Our respite in the mountains

June 20th 6:00 am--I have decided that Mudamalai is the Wyoming of India. I am in LOVE with this place. Our trip through the wildlife sanctuary yesterday reminded me of Yellowstone in so many ways. Everyone kept saying, if you're very lucky and you look very hard you might see a tiger, but that usually only the locals can spot them (like seeing a bear in YNP). The park officials kept reminding us not to feed the monkeys and the bus never stopped for us to take pictures of monkeys-I'm assuming they're as common and boring as buffalo are to us. We were told not to get too close to the elephants especially if they have babies because they might charge (like moose), and there was no shortage of environmental issues posted in the park museum. The cows which naturally roam all over India are beginning to take over the park and overgraze, the poachers are still very active, and of course the trash. It still surprises us everyday when we can't find a trash can anywhere because people just throw it on the ground. I found it so interesting that the indigenous tribes who have always lived in the park were still allowed to stay after the area became a reserve. I couldn't help but wonder if we would have allowed Native Americans to stay in Yellowstone had there been any.




If I thought a dirt road in Wyoming will rattle your brains into scrambled eggs...clearly I had never driven a rickety old bus through dirt roads in an Indian jungle. Our bodies thrashed about so much we were almost in pain from all the bouncing. So after our long day yesterday (nearly fourteen hours riding our bus) we arrived at our hotel which is AMAZING. Kelsey and I have a big spacious room and bathroom where the shower floor is actually lower than the bathroom floor so the water doesn't flood the entire bathroom (a luxury in the US I won't take for granted again). There was incense and herbal ayurveda soap and real towels and warm blankets and oh, the stars at night!! We could finally see the stars since we weren't in the city anymore! But wait, there's more! They made us american food for dinner!!! Mashed potatoes and pasta and chicken all with NO peppers and NO spice! I haven't seen all 10 of us so collectively ecstatic with pure joy since we knew all our luggage had arrived safely. Before bed we were warned that no matter what sounds we may hear in the night, we should NOT open our door for any reason. They said it is not uncommon for the wild elephants to roam around the grounds at night. Luckily I think we were all so exhausted from being up since 3:30 that morning that even if there were sounds, we wouldn't have heard them.

We woke up this morning to deer in our front yard and bison in our backyard. The birds were chirping and the peacocks (which btw, is India's national bird) were making this meow-ing sound like a cat, and then...drumroll please...we were offered american sized coffee and tea. I say american sized because here in India they drink coffee and tea out of these shot-glass-sized cups, and you're usually offered only one cup and no, it's not stronger than american coffee. But here at our hotel in Mudamalai we got huuuge teacups! Plus refills! Like I said, I love this place. And the tea is soooo delicious. It's grown fresh in the Nilgiri mountains surrounding Ooty and they put sweet milk in it too. We learned yesterday that Nilgiri means blue mountains because they are covered in a plant which blooms a blue flower only once every 12 years. The native tribes used to calculate their age by the number of blooms they had seen in their lifetime. I'm beginning to think India is my kind of country. If they say we're leaving at 6 am, everyone shows up around 6:15, then takes time to get coffee and tea before hitting the road. That would never fly on a Fulkerson road trip...if dad says the bus leaves at 5 am, you better have already used the bathroom, be in the car, and ready to go...and no, we won't be stopping for coffee, you should have made your own.

Well, I think that's enough information for now. I'm not sure if it's just the wonder of India, the Varmam doctor who "cured" my anxiety with accupressure, our respite from the city in Mudamalai, or the sudden increase in caffeine intake, but I feel this wonderful carefree sense of peace here. I hope I've given you all a little taste of it too :) more to come later! Off to look for more animals this morning!