The Road to Blue Mango

The White Knuckle Trip over the Mountains to Blue Mango.....began promptly at 8:10 after some minor confusion with hotel staff on which bags stayed and which were to be put on the bus! Hope we arrive with the bags with underware and not the one full of tablecloths and napkins....could be an interesting week!
Over hill and dale..... through rice fields, past trucks carrying cows and elephants, houses painted fushia, purple and lime, and hillsides covered in the patchwork of tea plants, we traveled always vying for our piece of the narrow road!
The road signs taught us much about the Indian philosophy.....don't scare the animals....not for you alone, leave it for the gen next....see the blooms and be rejuvinated. Words that carry meaning in all cultures.
The sign for hairpin turn does take on new meaning in India, where each blind turn is preceeded by much honking and hope that you are the only bus trying to navigate that narrow piece of the mountain....many prayers were said on the road to Munnar...our first stop for lunch and spice and tea shopping.....back on the bus and more "eye candy".....where pointsetta grow like trees, monkeys hang in the trees and the sacred cow ambles down the center of the road.

Our white knuckles relax as we come out of the mountains and into the valley of palm trees and cultivated crops where we get out first glimpse of Blue Mango and the home of our hosts, Bruce and Tamar. I can not give words to the incredible home they have designed.....built with wide overhanging porches, surrounded by a walled courtyard with fish ponds, elevated swimming pool, and cactus collections to highlight just a small portions of this compound. The home reflects our hosts affinity for building with woonderful reclaimed wooden doors, tile and artifacts. The pictures can better reveal the wonder of this place.
Bruce and Tamar welcomed us into their home as well as into the work they are doing here in India and you will hear much more about that in days to follow.....now to sleep to the sounds of Indian music in the air......Laura.