Devala, 16 February 2009 - Day 1

A few doors down from us live our friends Gopal and Mariama. With them lives their niece Aishwarya who goes to college in Ooty. On weekends, her father, Gopal's brother, often comes to stay. His name is Govindharajan, and he has invited us several times to come stay in his home in Nevala. We were finally able to accept his invitation, so the three of us left very early Monday morning, 16 February, for the drive to Devala. Sorry to report that I was so carsick that I missed the entire ride. I did see a little of Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, which I had been so anxious to visit. We will visit it again one day.

We had a wonderful couple of days with Govindharajan. Devala is a beautiful place, and he was the ultimate host. So considerate, so generous, so gracious. Here are our pictures from our first day. Enjoy.

MUDUMALAI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

Domesticated elephant

This is another domesticated elephant. (Never saw one in the wild.)

Bamboo grove

DIVISIONAL MANAGER'S BUNGALOW

Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corp. Ltd. (Tantea)

Entrance Gate to bungalow (Govindharajan's home)

Gopal

Muthumariaman temple just inside the gate

Carolyn walking the driveway to the house

The bungalow

Our bedroom

The dining room (Gopal and Govindharajan)

ELEPHANT TRAIL

Monday evening, Govindharajan took us up into the hills in his Maruti jeep following one of the elephant trails

The trail runs through the tea plantation, needless to say

On the trail - Govindharajan, Gopal, Sankaran (Govindharajan's driver)

Govindharajan is on his cellphone - his phone rings all the time.

Maruti jeep

Black pepper vine on a tree

Stop to dislodge a stick from the underside of the jeep

A tea weighing station wrecked by an elephant

TEA PLANTATION

Gopal and Carolyn in the tea trees

After the tea leaves are picked, they are brought to a weighing station, then on to the factory.

A stop at Govindharajan's office

(Vinoba, Govindharajan, Carolyn)