Out On Our Own!

After leaving Cheruthony, we made a stop at a hut along the river belonging to a new believer family. George, Mary and their young daughter lived in the only abject poverty that we truly got to see first hand. No electricity, running water or any kind of plumbing. They were in desperate need of roof repairs which were unfortunately impossible in the midst of the rainy season. GV was able to pray with them and offer them some help and hope for the future.
We also got to drive by the famous Idukki Dam, the biggest arch dam in Asia at 555 feet! It began making electricity in an underground power house located in caves about 27 miles away. It also made a lake that is nearly 38 square miles! With all the rain and low clouds, we didn’t really get a good look at it but we tried…

It was just a short drive to the hotel in Kattappana.

Everyone was exhausted and ready for a nap before dinner but Chris and I were ready to explore the town.
Chris did a bit of poking around the hotel while I got settled into our room. 

I was super excited about having our own private balcony until I opened the door…
I was even less excited when I peeked around the sign to catch sight of a pedi cab driver peeing on the side of the road in front of his cab…
Thankfully, the view from the other side of the hotel was a bit less revealing… ;o)
    Looking out just made us want to go out and see the town even more. We got permission to go out chaperoned and did a bit of shopping. Chris still needed some dry socks. The first store we stopped at looked positively terrified by the sight of white people and didn’t carry socks. We did find a shoe store and bought a pair and looked at about 25 pair of sandals for me, each hand chosen by the enthusiastic shop owners! Just like in America, women’s shoes were way more expensive than men’s! But I did buy an outfit from a shop where the salesman spoke very good English. He was also more than likely totally trying to take advantage of us, but we were street smart enough to see through his attempts.

One of the many small shrines you see in India (Some are Christian, or Orthodox, or Muslim, or Hindu) This one is Orthodox.

By the time we arrived back at the hotel, it was dark and time to go to supper…
The restaurant we ate at was famous for tapioca and beef dish that was absolutely delicious! It also had this really awesome candle that they have been adding to and burning for 5 years!
I have to say that I went to bed that night feeling pretty proud of ourselves… ;o)