A Trip Together... A Joy Forever... (contd.)

Part II - Meenmutty Falls

Having made the trek back towards our TT from Soochippara falls, we were now ready to continue our journey. The braver lot having tasted blood... I mean water, from right below the falls, they were looking for a chance to dive into the second waterfall. Meenmutty beckoned. We couldn't wait to get there. Any delays made everyone restless. A bottle of Sprite later, we were on our way. The route was again capturing our imagination. The curves, the tea plantations, the little houses atop the little hillocks were a pleasing sight. The welcome change from the concrete and glass jungles in the city seemed to make everyone fresh. Everybody had a whale of a time laughing, joking... all in good spirit. In this vein we made it to Meenmutty via Meppadi and Vaduvanchal towns. The place was very sombre. It had a quiet about it. It wasn't exactly by the nearest main road or town and it showed. There was just a house there and a few jeeps parked. We asked about and a friendly local gave us directions.

He told us that it was a kilometer walk along a fairly even (relatively) road... then a slightly steep descent towards the falls. We asked if it was possible to get into the water. He, being polite, didn't laugh us off. There was an offer to get us a jeep. But the walk was what everyone was there for. We walked on. The road was a little marshy. But it was ok generally. We made our way towards the tougher part of the journey knowing not what lay ahead. And not a lot later, the descent started. It was comfortable to start off with. Just a curving small path, with place to walk one at a time. Piece of cake. Well... it went on... and on... and on... We couldn't hear water yet, so we knew we had a while to walk. Then we saw people on their way up. A polite inquiry and the responses were like... "5 kms more... very steep... to dangerous." "Nothing there at all... just a small opening to see some water falling." Well a waterfall is basically that, why complain? And people were really panting. Hands on knees, some unable to move.

We looked at each other. A smirk and a grin later, we were on our way again. The path though got increasingly steeper and more difficult. It started to get a little slippery at places. But sticking together was a great thing. We just guided each other along and things went well. Then, after a while the path was more imagination and less visible. You see, now were well and truly into the jungle.

Welcome to the Jungle... Welcome to the Jungle...
The path now on was between and below trees, with roots of other trees as foothold and branches of some other trees as support. Whew! But no one wanted to stop. It was one experience no one wanted to miss. It was tough. It was dangerous. But if you were careful, it could be done. And we did. After a while, the sound of water falling became clearer and louder. That only made us want to reach there more. We really didn't know how long, how far or what lay in store. People we met every 10 minutes kept telling us it was another 20 minutes. So we stopped asking. And as the water got louder and we knew we were almost there, we got our second wind. It was pretty tiring at times. But the fact that we were close drove us on. One of our dearest pals, KB as we call him had a tough time. His shoes simply wouldn't let him carry on. He thought it best to rest and we found him a nice ledge to wait for the Cobras to turn up. :-) About 10 minutes more and the water was visible. It was a short climb down now. It still was risky, but no more than we'd been through.

And then we were there. This sight took the weariness out of us in an instant. The water gushing down in a torrent, the sound, the forest around... Heaven in the midst of a jungle...
The sight by the fall was no less majestic. Nature and her beauty. Wish I could show it in its entirety. No camera could capture it. None whatsoever. We had a few nice shots with the falls in the background. The place to stand was only a little ledge. We took our snaps and then slowly trudged back. The entire walk downwards had taken about 50 minutes. It was an uphill task getting back now. LITERALLY!!!

At around 3.45 pm, I think, we started the climb back. It was tough on the body. But less risky. The uphill climb meant lots more of support and lesser chance of falling. So slowly again we made our way up. We reached KB and his ledge soon and made our way upwards. The climb was less adventurous. It was pretty tiring though. Second uphill journey of the day and it was taking its toll.

It seems a law of nature. The beginning of a climb is always the hardest. Once you settle into a rhythm you just get used to it. Doesn't make it any easier, but it's a lot more manageable. And that way, we made it higher up till there was wayside shop with buttermilk. "Mor" as is the term in Malayalam. With pants ringing, "Yeh Dil Mange Mor", we all went into the little shelter. Had a glass or two of the refreshing drink. And then 10 minutes later, we were on the road proper. Now it was no problem and we reached out TT in another 15 minutes.

The little house at the corner of the road had a well. And everyone quenched his thirst with the spring water. Cold and fresh.

That was end of the adventure for the day. It was 4 p.m. and we started back towards Kalpetta town. To put our feet up and get some rest.

We hadn't had lunch. So we stopped on the way back at Meppadi's Hotel Taj, had a bite to quieten growling stomachs and then we were on our way back again. There was an idea to visit Pookode lake, which offered people boating and some fun in general. But we could reach there only by 6, which was closing time. So, Pookode had to be shelved. And it was back to PPS, Kalpetta - our shelter.

We got there at around 7. All I wanted to, was to lie down. There was also the group dinner at the restaurant below, planned for 9 p.m. So we just freshened up. And waited for everyone to assemble. The dinner was the only sad part of the trip. The meals were served late, the waiter got on everybody's nerves, and it was such a mess, we were glad once we managed to get out. I wouldn't want to elaborate. I can't live through the episode again.

Then it was back to the rooms again. 6 in a room. We played Dumb Charades in our room for a while, 6 of us. We chose the hardest ways to represent simple stuff and an hour went by with more laughter and fun. Then all I remember about the day is that I switched off the lights. The next thing I remember is Sunday morning, approx. 7 a.m. People already dressed ready for the long day ahead.