11:20 Hrs. Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India.
Today (June 12th) we leave for Mysore and we're all very excited to get back to civilization. We packed up the boys dorms and joined the field site for breakfast. Then we were back in jeeps again for a hiking excursion. the day before at an overlook, Siddappa asked us which mountain we liked best. Haley was very enthusiastic about a particular hill so Siddappa told us we would climb it. Properly known as Malki Betta, we dubbed it Malki 'Haley' Betta. We took the jeeps the majority of the way up, truly off-roading it and giving us all whiplash.
We hopped out and began the trek to the top. Pointing out trees along the way, Siddappa showed us a fruit that elephants eat essentially as an aphrodesiac. It makes bulls more aggressive and active. Before I could write anything down, much of the group had moved on. "What was it called?" I asked to no one in particular. "I think they said 'Carria Arboria'" Lisa responded. I pressed on. Whatever trail had been present had disappeared. We were fighting a literally uphill battle with the Lantana forest before us. Eventually we reached a small rocky outcrop to rest. Siddappa came up behind us carrying a small plant. "This is a plant commonly used by tribals and is supposed to improve memory when eaten, I'll give it to whoever remembers the name of the elephant tree..."
"Carria Arboria...?" I threw out... "Wonderful!" Siddappa shouted. I won myself a little memory booster (a leaf) to eat. I gave Lisa a head nod. "What was the name of the memory plant?" people asked me later...
I couldn't remember.
Continuing on, we took another few rest stops at beautiful views, held some giant millipedes (been there done that), ate some fresh Amla fruits, caught a glimpse of a sambar poking his head out of tall grass, and sat in some light rain for awhile before finishing the final 30 or so meter hike to the top. We relaxed for awhile at the top and let the clouds pass through us. Siddappa asked us to sing, and upon realizing we had my iPod and Bradley's speakers, we reunited the band and pulled out a long overdue Bohemian Rhapsody from the vaults. Freddie would have given us a 10 out of 10 just for shear passion. After a small tribute to the Beatles as well, we trekked back down. Indo Crew: 1, Lantana: 0.
We returned to where the jeeps were to see only one. So half of us began the incredibly muddy trek back along elephant-made paths. Passing smiling Soligas hard at work along the route, the jeep returned to pick us up at a small village. We returned back to the filed site for our last meal in BRT. Something should be said for this place; a well decorated lush site. Despite the difficult accomodations, I'd love to return to see the true wealth and happiness of the Soliga people.
We loaded the van and were off to Mysore. The halfway point of the program. Congrats readers. Ya made it this far. It became a reminder for all of us of how much we had done, how long 3 weeks had felt like, and how long before I see home again...This time around, we watched all of Ongbok 2. There are no words for that movie. Watch at your own risk.
First impressions of Mysore were favorable. A faint echo of Bangalore but more variety in architecture, more smiling people, and much less pollution. I mean some pollution...just...less... ;) We give it two thumbs up. The drive was only about 3 hours.
After some driving, we spotted a Baskin Robbins. The luxuries of home trumpeted like an elephant out to us in the bus in the liquid form of salivation. It got better. Connected next door was a bakery with pastries, desserts, and interesting foods. Still better. Our lodging was a block away. Dangerously close walking distance. STILL better. Western toilets, closets, soft beds, electricity, even desks. Oh yeah. I think we'll manage. After some ice cream (or frozen heaven), we went to dinner at a place a little walk down called Uncle Lobo's, which served Indian and Chinese. We completely feasted on delicious food and purchased a few boxes of Kingfisher. After the walk back, it was Chi'party' time...With a free day in Mysore the next day, the party continued into the wee hours.
~Straying down familiar paths...
-David
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
After breakfast the next morning, we loaded back into the jeeps to visit some small sacred shrines (a total of 480 in BRT) at a few trees and lakes, and an interesting megalithic burial site, dating from around 800 A.D. Then off to the school. The school was the Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra school adjacent to our (boys) guest houses. After a strange interaction with some American college students from Pennsylvania working here (everybody seemed uneasy and on-edge and lost their smiles, I'm not sure why), we spoke with some school administrators who took us to a grand hall showing off the many awards the school had won as a top of the line tribal school.
