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    by brikem21, Views[293]
         		 by brikem21, Views[358]
         		 by brikem21, Views[317]
         		 Okay -- by this point we can't deny we are purposely rubbing it in! From our waterfront home-stay in Kollam we traveled 30 min south to the sandy beach and cliff-top restaurants of Varkala. Amazing.: by ivan_miral, Views[1049]
         		 Maybe this photo alone will melt some of those snowdrifts for you...: by ivan_miral, Views[755]
     
    Even for a sun-burning pale-skin like Ive, the Varkala beach immediately felt like paradise!: by ivan_miral, Views[1923]
         		 All over South India there are shrines from all faith traditions where people stop throughout the day to offer sacrifice and prayer. Here, a Christian woman at a shrine to Our Lady of Health of Vailankanni.: by ivan_miral, Views[769]
         		 In addition to the wild make-up, Kathakali is also known for its elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with music and percussion. Here Lord Shiva and his wife, Parvati, hold court over the newly egoless Arjuna.: by ivan_miral, Views[1045]
         		 The state of Kerala is famous for Kathakali -- a highly stylized classical Indian religious dance-drama. Kathakali is known for its elaborate make-up -- they allow the audience to view its application which can take more than an hour.: by ivan_miral, Views[1056]
         		 We were told that there are now only six elderly women and four men remaining from the Jewish community. Here we were fortunate enough to meet Sarah -- one of the six Cochin Jewish woman. Her parents were from Baghdad. At 84-years-old, she still runs a thriving embroidery shop.: by ivan_miral, Views[2365]
     
    Not far from Fort Cochin is a neighborhood named Jew Town. It once was home to a thriving community of Jews who escaped persecution in Europe and the Middle East. This Hebrew plaque marks the entrance to the Jewish cemetery. Also in Jew Town stands the oldest synagogue in the entire British Commonwealth -- but unfortunately they did not allow us to take photos.: by ivan_miral, Views[954]
         		 The sun sets on another perfect South Indian day. Well, you would still be rubbing it in, too!!: by ivan_miral, Views[1098]
         		 After relaxing in Varkala, we made our way north to the seaside area of Fort Cochin -- where 4-6 men work the Chinese fishing nets that put fresh seafood on every table in town.: by ivan_miral, Views[583]
         		 And for seafood lovers, what was being pulled out of the Sea was also perfect. Mi got a workout just holding up that prawn!: by ivan_miral, Views[679]
         		 The sunset over the Arabian Sea was perfect.: by ivan_miral, Views[1470]
     
    Okay -- not to rub it in for all of you battling sun-less winter in Seattle or snow-shoveling in Chicago, New York, Mass. or DC -- but this was the view we woke up to each morning at our home-stay in Kollam.: by ivan_miral, Views[729]
         		 Add in a little fresh coconut juice and a feeling of paradise is inevitable.: by ivan_miral, Views[1052]
         		 See? We're not kidding! Have you ever seen any place so lush and peaceful...?: by ivan_miral, Views[690]
         		 Mi is all smiles and all-pervading calm as we drift through the Backwaters. Neither of us have ever seen such dense growth of palm trees!!: by ivan_miral, Views[1204]
         		 From Kollam, we journeyed to nearby Munroe Island to take a guided canoe ride through the Backwaters. These man-made canals formed the only method of transportation in the area before roads were eventually added. But having journeyed on plenty of Indian roads these past months -- we can assure you they don't hold a candle to these lush, shady, peaceful waterways.: by ivan_miral, Views[599]
     
    Chillie-laden food even at breakfast!!! Here, since Mi wasn't a fan, Tangelo gobbled up all the idlies on her plate (round white fluffy steamed cakes made of fermented rice), dipping them into hot veg gravy first – how can you eat that this early in the morning?! Ive had NO problem.: by ivan_miral, Views[1258]
         		 Happiness is a stinging hot chillie -- and Kerala provides a whole lot of happiness!: by ivan_miral, Views[651]
         		 Sea life being carried away from the Kollam fish market -- it could be destined for the seafood shack down the road -- or for your freezer!: by ivan_miral, Views[1336]
         		 The Kollam fish market was so colorful and somehow very sweet within its unique chaos -- it was a great way to greet a new day.: by ivan_miral, Views[1283]
         		 Who knew there could be so many prawns in one place at one time -- and that there could possibly be enough prawns in the sea to repeat the process the next day -- and the next...?: by ivan_miral, Views[842]
     
    Our Home-stay host kindly offered to take us with him on his daily rounds at the famous Kollam fish market. It was a crazy scene -- and everyone there assured us,
         		 Turns out our homestay host OWNED HIS OWN RESTAURANT – so every evening by moonlight, we had dish after dish after dish of Kerala's best seafood specialties (picked up each morning live from the docks of the fish market) – shrimp, calamari and shark, all swimming in their own mini-Arabian Seas of rich chilied sauces.: by ivan_miral, Views[1421]
         		 Clearly Mi was having fun with our first Backwater voyage...!: by ivan_miral, Views[772]
         		 After leaving Amma's Amritapuri Ashram behind, we caught a ferry to Kollam -- winding down one of the main canals of Kerala's famous Backwaters. What a very sweet ride...: by ivan_miral, Views[1197]
         		 We spent two days at the IMMENSE ashram of
     
