Back from a short exhilarating, rejuvenating but sweaty and sultry trip from God’s own country.

The God’s own country had just taken a break from the monsoon – the trees, roads and buildings seemed to have had a clean wash leaving everything in absolute freshness.

Took a day off from the busy schedule to take a tour of the countryside from Guruvayur.

Stopped on the way at Chettuva backwaters – a lesser-known location than the over promoted Alleppy backwaters popular among foreign tourists. No tourists traps, no crowds… just a few visitors and also very few boats to take you around. The only traditional and elaborate houseboat with all its paraphernalia has already been hired so we had to settle down with a stripped down version.

An hour of tour of the serene and calm backwaters took us through some verdant mangroves, government farms and a few islets.

While the mangroves are home to several seasonal migratory birds, some of the islets are owned by some wealthy NRIs and local business houses, who have either built resorts or lavish homes.

But the backwaters is also home to several fishermen for whom it is their livelihood. Sailing close to a couple of mangroves gave an up-and-close look of the breathing roots and last remaining birds.

Done with the boat tour we completed the first leg with a cup of Kerala chai and plantain chips.