Last night was spent at a home stay along the banks of the river. We had an enjoyable evening eating home made food, having a beer and good conversation around the dinner table. Christianity is popular in this part of Kerala and, as it is Sunday, large numbers of people are gathering at the churches which we pass. The other big feature is the huge display of Communist Party banners and posters featuring pictures of Mao,Stalin,Lenin, Marx plus the local Indian leaders. So Christianity ('religion is the opium of the people' - Marx) exists side by side with Communism. It's a really strange 21st century mix here in the south of India! The next destination is Cochin which is the oldest European settlement in India dating back to 1500, with a mix of English, Dutch and Portuguese architecture. The famous explorer Vasco de Gama was buried here for a while before his body was returned to Lisbon.