Our album of pictures from Bastar, more than 100 of them, can be seen through the following link:
Reasonably early start – didn’t get much writing up done. Off this morning to see the caves.
Jolly get several calls to say that we are in the state papers – he arranges copies for us. The Bastar Sun has a detailed article on the back page with all material details wrong…
…whereas The New India has a picture of both me and Daisy on the front page with less detail.
We were supposed to see Kailash caves, which are supposedly easy, but they are not open, so we go to Kotumsar cave instead, which, judging by the Bastar book, is a more interesting cave. It was a little tricky, but just a little.
Then to the Teerathgarh Falls or rapids (as Jolly calls them) where we meet lots of monkeys.
Picnic lunch in a rudimentary café (they don’t seem to mind) and then into town work out the meaning of cowrie (shells used as jewellery formerly used as currency and religious symbols) but the manager explained it to us at length. Yes, at length.
While this cowrie business was being explained to us (at length), the door attendant excitedly pointed out me and Daisy beaming out from the front page of The New India, so we discussed that at length as well.
We returned early. Ged ducked out of cricket in favour of reading up and some R&R before dinner.
Dinner comprises tomato soup, chicken steamed in bamboo, caullie, carrots, potatoes, rice, daal and roti. Raj keeps us company (whether we like it or not) and serves us his kheer (rice pudding), which Ged thinks would benefit from sweet spice but Raj and Daisy disagree. Jolly attended to his business and we furnish him with Nurofen later.
In addition to the Bastar album, linked above, there is a collection of over 200 photos from that part of the adventure that didn’t make the album, which can be seen at the link below:
