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Munnar was isolated at the top of the world.
The following day we visited one stunning location after another.I rowed on one lake and saw another from a speedboat, wandered barefoot through meadows, saw numerous waterfalls, and listened for my echo at Echo Point. At Rajamala, we went to Ervikulam National Park to see the Neelagiri Thar, a protected species of goat. Unni told me he had been there before when no goats appeared, but on that day they were everywhere, and totally unafraid. They didn't bother moving unless you got within two feet of them, as if to say, "I know I'm not ending up in your biryani, buddy!" A group of four young men were walking behind us, and one of them was determined to have his photo taken with a goat. Every time he posed with one, it casually trotted away. After this happened three times, I began laughing. We became friendly and they asked me to pose with them for photographs, something that has happened to me several times in India. My photograph is in the possession of numerous Indian strangers.
The highpoint of the afternoon was Cheeyappara Falls. We stood on the bridge over it, as it cascaded down on both sides of a rocky gorge. Unni asked, do you want to go down and walk around on the rocks? Did I! In the US, of course, this could never happen; there would be "Stay on the Bridge" signs everywhere. We slipped underneath the railing on the side of the bridge and climbed down one of the poles, and I took off my shoes to move more easily on the rock. For the next 30 or 40 minutes, we climbed everywhere. Unni captured a handful of water to show me how pure it was and showed me an opening under the rock where wild animals sometimes hid. Remembering that 19 months ago I couldn't even walk because of my arthritis made it even more joyful.
The following morning we left for Cochin at shortly after 7. It was a four hour trip to Cochin and I kept hoping the car would break down on the way, so I wouldn't have to leave. The magic of Kerala had taken hold of me.
