Day 62 April 13th (Monday) Arabain Sea 
We docked in Cochin, India shortly after 9am and immigration didn't clear the ship for disembarking until 10am . The buses were lined up waiting for us. Today we were taking a tour called "The Cultures of Cochin" -- a riding and walking tour.
We drove through the Protestant section of town with our guide pointing out old buildings as well as different kinds of trees e.g. breadfruit, mango, banana palms etc.
We stopped at the Church of St. Francis where Vasco de Gama was buried in December 1524 (he died on Christmas Eve). Fourteen years later his son came and took his father's remains back to Portugal but the headstone still remains. His old home still stands but definitely has been updated.
We then walked across the street to the bay to watch how the fishermen raise their nets to catch the fish. This method is very primitive but still effective. The water is full of debris. (The streets are dirty and the open sewers run along the street out to the harbour). We were hounded by street peddlers to buy things.
We saw many cows and goats in the streets. We made a rest stop at the only place that was acceptable for tourists but this was also connected with a carpet store and a jewellry store. The stores had some beautiful things but very expensive.
Our next stop was the "Mattancheri Palace" , built as a gift for the Raja of Cochin and later rebuilt by the Dutch so it is known as the "Dutch Palace". It houses a museum for the different Rajahs and the murals were painted on wood over 350 years ago. Photos were not allowed in here as something in the flash damages the frescos.
Next we journeyed to "Jewtown" to see the synagogue but because it was a holiday the syngogue wasn't opened. However the merchant selling their goods along the street were open for the tourist trade. After walking around for a short time we walked back to the bus as it was so hot and humid. While we were sitting on the bus the peddlers even tapped on the window wanting us to get off and buy something. You just had to ignore them as they are very persistant. After everyone was back on board the bus we came back to the ship. Fortunately the restaurant on board was still open so we managed to get a sandwich, changed our clothes and went for a swim.
We spent the afternoon chatting with a couple from Florida and the next thing it was time for the ship to set sail. We left port at 6pm.
I am trying to get my walking around the oval in each day and like to walk after dinner.

Day 63 April 14th (Tuesday)
We are at sea and went to listen to the lecture on the tours for Mumbia. I think that we have got the right ones for us. We spent the day reading and relaxing around the pool.