Not another fort. Our farthest North base in Kerala was Nileshwaram, north of the Northern Backwaters. One of the days we did not find the backwaters was the day that The Kid had a touch of the traveler's dread. Being young and strong, however, we managed to venture even further North to Bekal Fort. All of the locals talk about this place and we felt like we should be doing something so they guilted us into it.
Bekal fort had all of the usual suspects as tenants during the colonial era. What is unusual about the place is that it, like the fort in Palakkad, was built by local rulers, not by the British or Portuguese or Dutch. And, the locals kicked some serious colonial ass from this base for a good long time before inevitably succumbing to the might of the Europeans. The fort is huge, its really cool and it juts out into the Arabian sea, providing stupendous views and amazing sunsets.
The sunsets over the Arabian Sea as we gaze towards Africa.
A geezer on the walls. The kids in the red shirts, playing on the beach, were part of a massive bike ride to Bekal Fort. More than a thousand kids on really crappy bikes were dodging the deadly traffic along the coastal road.
The brave, red-shirted cyclists, apres' death ride.
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