We then moved to a classroom where we stood in front of 35 or so 16 year olds, all in what they call 10th Standard, and had a very nice Q&A dialog with the students, exchanging comments on food, sports, occupations, school systems, impressions, etc. We managed to get out of there without singing anything, probably for the benefit of everyone. Before we left the area, we stopped in a small manufacturing center next to the school. Siddapa has started a honey extracting initiative with the Soliga people as a sustainable NTFP. Here we saw a bit of the machinery used to process the honey (which we'd been devouring with every meal). We took a shortcut through the community and walked back to the field site.
After lunch we got a quick ride back to our dorms to change as needed for a more casual, cultural evening, including a visit to an important temple. When we returned the girls came out dressed in beautiful Indian attire. We felt significantly under-dressed as we paled in comparison. Before the temple, we took a quick trip to a second honey production site, this time run by a group of about ten self-help women. Then to a beautiful sacred temple high on a hill where Siddapa made us feel like VIPs, getting us into some sacred sections. Truly a moving experience. We stopped on our way back at another shop surrounded by coffee plants and had some local coffee. There were also tall, thin black pepper plants around the building. It was this that Colombus had been seeking when he left Spain, only to be disappointed by its absence in America. We took a lengthy ride in the van for wildlife and saw quite a few chital, sambar, and gaur.
Upon our return to the field site, we had a delicious dinner that included some chicken! We piled into the office to listen to a PhD student, Samira give a talk on her research with racket-tailed drongos in the area and their elaborate mimicking abilities. Next Siddapa gave a few brief presentations on BRT and his work there with ATREE. Another long day as we draw nearer to the halfway point of this program. I'm liking BRT...
~Living like a tribal...,
- David
We then moved to a classroom where we stood in front of 35 or so 16 year olds, all in what they call 10th Standard, and had a very nice Q&A dialog with the students, exchanging comments on food, sports, occupations, school systems, impressions, etc. We managed to get out of there without singing anything, probably for the benefit of everyone. Before we left the area, we stopped in a small manufacturing center next to the school. Siddapa has started a honey extracting initiative with the Soliga people as a sustainable NTFP. Here we saw a bit of the machinery used to process the honey (which we'd been devouring with every meal). We took a shortcut through the community and walked back to the field site.
After lunch we got a quick ride back to our dorms to change as needed for a more casual, cultural evening, including a visit to an important temple. When we returned the girls came out dressed in beautiful Indian attire. We felt significantly under-dressed as we paled in comparison. Before the temple, we took a quick trip to a second honey production site, this time run by a group of about ten self-help women. Then to a beautiful sacred temple high on a hill where Siddapa made us feel like VIPs, getting us into some sacred sections. Truly a moving experience. We stopped on our way back at another shop surrounded by coffee plants and had some local coffee. There were also tall, thin black pepper plants around the building. It was this that Colombus had been seeking when he left Spain, only to be disappointed by its absence in America. We took a lengthy ride in the van for wildlife and saw quite a few chital, sambar, and gaur.
Upon our return to the field site, we had a delicious dinner that included some chicken! We piled into the office to listen to a PhD student, Samira give a talk on her research with racket-tailed drongos in the area and their elaborate mimicking abilities. Next Siddapa gave a few brief presentations on BRT and his work there with ATREE. Another long day as we draw nearer to the halfway point of this program. I'm liking BRT...
~Living like a tribal...,
- David
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010. - Day 25
16:30 Hrs. City of Mysore, Karnataka, India.
The next morning, June 10th, we had a most terrible time getting out o the boys dorms because the rains had created quite the mudslide. fortunately Manoj seems very experienced and we soon joined the girls for breakfast. Afterwards we finally got a glimpse at some maps from Siddapa and understood our surroundings a little better. Instead of taking the van today (too large to off-road in BRT; very well protected) we loaded into jeeps! True safari style. Squished in the middle of the front seat trying very hard not to get in the way of gear shifting by Madeva, our driver, we headed out.
A brief digression. India has a four-step hierarchy for protected areas. At the bottom is the Reserve Forests. Next follows National Parks such as Bannerghatta. The third level is Wildlife Sanctuary such as BRT, which begins to have much more serious protection, many permits were reluctantly given for foreigners to be here, and even then rarely on foot. The final level is Tiger Reserve, such as Bandipur, our stop after Mysore.
