Sat 22 Nov Diu
Got an early start - out a little after 700 to take advantage of the cool.
A note on weather - though we have not been able to reliably keep track of our weather, we believe that each day we have been here the temp has reached 90 with some days hitting 95-97. In Mumbai the morning temps were 79-81 when we landed. All of this, of course, in an urban settings. As we have gone north and fall has advanced toward winter, our morning temps have dropped to 71-73. By next week when we will be in Rajasthan Mike expects morning temps in the low 60s with afternoon highs in the mid to high 80s. Carol sez - wait and see.
Anyway, the sky is clear and temp is in the low 70s. Breakfast can wait. We are heading for a beach on the Indian Ocean side of the island. In town, we pass a cow that has tipped over a garbage can and is eating through the contents. Buffet meal. We seem to be retracing some of the streets we saw yesterday. We turn the corner and what we thought was a church is actually a school. It is 730 on Saturday and the kids are descending on the school. A city bus turns the corner, discharging almost all of its customers; we hop on.
It is the #1 route and is headed to the Bus Station. We are retracing some of what we did yesterday, but now for 10 R each, we can see how the bus does it.
The #1 bus lays over and then heads to the far west of Diu island, to Vanakbana, a fishing village. A great ride. We pass marshland, lush foliage, small settlements. Each side road beckons. Finally, we reach the V station. The bus drivers points us to the beach, but that is not why we have come.
We walk through the market, remarking on and buying two strange fruits for 5 R. They are green, with an open top. When you peel back the skin, the fruit is in sections which are gray and powdery. Two locals called it gimsula, or jimsula. Later, we scoured the internet. Zilch. No idea what the English or Latin name for it is. Not really good eats, either.
Down the street a few blocks and we are at the strait dividing Diu from Gujarat. Most of the fishing boats are in. These are dhows, with a pointed bow and full mast of sails in pastel colors. Women are organizing their fish for sale, with purchasers picking out what they wish to purchase. We see some piles of small fish which have been left to sit - junk fish that were caught in the act. The seabirds are feeding away. Better than visiting the local bird viewing center.
A sign says that yesterday, 21 Nov, was World Fisheries Day. No idea what ceremonies we missed. Nonetheless, this dock is a beehive of activity.
It is 900. We see that some merchants have the large, high quality fish, while others have the smaller part of the catch. No idea how one sorts oneself into this hierarchy, or how it might be caught.
We see a boat on dry dock. On second look, it is adjacent to a crane. The dhow is about to be picked up by the crane, swung around 180 degrees and dropped gently into the water. This remarkable feat only takes 4 minutes. Lots of onlookers.
We also see an ice chipper machine with men feeding it big blocks of ice. The small chips are going into the hold of a boat, presumably heading out to start fishing. A hold full of ice is precious and necessary here.
By 915 we walk beyond the dock and find the beach, where we walk for a few minutes. It is dirty with lots of feces. While some are certainly from all the animals around, we are guessing that some of the doo-doo comes from the human shanty towns nearby.
Back into V town past a school where the girls are engaged in synchronized exercise. We walk past a wooden dhow in the process of being built. We see 3 or 4 gaudy Hindi mandirs (temples). Elsewhere on the street, women are braiding palm fronds - maybe for roofing, maybe for shacks.
It is now 1015. Soon we are back on the bus, heading back to Diu town.
Over to Ram Vijay for pizza. Rats! He has lost electricity and so we just order a few sodas.
We have not had anything to eat so back to O Coquiero. But since it is already 1130, we skip breakfast. Time to order the Portuguese specialties: Coxido de Pesce, a Portuguese fish dish, and Fish with Tomato Gravy. Two kinds of fish, both delish. Carol buys another book: "Around India in 80 Trains."
Two guys we saw at the restaurant last night turn out to be Israelis. Interesting conversation., The parents of one came to Akko from Baghdad in 1950. Israelis on their Indian magical mystery tour seem to have a circuit of cheapie lodging in India, complete with Israeli salad for breakfast.
As the morning has progressed it has gotten hot, so from 1245 to 1600 we are back in the hotel, writing, clothes washing, and otherwise waiting out the heat of the day (94?). Back to the internet cafe for an hour and a half of posting. But before that we find a tailor who restitches the loose strap on Mike's daypack.
It is now 1810, and starting to get dark. We are not yet hungry, so we walk toward the beach. We see flying fox bats flying across the neighborhood. What a swarm!
After many wrong turns, we are on the Jallandhar Beach. We could walk straight back to town, but instead we go along the beach to an old fort at the south end of the city wall. We walk along the outside of the city wall, heading north back toward downtown. The road takes us to the Zampa Gateway, then back to the center.
We find Ram Vijay's again, and finally get our Veg Lover's Pizza. For 140 R it is a 6 piece personal pizza. Good pizza and the right size for us. Like all Indians we eat our pizza with tamarind ketchup.
Mike buys 20 cough drops. They are sold individually at a pharmacy. (2 R apiece). We are both a little congested, maybe from all the air conditioning.
We do a final pack of our bags, set the alarm for 345 and 400, and get to bed.
