The roads were tarmacked and in reasonable condition, there were even some road signs that made sense. However along the way to the spice farm we were stopped by the police for overtaking on a bridge. Lol. Clearly a massive road trafficking offence in the grand scheme of things! We received a 100 rupee fine (one pound fifty pence) and some paperwork before getting back on our way. We also learnt that was okay for just the driver to be wearing a helmet...sweeeeet!
After negotiating various surprise speed bumps, sticking our fingers up to the Nestle India HQ (for Capel), we made it to the Sahakari Spice Farm, near Ponda. To our surprise and delight it was very busy with lots of Indian tourists making the most of the public holiday. We were greeted with a floral necklace (finally, although hardly South Pacific stylee) and a very refreshing lemon grass tea that we used to wash handful's of cashew nuts down with, lol.
Mmm, matted scooter hair and covered in dirt...oh yes, totally ready to listen to the tour.
Our guide was very cheerful, but clearly talked from a script that could not be deviated from. This made the tour a bit robotic. She also prescribed many remedies along the way (that involved combining spices), and dictated these in a very authoritative tone, insisting that the ailment would be cured within a week. This was all very amusing...
The pepper vine, from which black, white, red and green peppercorns are all derived.
Our guide described the betel nut as 'India's only legal drug' and more commonly known as 'paan'. Wiji didn't get to try it here, lol. When the guide asked for volunteers to try to climb the palm, (like the pro), the male element of the Indian crowd wasn't shy in coming forward, and everyone seemed to enjoy their vain attempts and even egged them on to try harder, lol.
The pro in action...It takes 15 years of growth before the palm will produce a betel nut.
He managed to make it look very easy as he actually swung from palm to palm!
Not a very good pic, but we were still marvelling that nutmeg and mace come from the same tree. Ok.
A vanilla orchid that needs to be pollinated by hand in Goa, because the insects that would do it naturally don't exist there.
The spice tour took us on through their show plantation and on to meet the elephants...
'Joy with elephant 600 rupees'...bargain! Whatever that meant?
I was totally mesmerised by my first close encounter, and consequently got left behind staring into the eye of this elephant...Wiji lost me in the tour group and returned to find me still stood by the elephant. After shouting my name for some time I snapped out of it and reluctantly rejoined the group...
One of the Mahout's.
Harvested betel nuts.
Our guide holding up the cashew nut apple next to the concrete pit where they stomp the fruit to a pulp with their feet before distilling it into the local hardcore liquor called 'Cashew Nut Fenny' .
The flowers of the vanilla orchid.
At the end of the tour our guide performed the traditional remedy for backache that locals use after a day working on the rice paddy, a ladle of ice cold water with almond oil poured down the spine...
Squealer!
Lmao, oooooh that is cold!
The tour also included lunch and a free tasting of the cashew nut fenny. Cheers Fenner! We both agreed that hard liquor was probs more like what you'd need after a day in the rice paddy! Wiji hoofs down two shots, much to the pleasure of our guide, and then washes it down with his current fave soft drink, Limca. False teeth for your 31st then, lol.
We later discover that the combination of the red pigment and a hot sweaty Wiji created a permanent dye...handy. We were given a free spice pack each, (betel nut not included).
The hanging offerings decorating the entrance.
A trad dance and song performed in the courtyard.
Our spice tour was fun, but quite info lite, it did put us in the mood to find out more and definitely go on a cookery course at a later date though. With that in mind we set off for the afternoon in search of two Hindu temples in the area. The first was relatively easy to find, and very busy, with bus loads of Indians arriving, buying trays of coconuts, bananas and marigolds as temple offerings and hot footing it through the temple gates. We whipped our shoes off to join them for a look around, and found that quite a lot of people were coming back for a second look at us!
The Shri Shantadurga Temple is dedicated to the goddess of the same name, the goddess of peace.
We were not allowed to take pics of the interior, some of the activities were televised inside to other worshippers. We watched as the offerings were handed over. The rooms were tiled and it was very cool inside on the marble floors.
'I hope my shoes are where I left them'... that was my main concern. Mmmm shoeless (and helmetless) on a scooter.
Something that we don't yet understand: the chariot like temple on wheels. This one was particularly stunning and newly painted. Undoubtedly hauled through the streets at some significant time...
Wiji found the lipstick's highly amusing.
Stopping for refreshments by the road. The stall owner told us that the old bottles, complete with marbles, were German...how they ended up there we couldn't really establish...
A rice paddy of calmness and elegant egrets. If you looked in the opposite direction there was a traffic jam of vehicles refusing to give way and everyone lent on the horn shouting and screaming, surrounded by plastic rubbish.
After travelling up and down some very quiet back roads in search of the giant figure of Ganesh on the hilltop, a women called from her balcony and pointed us further up the hill. We next came across two boys, probably about 7 years of age wearing shorts and knee socks with immaculate side partings. When we asked them were the temple was , one boy came forward and answered with a yes and a head wobble, charming as that was, it gave us no further help in finding the temple, so we drove on up the hill until the scooter would go no further with us both on it, lol. By this point we could see that we were going in the right direction...
The view from the top...
Jolly Ganesh, the god of good fortune and remover of obstacles. This seemed a fitting last stop on our scooter trip, as we were hoping for both on our safe journey home. It must have worked as we drove the wrong way up a dual carriageway for some time, ignoring waving pedestrians who we presumed were trying to sell us something, but were actually concerned for out safety! LMAO.
No comments:
Post a Comment