After a beautiful ride through lush forest, though incredibly bumpy (there wasn't really a road), we got off at the beginning of a long staircase down. Siddapa told us to watch for leeches. We were in moist to wet deciduous forest after all, and we knew this tragic day would come. The paranoia set in with everybody. Small inch-worm like critters covered the ground, feeling around for delicious human flesh. After some initial dramatic reactions by most people, Andrew and Bradley decided to self-inflict themselves and hold a friendly competition. In an attempt to see who's could get bigger, they voluntarily placed a leech on one arm each. We trekked down the steps and reached what the locals call 'Doddasampagi', a Mikilia Champaca tree that was around 2,000 years old, and very sacred. Decorated in garlands, stones, and tridents of Shiva, the tree commanded the respect of the entire peaceful, Riparian area. As we climbed the other side of the hill, we passed some Soliga women at a watering hole filling jugs, and methodically setting them on fabric rings on their heads. Beautiful and shy, they are forest dwellers; experts at simple living. As we passed a few huts and Soliga buildings, coffee plants grew rampant around us, and evidence of a village increased. We arrived at the school room (a hut made from sticks that was empty) and the village head spoke through Siddapa to us about his community.
Loading back into the jeeps, we made a few stops at breathtaking overlooks, spotting shola forest and distant mountains, all the while removing the onslaught of leeches from our shoes and legs. A wild boar managed to get stuck on the road in front of our first (of two) jeeps and with thickets of Lantana on either side the boar was forced to keep running like someone running from an oncoming train with no means to jump off the tracks. Entertained, we snapped pictures as the boar ran off, finally finding an exit through the thorny wall. We stopped at a small estate with some beautiful white temple structures which appeared to no longer be in use, and grabbed some bananas from the nearby store.
Another jeep ride and we arrived at Honnamatti Betta (Betta is hill in Kannada), another breathtaking overlook and forest service watch tower. Sitting at the level of the clouds blowing past us, we ate a delicious lunch off biodegradable leaf plates (made from leaves from Butia Monosperma aka 'Flame of the Forest' stitched together with dried plant sticks). There was an enormous monolithic vertical boulder sitting at the edge of the hill. Siddapa told us to take a rock and hit it. I couldn't believe my ears, the boulder made a hollow, metal clang. Truly fascinating. BRT we've noticed is notably cooler and mistier than our previous locations, and up here we certainly felt it.
Another stop for a few more bananas and we began our afternoon travels. Now it was safari time. We traveled through BRT and spotted chital (spotted deer not unlike our white-tailed), an elusive langur that jumped across the road and back into the brush, some massive gaur, and a couple of eagles. As evening approached we returned for some tea, a toilet break at our own quarters, and got more comfortable for a cultural night back at the field site. Shortly after returning, various Soliga arrived, quickly made a fire, changed into tribal attire (body paint and leaf headdresses) and kicked off the musical evening.
After a few numbers, they added dance as they chanted and played (drums and cymbals) around the fire. We did our best to quickly catch on, and having been exposed as dancers after our MM Hills escapade, joined in. An amazing evening. If Geeta doesn't come back to help make a CD of these guys with the next study abroad, I certainly will. An amazing night. During dinner, Geeta told us we'd be visiting another school tomorrow so we should prepare songs to sing. Not wanting a repeat of Old MacDonald at Kanakpura, we went late into the night suggesting and veto-ing song options, settling uneasily on Bohemian Rhapsody, and the Star-Spangled Banner, using my iPod and Bradley's portable speakers as backup.
~Desparate not to disappoint Freddie Mercury...,
- David
The next morning, June 10th, we had a most terrible time getting out o the boys dorms because the rains had created quite the mudslide. fortunately Manoj seems very experienced and we soon joined the girls for breakfast. Afterwards we finally got a glimpse at some maps from Siddapa and understood our surroundings a little better. Instead of taking the van today (too large to off-road in BRT; very well protected) we loaded into jeeps! True safari style. Squished in the middle of the front seat trying very hard not to get in the way of gear shifting by Madeva, our driver, we headed out.