    In most of the countries we have traveled, adults and adolescents of the same gender often hold hands to signify friendship and affection - here, two school girls. In the background, big colored paper Christmas stars are sold to be hung on entrances of Christian homes in India's most heavily Christian populated region.: by ivan_miral, Views[1300]
         		 As we made our way to the South Indian coast on a bus from Kumily to Kottayam, we passed through tea plantations. If we had any idea about the beauty of the textured patchwork patterns formed by the tea plants, we probably would have planned to explore them more than this drive-by.: by ivan_miral, Views[845]
         		 Our cooking class was interrupted by a very rowdy, very joyous group of young caroling children! They yelled “Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells!,” before their voices trailed off with inconsistent knowledge of the words of the song – only to yell the refrain again when it came back around. With big smiles, our Hindu hosts happily handed over what was expected – some small change! : by ivan_miral, Views[733]
         		 One taste of Soth India's INCREDIBLE dosas (thin lentil pancakes), coconut curries, hot chillies, and paratha (flat, flaky bread) and any sane person is instantly addicted. With an intense need to keep this food in our post-India lives, we took a cooking class. We think we can reproduce the tastes at home -- but does anyone have a sitting coconut grater or a flat-stone mortar and pestel we can borrow...?: by ivan_miral, Views[1181]
         		 After we changed our route to avoid an
     
    Luckily not all of the creatures in Periyar were so daunting!!: by ivan_miral, Views[572]
         		 We encountered some interesting creatures during our walk through Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary -- including this HUGE neon-green spider that our guide assured us was
         		 There are no Chanukah latkes (potato pancakes) here in South India, but the Dosa is a mighty fine substitute with its lentil-based crepe-like yumminess. Despite the dosa's larger-than-life cone appearance (it wrapped around like four more times inside the cone!), Tangelo tore right into it, soaking piece by spicy piece into chilied lentil daal and coconut chutney – mmmnmn!: by ivan_miral, Views[765]
         		 Being in India, Chanukah kind of snuck up on us -- but we gathered what we needed for a make-shift menorah and celebrated the second night of the Jewish Festival of Lights in the hilltown of Kumily.: by ivan_miral, Views[583]
         		 We spent two days hiking in and around the Periyar Sanctuary in the Western Ghats that border Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The highlight of our first day's climb of Mt Ottathalamettu was being greeted by enthusiastic smiles, hand-waves, and
     
    Probably the crown jewel of the Hindu temples we visited was Srirangam in Trichy. It has seven gopouram -- creating seven rings around the inner sanctum of the temple -- each ring representing an increasingly subtle level of consciousness. You can see the first three of the gopuram in this photo. Each layer also contains incredible shrines, all dedicated to Vishnu.: by ivan_miral, Views[1365]
         		 Many of the Hindu temples in South India have at least one ornate and colorful entry tower -- called a
         		 While we waited for Trichy's Thiruvanaikaval Jambukeshwara Temple to re-open after lunch, we were befriended by a young elephant keeper. Many temples in South India honor the deity Ganesh with blessing-giving elephants. You offer the elephant a few rupees and the elephant touches its trunk to your head. We were worried about how they are treated -- but our hour spent with Shakti the Elephant and his trainer proved a deep love and a deep commitment between human and animal. Shakti is truly one of the family -- and an incredibly sweet and intelligent being!: by ivan_miral, Views[2549]
         		 South India is an incredible mix of religious groups – Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Animists, Jains, Buddhists, even Jewish and Zoroastrian.... with a history of overlap and intermixing among the faiths. Where inter-religious tensions have only recently emerged, they are being fought by ads like this one, encouraging understanding and a peaceful working together.: by ivan_miral, Views[2027]
         		 Some of the integration means the monks consciously refrain from using the conceptual images and language of the ancient Greek philosophers (which is how the message of Jesus was originally explained to people in Europe and the Middle East to help them understand his mysterious and good news) and instead use Hindu concepts and language.: by ivan_miral, Views[1261]
     
    Each morning at the ashram,we began sitting meditation at about 5:30am -- then Mass began at 6:30am -- and then at 7:30am we emerged from the chapel to the soft morning sunshine building in this beautiful grove of trees.: by ivan_miral, Views[997]
         		 Prayer in the chapel includes ritual elements as well as readings and prayers handed down from the Syrian Orthodox liturgy, Roman Catholic Mass, and Hebrew and ancient Hindu scriptures. This is to recognize and learn from God's revelations to all peoples across the ages.: by ivan_miral, Views[1380]
         		 Here, a yogi (a person traveling a spiritual path to God), is in the center of the meditation hall, where we attended teachings by Brother Martin. The yogi, who for Christians clearly has the image of Jesus, faces all directions, representing his understanding of all things.: by ivan_miral, Views[1503]
         		 To accommodate the number of people who come to pray in silence and seek God in the context of this community, a bigger Church is being built – “Come see the new temple” they told us. On the outside it resembles a Hindu temple (even displaying a Jesus who prays in meditation posture), the sanctuary inside includes Christian Orthodox design (following a long tradition of Christian Orthodoxy in India, which tradition has it was brought over by Thomas the Apostle in 52 A.D.). : by ivan_miral, Views[902]
         		 We began our time in South India with a nine day retreat at Shantivanam Ashram where there is a long tradition of Benedictine Catholics seeking to further their Christian path by learning from the wisdom of India's historically deep traditions. Most famous among them is the late English monk, Father Bede Griffiths. Some of the intentional Christian-Hindu integration is external, such as the extreme poverty, here the monks wear robes resembling the clothing of India's centuries of Hindu holy men who shed material possessions so as not to obstruct them from their spiritual path.: by ivan_miral, Views[1835]
     
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