We were moving on to the Elephant Court hotel in Thekkady in the state of Kerala. Driving along the road enroute to Thekkady we passed palatial and beautiful homes that made me think I was driving through Hollywood. Kerala is an Indian state that has nearly 100% literacy. Many people from Kerala live and work abroad and continue to maintain homes in Kerala. Thekkady is a charming city and it's easy to just walk along the streets to explore. The Elephant Court was a beautiful hotel. We were warned not to leave anything unattended on our balcony because the monkeys would come by and steal it. I suggested to friends that this hotel would be perfect for a second honeymoon.
Following the second negative retest, COVID did not present any additional problems for me. I continued to wear my mask for a couple more days and I avoided those who I knew had given me trouble. I tried to assimilate into the group but, to be honest, with the exception of the couple who had advocated for me, my heart wasn't in it and I never quite succeeded. The others didn't seem to be trying all that hard either so it was probably neither here nor there.
While staying at the Elephant Court, I learned of something that put a new twist on my COVID experience. It was here that the WWE's wife announced, via text message, that she had taken a second COVID test and that it was negative. She posted a photo of the test cartridge. Of course, I had been away from the group and knew nothing about this. Apparently, she had been coughing and sneezing. She too was present at Mysore Palace and Mysore market and, like the rest of us, was unmasked. The timing of this information was intriguing and confirmed my earlier suspicions.
On our visit to Periyar National Park I met the second Rajkumar of my trip. We took a jury rigged raft across a narrow part of the river to get to an area of the Periyar forest where we looked for Malabar Trogon and other birds.
March 20th was my first group activity since the first Kabini jeep safari nine days earlier. I wore a mask and the humidity inside my mask must have been the same as the humidity outside. My glasses never fogged up. We crashed around the dry forest looking at a variety of things, including a tiger paw print. Rajkumar had a raspy voice with the hint of a British accent. He was a proud member of one of the local indigenous tribes. I asked Rajkumar, and now I am trying to recall; I think he was from the Mannans tribe. As his photo above shows, no binoculars, no glasses, no camera. Just eyes and ears. Great, great guide! I think I had a crush on him.
Two photos from the afternoon: Rajkumar may not have had a camera, but he knew how to use one.
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