Dream Trip 2008: July

Great Travel Moment

This photo was taken at sunrise about 6 a.m. on the cliffs of Varkala Beach in Kerala, India. It was my last morning on the beach before I caught a train inland. I wanted just one more swim. I came across these fishermen bringing in the nights catch. The men on the beach pulled the net in methodically while chanting a mantra. There were other fishermen on these hand-crafted kayaks consisting of 3 tree trunks bound together by bark and these boats that were actually hand carved and sewn together. These men were helping bring in the catch from the water and keeping the nets from getting tangled. In all of my travels, I had not seen this type of fishing before, nor the types of kayaks and boats used. For me, this was the epitome of teamwork and patience as this took hours to bring the fish in. To them, it was there daily job, for me, it was a cultural attraction