In the middle of no mans land!!

When John our GVI coordinator first told us about the possibility of trekking in Munnar one weekend, I must say I was a bit dubious. The prospect of hiking 18 km up a mountain didnt exactly seem like my idea of heaven. However, I quickly realised that as a newbie, it would be the perfect opportunity to get to know the rest of the volunteers better, as well as seeing some amazing sights and maybe prove to myself that I am not as hopelessly unfit as I think I am. After a long first week at the school (the kids in my class Year 3, are so adorable but I had no idea how tiring it would be) the 9 of us set off on a coach ride to a homestay in Munnar. The next morning we were met by our amazing guide, ELDO, and after a few quick stretches and some photos of everyones ridiculous trekking outfits, we were off! The first few hours didnt seem to be too challenging and ELDO made sure we had plenty of breaks for snacking. As we went higher up into the mountains we were all gobsmacked by the views which were nothing short of jawdropping. After a while we found ourselves completely surrounded by clouds (a sure sign that we were pretty high up at this point!)and the air started thinning out making it harder to walk. We also spotted the nilgiri goat, which is very rare and only lived in Kerala! After stopping for lunch by a stream we headed for the 7 peaks. Having already covered about 11 kms we were feeling a little tired byt Eldo managed to encourage us enough to make it over the hills and up the final peak to the summit! We were given celebratory munch bars and as we collapsed on the grass listening to Frank Sinatra and feeling more then a little light headed we all felt so proud of ourselves. We'd managed to reach to massive 8600 feet! After living in a full house (12 vols plus John) it was amazing to briefly escape busy Kochi and just sit peacefully on top of a mountain for a while. Unfortunately for us what comes up comes down! and most of us actually foudnt he decent the hardest bit. We slowly but surely clambered down, passing the highest tea plantation in India. For the last stretch we had to be completely silent so as to not to disturb any dangerous animals. At one point Eldo stopped in his tracks and arrived with a can of Lynx and a lighter and sprinted back towards the hill to ward of what he told us was a massive bull elephant. We spent the evening at a campsite sitting round fire playing card games- the perfect way to end a long but unforgettable day. The next day, after lunch and a swim by the lake we reluctantly headed back to Kochi where we nursed our sunburn and aching limbs...
All in all the weekend couldnt have been a better start to my time in Kochi- I know i'll never forget the silence on top of the mountain, the sight of the tea plantations rolling over the hills and James' unbelievably impractical squash shoes!!

In the middle of no mans land!!