Kanyakumari to Marayoor...

Hello... well we've survived our first week cycling in India! It all started at the most southerly tip of on Gandhi’s birthday which was hopefully a good omen. 

After a short stay in Kovalam, a lot of bike maintenance and some very good advice from our Indian guardian, Barbara, we set off to Kanyakumari a little less apprehensive about what was to come. Our taxi driver had recommended the 'Super Highway' which sounded terrifying but turned out to be an empty 4 lane motorway shared with a few cattle and guys very interested in taking our photo on scooters.

We got a few kilometers in the legs pootling along the Super Highway and made our first stop over after finding out just how hot living in the tropics is (40 degrees in the sun!). Since then we’ve avoided the big red roads and sought less trodden sleepier backwaters.

It's been a pretty steep learning curve since then but we're settling into the routine and have made it into the Western Ghats after a pretty sweaty 40km climb from the plains of Tamil Nadu at 300m to our first pass at over 1700m.

After five days of cycling through small dusty colourful villages in the vast flat plains we've made it into the 'misty mountains' as every hotel likes to call it. Over the mountain pass we found dense jungle, tea plantations, cheeky monkeys and deafening bird song (and surprisingly perfect road surfaces!) but no Tigers yet.

Everyone we pass thinks we're mad. I'm not sure cyclists tour this route very often but we're getting lots of help and smiles along the way and the Chai Wallahs are keeping us well watered.

We've avoided towns and cities when possible but Sivakasi took us by surprise. We were caught in a flow of auto-rickshaws, buses, trucks, cows, goats and other cyclists moving through the maze of dusty streets. It really did feel like time slowed as each motorbike crisscrossed oncoming traffic and somehow missed us in blaze of bells and horns! We made it out the other side a little shell shocked but in one piece.

The mountain roads have been much quieter and cooler which has meant freewheeling through tea plantations and sandal wood forests has been a dream. We’re heading to Ooty, another former hill station, in the next few days for a little rest as our legs and bottoms are feeling the strain!

More soon…

E and K xxxxx

P.s Thanks for all the Birthday messages,

Kat xxx