A brief digression. India has a four-step hierarchy for protected areas. At the bottom is the Reserve Forests. Next follows National Parks such as Bannerghatta. The third level is Wildlife Sanctuary such as BRT, which begins to have much more serious protection, many permits were reluctantly given for foreigners to be here, and even then rarely on foot. The final level is Tiger Reserve, such as Bandipur, our stop after Mysore.
After a beautiful ride through lush forest, though incredibly bumpy (there wasn't really a road), we got off at the beginning of a long staircase down. Siddapa told us to watch for leeches. We were in moist to wet deciduous forest after all, and we knew this tragic day would come. The paranoia set in with everybody. Small inch-worm like critters covered the ground, feeling around for delicious human flesh. After some initial dramatic reactions by most people, Andrew and Bradley decided to self-inflict themselves and hold a friendly competition. In an attempt to see who's could get bigger, they voluntarily placed a leech on one arm each. We trekked down the steps and reached what the locals call 'Doddasampagi', a Mikilia Champaca tree that was around 2,000 years old, and very sacred. Decorated in garlands, stones, and tridents of Shiva, the tree commanded the respect of the entire peaceful, Riparian area. As we climbed the other side of the hill, we passed some Soliga women at a watering hole filling jugs, and methodically setting them on fabric rings on their heads. Beautiful and shy, they are forest dwellers; experts at simple living. As we passed a few huts and Soliga buildings, coffee plants grew rampant around us, and evidence of a village increased. We arrived at the school room (a hut made from sticks that was empty) and the village head spoke through Siddapa to us about his community.
Loading back into the jeeps, we made a few stops at breathtaking overlooks, spotting shola forest and distant mountains, all the while removing the onslaught of leeches from our shoes and legs. A wild boar managed to get stuck on the road in front of our first (of two) jeeps and with thickets of Lantana on either side the boar was forced to keep running like someone running from an oncoming train with no means to jump off the tracks. Entertained, we snapped pictures as the boar ran off, finally finding an exit through the thorny wall. We stopped at a small estate with some beautiful white temple structures which appeared to no longer be in use, and grabbed some bananas from the nearby store.
Another jeep ride and we arrived at Honnamatti Betta (Betta is hill in Kannada), another breathtaking overlook and forest service watch tower. Sitting at the level of the clouds blowing past us, we ate a delicious lunch off biodegradable leaf plates (made from leaves from Butia Monosperma aka 'Flame of the Forest' stitched together with dried plant sticks). There was an enormous monolithic vertical boulder sitting at the edge of the hill. Siddapa told us to take a rock and hit it. I couldn't believe my ears, the boulder made a hollow, metal clang. Truly fascinating. BRT we've noticed is notably cooler and mistier than our previous locations, and up here we certainly felt it.
Another stop for a few more bananas and we began our afternoon travels. Now it was safari time. We traveled through BRT and spotted chital (spotted deer not unlike our white-tailed), an elusive langur that jumped across the road and back into the brush, some massive gaur, and a couple of eagles. As evening approached we returned for some tea, a toilet break at our own quarters, and got more comfortable for a cultural night back at the field site. Shortly after returning, various Soliga arrived, quickly made a fire, changed into tribal attire (body paint and leaf headdresses) and kicked off the musical evening.
After a few numbers, they added dance as they chanted and played (drums and cymbals) around the fire. We did our best to quickly catch on, and having been exposed as dancers after our MM Hills escapade, joined in. An amazing evening. If Geeta doesn't come back to help make a CD of these guys with the next study abroad, I certainly will. An amazing night. During dinner, Geeta told us we'd be visiting another school tomorrow so we should prepare songs to sing. Not wanting a repeat of Old MacDonald at Kanakpura, we went late into the night suggesting and veto-ing song options, settling uneasily on Bohemian Rhapsody, and the Star-Spangled Banner, using my iPod and Bradley's portable speakers as backup.
~Desparate not to disappoint Freddie Mercury...,
- David
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 - Day 18
...Perhaps relieved that the engine noise meant we were leaving, or perhaps because a small part of the lake was between the road and the islet they were on, the cow stopped and returned to the others. We drove on.
Our last sighting was a Wild boar in the distance running fast as we returned to the field site. A delicious dinner as usual, and Manoj drove the boys back to our quarters.
