Some time ago I found an old wiro notebook in a drawer. A scruffy wiro bound notebook with a photo of 2 men in a kayak with a bear on the front cover. In that notebook I found terrible sketches drawn in pencil made while travelling in 1991. One sketch leapt out at me. It was a rough pencil sketch of Mt Ararat from a backpacking trip to eastern Turkey. The sketch really surprised me – it was a very basic pencil sketch, drawn using a .5mm technical pencil on a cheap notepad. The sketch is just black and white… To my surprise the sounds and smells of the day came flooding back. Meeting some Kurdish goat herders and their flock near the base of Mt Ararat, about 10km from the Iranian border on a bright sunny but cool, alpine day. Along with memories of driving across the mountain steppe in an old Renault 19 and the smells of chai and coffee in a Doğubayazıt pasta solunu. It all came back come flooding back! Why did it evoke such vivid memories? I’m not really sure to be honest. Maybe t...
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| This is the evening view across Lake Verkala while tourist boats cruise back to shore and fishermen set their nets. |
I've been dreaming of diving into a refreshing swimming pool ever since I arrived to 45C days in Kerala but this pool isn’t remotely refreshing (we’d probably call this a heated hot pool at home). It's still relaxing however so my mind drifts to some of the moments from a spectacular few weeks in Kerala.
Thats 2 weeks of sketching historic Fort Kochi on the Arabian Sea to caparisoned (love that term!) elephants in Thrissur at the largest festival in Asia, to sub-alpine tea plantations in Munnar, and to this place, Kumarakom the so-called 'Venice of the East'.
Some highlights...
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