Day 29 - bringing in the catch

Couldn't resist blipping this one. This is the view from my hotel while I'm having breakfast. The men are the crew of one of the wooden fishing boats which has been out at sea all night. They use a trawl net and the crew and other fishermen all work together pulling it in after they have run the boat ashore. This is a long process and takes about an hour with men both swimming in the water alongside the net and others on shore pulling the net in using long ropes. Each man pulls on the rope and as it moves in, he then drops his hold on the rope and runs back to the front of the line of pullers, until the whole net is ashore. The fishermen sing rhythmically throughout the process. The catches are very variable and are shared between the crew of around 12-15. You can see today's catch on the collage, not very much. There's at least one pipe fish and a couple of puffer fish, all of which were discarded.
My hotel is a wee three star hotel, only about 20 rooms, but position is everything. The hotel is clean, safe and comfortable and has a pool, it is right on the edge of the beach so if the sea is too rough, or you can't be bothered, the pool is perfect.
This morning I went for a swim in the sea before breakfast, then after breakfast took the bus into town - 18/- (rupees). I wandered over to the wee market coffee shop and had a coffee, 12/-, then took an auto to Pothy's, the big department store, 30/-. I spent about 250/- (£3) on some odds and ends then took another auto to the bus stop, 30/-, the bus which came to take me back to my hotel, was the express bus. It's only 15km to Kovalam, and this one is air conditioned as opposed to open windowed! cost me 40/- to get back but well worth it. A morning's entertainment including transport for just over £4, can't be bad
I got off the bus at the top of the hill to fit in some walking, unfortunately it was noon, oh so hot! On the way down I took a picture of some small jack fruit. They are extraordinary fruit, in both appearance and taste. They grow up to around two feet in length and weigh several kilos. These are under half of that. They seem to grow out of the side of the tree trunk and hang from an individual, very strong, stem. It's unusual to see them growing so low down on the tree which is why I wanted to get this picture.
I went straight into the pool when I got back and spent the afternoon relaxing there. Other images in the collage are, the shoemaker, the morning's catch, the bus driver's seat and a peacock.
This evening I've got everything packed and am ready to go. By the time most of you get up in the morning I'll be in Dubai.
Thanks for bearing with these long journal entries and for all the comments, stars and hearts, all very much appreciated.
13,500 steps today. Don't know how much I'll manage tomorrow, on the way out Strava wouldn't work in Dubai but my step counter did. Tomorrow is a looooooong 30 hour day as a result of the time zone changes.