First night of some pretty amazing wildlife...,
- David
Our last sighting was a Wild boar in the distance running fast as we returned to the field site. A delicious dinner as usual, and Manoj drove the boys back to our quarters.
First night of some pretty amazing wildlife...,
- David
Monday, June 14, 2010
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010. - Day 18
19:15 Hrs. Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, India.
Our last breakfast at MM Hills. This experience has lost its wide-eyed new feeling. Now it seems we travel from place to place, seeing things that grow more and more beautiful. MM Hills is truly a beautiful place. After a bit of rest, we loaded the bus (with a new driver, Manosh) and headed out around 11:00.
Our trip included a Bollywood film that Brandy had bought at market in the morning, played on the bus' DVD player (tour bus). We stopped at Kollegal, which we had passed on our way to MM. Kollegal has the only route to BRT. We had lunch at a delicious local restaurant, including some Slice mango juice, some Massala Chipati, and who knows what else. There we picked up Siddapa, who is accompanying us to BRT. Upon boarding the bus again, a new movie, Ongbak 2 began playing. Though we didn't see the end of the 'guy has trouble getting girl' Bollywood flick, we took a pretty well educated guess... This new movie we're convinced is the purchase of the bus driver. It lost my attention pretty quickly.
BRT is quite the place. 540 km square of very lush forests, scrubs, and grasslands. It reminds me much of the Smoky Mountains, just with completely more tropical vegetation. We arrived at the ATREE field site and guest house the girls would be staying at. Then quickly to the gents' quarters. Decent accomodations. Again Geeta had us prepared for far worse. 3 pieces of wood on sticks for beds with a mattress the thickness of my finger, but a bed and room nonetheless. A western toilet believe it or not, though its functionability is hardly worthwhile. Anyway the community is very homey and beautiful, a faint reminder of UTC without the surrounding hustle and bustle of Bangalore, merely more lush forest. We are truly in rural INdia. The boys' guest houses are at the school ATREE assists at for Soliga people that live in the forest. 57 total tribal villages, 14 of which refused to leave the sanctuaries boundaries after the request from the Indian Forest Service, and continue to live within to this day. The whole place has a feel of small medieval hamlets or villages in the mountains of Ireland, but for some reason, everything is tropical.
We briefly unloaded, then returned to the girls dorms at the ATREE field site. Another excursion in the van to see wildlife. Seeing anything with a group this size (of boisterous Americans no less), in a noisy tourism van seems and had proved near impossible. Though we'd seen animals before on our excursions, never a true spotting worthy of the work our educators had done. Perhpas a combination of having Siddapa with us (an incredible wildlife exper), the time of day and weather of the outing, and the overall beauty and serenity of the place keeping us quiet, gave us multiple spottings. The first was a beautiful owl of immense stature that there is still much debate over its identification. With similar appearance and coloration to a Great Horned Owl, it flew across the road behind the van with deadly silent accuracy. We drove on. Then we spotted the big guns. This whole trip seems to have been planned by Geeta on the trail of the world's largest terrestrial creature. 'Elephas Maximus' moves south through India in its migrations. Coming from central India, they move through Bannerghatta N.P., Biligiri R.F., Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, B.R. Hills, Bandipur T.R., Mudumalai, and onward. It would seem Geeta planned this trip to line up with the towering veggie-saur. And yet until now we'd only heard a far off trumpet from atop Rock Hill. As we passed a small lake, there they were. Three beautiful female elephants, no more than nine feet tall, about forty feet away. As we turned off the engine and very carefully milled about the van to get a good look and take pictures, we, with the help of Siddapa and Geeta, identified their ages and roles in the herd. Sixteen very large and heavily padded feet...a fourth tail flicked out low to the ground. A baby. No more than two-months old. As the elders sensed our noisy and smelly presence, they began readjusting to encircle and further protect the young calf. The furthest away individual retreated a ways to the brush with her tail elevated and turned back to face us directly. She wanted running room. "Go Manosh!" Geeta shouted in a loud hoarse whisper. The elephant let out a loud warning trumpet and picked up speed straight towards us...
