Today the ship arrived in Cochin, India. In 1530, the Portuguese arrived and they built Fort Cochin. They established a thriving colony here until the Dutch invaded and unseated them in 1663 after 10 years of attacks. They built Fort Williams and were later defeated by Indian rulers, who later finally succumbed to the British in 1814.
Indian Officials required that we present our passport in person so that I had to go to the dinning room where I picked up my passport and meet an Indian Official before I could leave the ship. Later I left on a tour called "Panoramic Kochi". We left about an 1/2 hour late at about 9:15 AM and drove and drove passed the Navy Airport and stopped at an Hindu Temple. We drove thru the newer part of Cochin and at 11:10 we stopped for a drink and rest stop at a place called Le Meridein. We entered the old part of the city and saw the magnificent cantilevered Chinese fishing nets, the iconic symbol of Kochi's sea trade. We saw old rice fields which were converted to fish farms. We saw European-style churches elaborate Hindu temples and locate markets. We stopped at a site near St Francis Church, the oldest European church in India which was built in 1503 by the Portuguese. Our next stop was an upscale market and about 2 PM we left to return to the ship. At 5:25 the ship left Cochin for Mumbai, India.
Today was St. Patrick's Day so some special events happened on the ship and after dinner the show was put on by Kevin Devane, a comedian.
Below are pictures from Cochin and my tour.
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