Got an early start - out a little after 700 to take advantage of the cool.
A note on weather - though we have not been able to reliably keep track of our weather, we believe that each day we have been here the temp has reached 90 with some days hitting 95-97. In Mumbai the morning temps were 79-81 when we landed. All of this, of course, in an urban settings. As we have gone north and fall has advanced toward winter, our morning temps have dropped to 71-73. By next week when we will be in Rajasthan Mike expects morning temps in the low 60s with afternoon highs in the mid to high 80s. Carol sez - wait and see.
Anyway, the sky is clear and temp is in the low 70s. Breakfast can wait. We are heading for a beach on the Indian Ocean side of the island. In town, we pass a cow that has tipped over a garbage can and is eating through the contents. Buffet meal. We seem to be retracing some of the streets we saw yesterday. We turn the corner and what we thought was a church is actually a school. It is 730 on Saturday and the kids are descending on the school. A city bus turns the corner, discharging almost all of its customers; we hop on.
It is the #1 route and is headed to the Bus Station. We are retracing some of what we did yesterday, but now for 10 R each, we can see how the bus does it.
The #1 bus lays over and then heads to the far west of Diu island, to Vanakbana, a fishing village. A great ride. We pass marshland, lush foliage, small settlements. Each side road beckons. Finally, we reach the V station. The bus drivers points us to the beach, but that is not why we have come.
We walk through the market, remarking on and buying two strange fruits for 5 R. They are green, with an open top. When you peel back the skin, the fruit is in sections which are gray and powdery. Two locals called it gimsula, or jimsula. Later, we scoured the internet. Zilch. No idea what the English or Latin name for it is. Not really good eats, either.
Down the street a few blocks and we are at the strait dividing Diu from Gujarat. Most of the fishing boats are in. These are dhows, with a pointed bow and full mast of sails in pastel colors. Women are organizing their fish for sale, with purchasers picking out what they wish to purchase. We see some piles of small fish which have been left to sit - junk fish that were caught in the act. The seabirds are feeding away. Better than visiting the local bird viewing center.
A sign says that yesterday, 21 Nov, was World Fisheries Day. No idea what ceremonies we missed. Nonetheless, this dock is a beehive of activity.
It is 900. We see that some merchants have the large, high quality fish, while others have the smaller part of the catch. No idea how one sorts oneself into this hierarchy, or how it might be caught.
We see a boat on dry dock. On second look, it is adjacent to a crane. The dhow is about to be picked up by the crane, swung around 180 degrees and dropped gently into the water. This remarkable feat only takes 4 minutes. Lots of onlookers.
We also see an ice chipper machine with men feeding it big blocks of ice. The small chips are going into the hold of a boat, presumably heading out to start fishing. A hold full of ice is precious and necessary here.
By 915 we walk beyond the dock and find the beach, where we walk for a few minutes. It is dirty with lots of feces. While some are certainly from all the animals around, we are guessing that some of the doo-doo comes from the human shanty towns nearby.
Back into V town past a school where the girls are engaged in synchronized exercise. We walk past a wooden dhow in the process of being built. We see 3 or 4 gaudy Hindi mandirs (temples). Elsewhere on the street, women are braiding palm fronds - maybe for roofing, maybe for shacks.
It is now 1015. Soon we are back on the bus, heading back to Diu town.
Over to Ram Vijay for pizza. Rats! He has lost electricity and so we just order a few sodas.
We have not had anything to eat so back to O Coquiero. But since it is already 1130, we skip breakfast. Time to order the Portuguese specialties: Coxido de Pesce, a Portuguese fish dish, and Fish with Tomato Gravy. Two kinds of fish, both delish. Carol buys another book: "Around India in 80 Trains."
Two guys we saw at the restaurant last night turn out to be Israelis. Interesting conversation., The parents of one came to Akko from Baghdad in 1950. Israelis on their Indian magical mystery tour seem to have a circuit of cheapie lodging in India, complete with Israeli salad for breakfast.
As the morning has progressed it has gotten hot, so from 1245 to 1600 we are back in the hotel, writing, clothes washing, and otherwise waiting out the heat of the day (94?). Back to the internet cafe for an hour and a half of posting. But before that we find a tailor who restitches the loose strap on Mike's daypack.
It is now 1810, and starting to get dark. We are not yet hungry, so we walk toward the beach. We see flying fox bats flying across the neighborhood. What a swarm!
After many wrong turns, we are on the Jallandhar Beach. We could walk straight back to town, but instead we go along the beach to an old fort at the south end of the city wall. We walk along the outside of the city wall, heading north back toward downtown. The road takes us to the Zampa Gateway, then back to the center.
We find Ram Vijay's again, and finally get our Veg Lover's Pizza. For 140 R it is a 6 piece personal pizza. Good pizza and the right size for us. Like all Indians we eat our pizza with tamarind ketchup.
Mike buys 20 cough drops. They are sold individually at a pharmacy. (2 R apiece). We are both a little congested, maybe from all the air conditioning.
We do a final pack of our bags, set the alarm for 345 and 400, and get to bed.
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