Our last breakfast at MM Hills. This experience has lost its wide-eyed new feeling. Now it seems we travel from place to place, seeing things that grow more and more beautiful. MM Hills is truly a beautiful place. After a bit of rest, we loaded the bus (with a new driver, Manosh) and headed out around 11:00.
Our trip included a Bollywood film that Brandy had bought at market in the morning, played on the bus' DVD player (tour bus). We stopped at Kollegal, which we had passed on our way to MM. Kollegal has the only route to BRT. We had lunch at a delicious local restaurant, including some Slice mango juice, some Massala Chipati, and who knows what else. There we picked up Siddapa, who is accompanying us to BRT. Upon boarding the bus again, a new movie, Ongbak 2 began playing. Though we didn't see the end of the 'guy has trouble getting girl' Bollywood flick, we took a pretty well educated guess... This new movie we're convinced is the purchase of the bus driver. It lost my attention pretty quickly.
BRT is quite the place. 540 km square of very lush forests, scrubs, and grasslands. It reminds me much of the Smoky Mountains, just with completely more tropical vegetation. We arrived at the ATREE field site and guest house the girls would be staying at. Then quickly to the gents' quarters. Decent accomodations. Again Geeta had us prepared for far worse. 3 pieces of wood on sticks for beds with a mattress the thickness of my finger, but a bed and room nonetheless. A western toilet believe it or not, though its functionability is hardly worthwhile. Anyway the community is very homey and beautiful, a faint reminder of UTC without the surrounding hustle and bustle of Bangalore, merely more lush forest. We are truly in rural INdia. The boys' guest houses are at the school ATREE assists at for Soliga people that live in the forest. 57 total tribal villages, 14 of which refused to leave the sanctuaries boundaries after the request from the Indian Forest Service, and continue to live within to this day. The whole place has a feel of small medieval hamlets or villages in the mountains of Ireland, but for some reason, everything is tropical.
We briefly unloaded, then returned to the girls dorms at the ATREE field site. Another excursion in the van to see wildlife. Seeing anything with a group this size (of boisterous Americans no less), in a noisy tourism van seems and had proved near impossible. Though we'd seen animals before on our excursions, never a true spotting worthy of the work our educators had done. Perhpas a combination of having Siddapa with us (an incredible wildlife exper), the time of day and weather of the outing, and the overall beauty and serenity of the place keeping us quiet, gave us multiple spottings. The first was a beautiful owl of immense stature that there is still much debate over its identification. With similar appearance and coloration to a Great Horned Owl, it flew across the road behind the van with deadly silent accuracy. We drove on. Then we spotted the big guns. This whole trip seems to have been planned by Geeta on the trail of the world's largest terrestrial creature. 'Elephas Maximus' moves south through India in its migrations. Coming from central India, they move through Bannerghatta N.P., Biligiri R.F., Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, B.R. Hills, Bandipur T.R., Mudumalai, and onward. It would seem Geeta planned this trip to line up with the towering veggie-saur. And yet until now we'd only heard a far off trumpet from atop Rock Hill. As we passed a small lake, there they were. Three beautiful female elephants, no more than nine feet tall, about forty feet away. As we turned off the engine and very carefully milled about the van to get a good look and take pictures, we, with the help of Siddapa and Geeta, identified their ages and roles in the herd. Sixteen very large and heavily padded feet...a fourth tail flicked out low to the ground. A baby. No more than two-months old. As the elders sensed our noisy and smelly presence, they began readjusting to encircle and further protect the young calf. The furthest away individual retreated a ways to the brush with her tail elevated and turned back to face us directly. She wanted running room. "Go Manosh!" Geeta shouted in a loud hoarse whisper. The elephant let out a loud warning trumpet and picked up speed straight towards us...
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010. - Day 18
09:00 Hrs. Devara Halli, MM Hills, Karnataka, India.
Tuesday was another hiking foray after breakfast. A very long tough hike, but it always ends up being worth it. We reached the peak and could see for miles. The Cauvery River, roaming its way to the reservoir and the bordering state of Tamil Nadu in the distance. BRT to our right and Mysore far off behind us before a very hazy Western Ghats. The view was truly spectacular. That evening we crossed the nearby border into the state of Tamil Nadu and went to an oasis where the Cauvery and Palar Rivers join. No elephants tonight, apparently we'd missed them by a few hours, but the scenery and a conversation with a fisherman floating by laying his net more than made up for it.
