A Tranquil boat ride along the mangrove forests of Sundarbans

While we hoped to see the Bengal tiger looking out from the mangrove forest, even swim along with us, our  main intention was to see the world famous UNESCO approved wonder of nature. I had seen a very well made documentary on Sundarbans, hence was doubly curious. 

 We headed towards a pier about 100 km away from Kolkata after checking out from our hotel.We had memorable stay at Kolkata! 

It was a smooth drive of two and a half hours on a well made and maintained two lane road. The traffic was not heavy and it was disciplined. I guess the mayhem in Bengal is only in in its politics. There were many modified tuk-tuks. Our driver drove well except he loved to honk but he was not aggressive. 

We reached a pier and the driver coordinated with the boat people and  we were on board after a small wait. I needed help to get on to the boat. Soon we were on our way!

A view from our boat. The boatsmen had stopped to shop for grocery.
 Our lunch would be cooked on the boat!

As we  practically glided on the river, we were given some gyan about life on these islands. As I had chosen not to wear my hearing aids, missed to grasp it fully. Hope others who heard will fill in! 

A boat is their life line! 

The boat ride was very tranquil. I would have dozed off to sleep if there was a sofa on the boat and wished they had at least spread a gymkana on the floor. Others kept busy chatting with one of the boatsmen.

 The pilot of our boat was around 72 years old, his son helped and his granddaughter was also there. Not clear about her role. Perhaps helped her father in the galley. I did not go down to have a look. 

Only excitement happened, we moved slow, was when another larger boat came parallel to ours. Our boat swayed a lot and the drinking water bottle turned upside down as it had no real support. 

He put back the bottle up and salvaged precious water!

The lunch was very delicious and just right. It was vegetarian.
However fish is veg for Bengalis. Tara and I stuck to total veg food. 

In about two hours we stopped near these concrete steps.
I needed more help to negotiate these steps.
Back to my childhood as I held on, actually grabbed the helping hand!

Very thoughtful, especially if the Bengali tiger had a smart phone!

A driver with a buggy picked us up, and soon were at the hotel. As it was off-season we didn't see too many tourists at the resort. 

 Gayathri later told me that Sanjay, her cousin and family, had visited Sundarbans years ago when there were no resorts. They stayed at ramshackle place, but saw a tiger!

I noticed that our nice resort was well protected by a high compound wall!

We rested for a while and were back on the boat. It was tougher for me to climb down, so held on to two people. It reminded me of the picture of Mahatma Gandhi supported by two girls as he walked. In my case it was only to negotiate some very difficult steps.

The ride was smooth, and I was still hoping for a glimpse of a tiger. Actually we were on the boat just to view the sunset. I have no clue if a tiger was watching us. No burning bright eyes seen as it got darker. 

Wish I had the guts to take a  ride with the boys!

Sunset from a different spot!

We had an excellent dinner served by a very pleasant person taking care of our table. A 30 ml Ballantine with it made it perfect! 

The Iran war was not discussed. I had suggested to Tara not to talk politics with the locals. She said okay, but was not very pleased though!

We were up early next morning, the sun is in a bit of a hurry here in Bengal. Idli and Uthappa including my usual omelette for breakfast. After checking out, we were dropped at the same spot. 

It was a different scene. 

The staircase I was dreading to climbdown was missing.  I learnt that the high tide is about  five meters higher than the low tide. A  big relief! I still needed help to get on to the boat, but it was not scary!

The plan was to take a quick trip to the tiger reserve forest situated on an island. We had our return flight to catch the same evening!

 We were still hoping to get a glimpse of the wild life. We had a guide with us on the boat and our keen team had a long chat while I had my eyes peeled looking out!

A welcoming tiger!

A baby turtle. It could live for another 300 years!

Aslo a brave tiger, sitting next to a tigress?

Notice the large nest!

The fruits are edible!

It's cousin visits me on our terrace. No crows following us!!

Notice the protective net in front. It is atleast twenty feet high during low tide. 

Forest during low tide. 

This is how islands are protected from the river.

Many idle boats

Back to reality and our journey back began!

Tara adds:

60% of the Sundarbans is in Bangladesh and 40% in India.

Villagers have been protected from the Bengal tiger with nets bordering the shore line..

 Tigers, we were told can swim 8 to 9 km at one time.

It was amazing to see the 'Aerial roots' above the grounds and the luxurious foliage thriving in salty back waters. We saw the

Sundari tree, which is salt water tolerant, giving the forest its name as Sundarbans. 

Those interested can read more by googling 'Sundarbans Mangrove Forest'!

A tigress chooses to hide her cubs under Sunadari trees as their entangled roots protect the cubs from the male tigers!

Bengal Tigers living on islands do not have many animals to hunt. They have been forced to become man eaters! Villages on the banks of rivers and in islands  protect themselves and their animals by putting nets across possible accesses to their village. 

I remember that the documentary movie, about thirty years old, ended with a question to a villager. 

His son was taken away by a tiger! The question was "Do you hate the tigers?" 

His reply was, "It was my bad luck to lose my son. I do not hate them. They too have a right to live".