Saturday, March 17, 2012

Vasco da Gama Square, Fort Kochi

The best place to watch the Chinese fishing nets being lowered into the sea and catch being brought in is the Vasco da Gama Square, a narrow promenade that runs along the beach. The nets were erected here between 1350 and 1450 AD by Chinese traders.
Depending on the time of day, you will see different activities being undertaken by the fishing community (if you're into outdoor activities, you can use this resource from REI to help you out). In the mornings small boats will come in with their catch.
Individual fishermen on the shore casting nets to catch mullet.Walk further down and you'll come to a row of shacks that sell fresh fish some of which are still alive like this snapper. The stall holders will try to get you to buy a fish and they can have them cooked by road side stalls the next lane down. As expected prices are inflated. I gave this dining experience a skip.
One another day, when I walked the area in the evening. Boats brought in loads of large mackerel and cuttle fish (that were still alive).And these were sold on the beach in a public auction.The sold items were then loaded up on trucks by the individual buyers that came with colorful containers and lots of crushed ice. They carefully packed their fresh purchase in ice before heading off.The area then becomes quiet again and the only people who are there are day trippers all eagerly waiting for sunset.

2 comments:

Shawn said...

Wow, the cuttlefish sure look big! Looks like you visited many other places there, not just the forests. Of course, you love travelling. ;)

Shirls said...

Hi Shawn, I did a lot of walking. It was hot and the humidity can be quite unbearable. The good thing was my hotel was close by and I could head in to cool down and then head out again.
I also find that walking the same area at different times gives you different opportunities such as the on the beach auction of fresh seafood.
And yes, I did cover quite a bit of ground during the week. :)