Today we leave MM Hills, for Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary at the south-eastern tip of Karnataka where the Western and Eastern Ghats meet (more or less). We have no idea what sort of accomodations await us, but we've been told it's worse than our past ones. We shall see...
~Trying to shake off a prolonged slump,
- David
Tuesday was another hiking foray after breakfast. A very long tough hike, but it always ends up being worth it. We reached the peak and could see for miles. The Cauvery River, roaming its way to the reservoir and the bordering state of Tamil Nadu in the distance. BRT to our right and Mysore far off behind us before a very hazy Western Ghats. The view was truly spectacular. That evening we crossed the nearby border into the state of Tamil Nadu and went to an oasis where the Cauvery and Palar Rivers join. No elephants tonight, apparently we'd missed them by a few hours, but the scenery and a conversation with a fisherman floating by laying his net more than made up for it.
Today we leave MM Hills, for Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary at the south-eastern tip of Karnataka where the Western and Eastern Ghats meet (more or less). We have no idea what sort of accomodations await us, but we've been told it's worse than our past ones. We shall see...
~Trying to shake off a prolonged slump,
- David
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 - Day 17
07:30 Hrs. Devara Halli, MM Hills, Karnataka, India.
I will attempt here to catch up and remain on track. Yesterday we woke up early for yoga on the roof of our guest house. Since we're in a valley there is always quite the strong breeze. After a short walk to the nearby mess hall for breakfast, we boarded the bus with Riaz, and returned back into the mountains from whence we had come.
Once on top, we buddied up and were given assignments of things to monitor as we trekked along a trail. I was to observe chopped trees, identify species and whether it was for firewood or for other purposes with Kristina. An easy task compared to some of the others', we discovered only about five species that were consistently cut..., and we rounded by quite a bit...
Soliga (tribal) people live in this area, and are being taught by ATREE to use the invasive Lantana camera plant (which is EVERYWHERE in India) to weave baskets and furniture to sell. They use the dried bamboo in the forest for much of their home construction. We finished monitoring and continued climbing, first down, down, down into a valley (elephant corridor), then up, up, up onto the next hill. We were told the path we were taking was the old stone path that pilgrims took en route to the holy Halli of Devara we were staying at. The path was about 1000 years old. Each rest stop gave beautiful views, truly stunning scenery. Every time we reach a viewpoint, anywhere in our trip, we have never been let down. I have a bajillion landscape pictures now. The whole region had less than a decade ago, been the domain of Veerapan, a notorious Indian poacher of mostly sandalwood, who often would capture, torture, and/or kill celebrities, trespassers, and foreigners. Fortunately he was poisoned and killed by undercover agents a little while back or we wouldn't have come here.
Finally back at the top of the hill, we snapped a few photos, including one of the whole group I took from atop the bus, and drove back down into the village. We returned to the mess hall for a quick lunch but were soon back out again, this time visiting a small piece of ATREE land, where they are working with the Soligas for agriculture, tree planting, and rain-water harvesting through terraced pits.
As we trekked back to the bus, we had a lovely interaction with some locals, who, upon seeing how excited Papaya trees they owned made us, proceeded to give us four or five, and few pictures as well. We drove just a little ways to the home of a Soliga elder woman, heavily involved in local politics on behalf of her community, to see their homes and be offered delicious jagri-black tea. We 'spoke' with her for awhile and explored their little neighborhood. It very much echoed El Refugio...
Before returning, we stopped at the market outside the gran temple of the city, purchased some knick-knacks and souvenirs, and dropped our shoes off to enter the temple. Personal space truly does not exist in India. Packed like sardines, we herded through the beautiful Hindu Temple, even being blessed with face markings (3 lines and the dot). We've never been more stared at then today. Continuously asked for pictures, I suppose it's a unique experience to see Geeta leading 12 white ducklings with bags and filtered water bottles around. The temple was truly a humbling and spritiual sight. As we exited, a painted elephant was being kept in a barn next door happily chomping away on some bamboo.
