The bus ride from Munnar to Kottayam was long and uncomfortable, so we were quite relieved when we finally arrived. We thought the train station was closer than it actually was, so ended up walking halfway accross town in the scorching heat :-/ We got our tickets and then went to grab a bite to eat at a cafe/restaurant thing accross the road. When our train eventually arrived, we discovered that it was already "full" which meant we spent most of the 3 hour journey standing in a disgusting, cramped car :-/

The train finally pulled into Varkala station late in the afternoon on Sunday 7 October. We stumbled off with our stiff legs and heavy bags, and found our arranged rickshaw guy who took us off to our guesthouse. We immediately dumped our bags and dashed off to the nearby cliffs where we just caught the tail-end of one of the amazing sunsets. We enjoyed a delicious meal at one of the cliff-top restaurants overlooking the ocean - really spectacular view. Then it was back to the room for a bucket shower and bed.

Monday we were awake early but lazed around in the room until about 09:00, when we went through to the reception area for a coffee and to do a bit of admin - the wifi doesn't reach to the room :-( With our coffee's depleted, we took a walk along the cliffs and found a cool little spot for breakfast. The view from the raised deck was so relaxing that we were't exaclty in a rush to leave, but after a while Kevin headed down to explore the beach and catch some sun, while Monique grabbed a book and retired to the comfort of a hammock. That evening we had an early dinner while taking in another stunner sunset, and then took a walk down to the end of the cliffs. Before heading back to the guesthouse for another admin session :-/ we stopped for a piece of some AMAZING chocolate brownie cake - so good! After a quick cold shower to cool off, we climbed into the mosquito-net tent and went to sleep.

Tuesday we enjoyed a great, chilled-out breakfast overlooking the ocean and then walked down to the beach to enjoy one of the last sunny beach-days we will have before we get home to Cape Town. The beach is nice and clean and there weren't a lot of people there, so we had a cool, relaxing time. Afterwards we grabbed a quick snack and returned to our room to cool off and read/nap. That evening we walked back along the cliffs, stopping for some sundowners as another amazing sunset unfolded before us, and then onto a laid-back restaurant for dinner. We found some ice-creams for the walk back to the room, where we did a bit of packing an then went to bed.

Wednesday we were up early to finish packing and then walked down to the cliffs where we eventually managed to find a place that was open for coffee and breakfast. The air was still cool and there was a slight breeze, which made for a very enjoyable meal as we looked over the ocean for the last time. All filled up, we grabbed our things and walked towards town - eventually finding an auto to take us to the railway station, where we stood our ground in the 'queue' to get tickets. In the end we didn't have too long to wait before our train arrived and we were on our way to see the backwaters of Alleppey!