hundreds of people waiting in line outside to get travel visas. You need to be of proven Portuguese descent to even try to get a visa, and the guide says it is like this every day with people waiting.
Soon after, we arrive at the fruit and veg market which is quite big and filled with beautiful produce. We get about 1/2 hour here, and our tour guide shows us around a bit, when I ask about jackfruit, which I see here, he says he’ll buy some. Really? Oh thank you….I’ll be your friend forever!
The time spent here is nice – just meandering up and down the aisles looking at all the produce. It even stretches to the outside and down the sidewalk here.
After walking all around, asking is anyone has jackfruit cookies (I saw an ad for them in Cochin), we converge on the middle of the market, where our tour guide is buying berries and jackfruit for us to try.
We all walk back out to the van, and who do we find already inside? Arizona. Honestly. are you surprised? We all pile in, and the guide offers us the berries. Of course no one else will try them except Ed and me – Canada is talking about “Delhi belly” and how they don’t want to eat anything. We do try the berries – the little ones are like blueberries, but the big ones that look like olives are this odd sort of tart/sour-sweet combination that is unlike anything we’ve ever tasted. They are really good – but probably one of the weirdest things I’ve ever eaten. Most people do try the jackfruit after we assure them that the fruit comes out of the shell pure – not washed or anything, and they are safe to eat. The guide has some left over and after no one else wants seconds, we greedily take the remainders – hey- I’m not letting jackfruit go to waste!
A few minutes later (literally around the corner – we could have walked!), we stop at the cashew store to buy nuts and cashew liquor called fini. Everyone actually gets out of the van! We go straight to the cashew place and buy 3 bags of relatively expensive cashews. Still cheaper than at home, we end up paying $7 US per bag which we think are about a kilo each (yeah, no markings on the bag – it’s India), but they are still not as cheap as I’d expected. Anyhow, we’re here, it’s nuts – we’re in. We have a little issue with the credit card – the machine at one store doesn’t work, but the liquor store next door does. All in the family I suppose. So we pay for the cashews there, then take our receipt back to cashew store and pick up our still worth while nuts and head back to the van. A few others buy some of the liquor and then we are off to the next stop, the cathedrals.
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