Surprisingly, even more people were arriving, as the monks appeared to be preparing a large elaborately decorated chariot. Apparently this is a traditional Monday occurence. As preparations continued the music we had heard the night before, interesting drumming began pounding away nearby. Around 15 or so children were all dancing away surrounded by the crowd. After a long hot rough day where I was even more consistently wondering my purpose on this trip, the lively drum beat was mindless passion and joy. With all the smiles at us, it became impossible to resist. Caution to the wind, I separated from our group and went to join. Pounding my feet and raising my arms embarassingly as I tried to mimic them, I shook out all petty thoughts and aggravations. It wasn't long before I was joined by the majority of the group, as well as more dancers from the crowd, and MANY more spectators eager to see the dancing exotic Americans.
~Exhausted with satisfaction,
- David
I will attempt here to catch up and remain on track. Yesterday we woke up early for yoga on the roof of our guest house. Since we're in a valley there is always quite the strong breeze. After a short walk to the nearby mess hall for breakfast, we boarded the bus with Riaz, and returned back into the mountains from whence we had come.
Once on top, we buddied up and were given assignments of things to monitor as we trekked along a trail. I was to observe chopped trees, identify species and whether it was for firewood or for other purposes with Kristina. An easy task compared to some of the others', we discovered only about five species that were consistently cut..., and we rounded by quite a bit...
Soliga (tribal) people live in this area, and are being taught by ATREE to use the invasive Lantana camera plant (which is EVERYWHERE in India) to weave baskets and furniture to sell. They use the dried bamboo in the forest for much of their home construction. We finished monitoring and continued climbing, first down, down, down into a valley (elephant corridor), then up, up, up onto the next hill. We were told the path we were taking was the old stone path that pilgrims took en route to the holy Halli of Devara we were staying at. The path was about 1000 years old. Each rest stop gave beautiful views, truly stunning scenery. Every time we reach a viewpoint, anywhere in our trip, we have never been let down. I have a bajillion landscape pictures now. The whole region had less than a decade ago, been the domain of Veerapan, a notorious Indian poacher of mostly sandalwood, who often would capture, torture, and/or kill celebrities, trespassers, and foreigners. Fortunately he was poisoned and killed by undercover agents a little while back or we wouldn't have come here.
Finally back at the top of the hill, we snapped a few photos, including one of the whole group I took from atop the bus, and drove back down into the village. We returned to the mess hall for a quick lunch but were soon back out again, this time visiting a small piece of ATREE land, where they are working with the Soligas for agriculture, tree planting, and rain-water harvesting through terraced pits.
As we trekked back to the bus, we had a lovely interaction with some locals, who, upon seeing how excited Papaya trees they owned made us, proceeded to give us four or five, and few pictures as well. We drove just a little ways to the home of a Soliga elder woman, heavily involved in local politics on behalf of her community, to see their homes and be offered delicious jagri-black tea. We 'spoke' with her for awhile and explored their little neighborhood. It very much echoed El Refugio...
Before returning, we stopped at the market outside the gran temple of the city, purchased some knick-knacks and souvenirs, and dropped our shoes off to enter the temple. Personal space truly does not exist in India. Packed like sardines, we herded through the beautiful Hindu Temple, even being blessed with face markings (3 lines and the dot). We've never been more stared at then today. Continuously asked for pictures, I suppose it's a unique experience to see Geeta leading 12 white ducklings with bags and filtered water bottles around. The temple was truly a humbling and spritiual sight. As we exited, a painted elephant was being kept in a barn next door happily chomping away on some bamboo.
Surprisingly, even more people were arriving, as the monks appeared to be preparing a large elaborately decorated chariot. Apparently this is a traditional Monday occurence. As preparations continued the music we had heard the night before, interesting drumming began pounding away nearby. Around 15 or so children were all dancing away surrounded by the crowd. After a long hot rough day where I was even more consistently wondering my purpose on this trip, the lively drum beat was mindless passion and joy. With all the smiles at us, it became impossible to resist. Caution to the wind, I separated from our group and went to join. Pounding my feet and raising my arms embarassingly as I tried to mimic them, I shook out all petty thoughts and aggravations. It wasn't long before I was joined by the majority of the group, as well as more dancers from the crowd, and MANY more spectators eager to see the dancing exotic Americans.
~Exhausted with satisfaction,
- David
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