Today (Tuesday) we traveled from the mountain town of Wayanod back to the Thomas' home via an interesting route. After looking at the map my husband commented on how close we were to the Arbian Sea. Santhosh decided to take the scenic route. They had never traveled the road that runs near the ocean. There are no road signs and the roads were very narrow and rough. Every time they needed directions the driver would pull over and ask an auto rick-shaw driver. It turned out that a large part of the road was closed and we had to take a detour. What a fun trip. The drive is normally 6-8 hours, but we made it in about 10 today! It was worth all the driving to see the church building and the believers we have the wonderful privilege of supporting through Mathew and the George's.

• After twisting and turning and asking directions about 15 times, we rounded a corner and this is what we saw - the ocean. The road just stopped. We had to drive the car on a ferry and cross to the other side. Notice we filled our wait time by sipping coconut water. Can't get any fresher!

• Wooden boats by the shore.

• They were celebrating a Hindu festival. Though it was very sad, we enjoyed seeing the elephants all dressed up. There are 5 in this picture.

• This is another Hindu temple celebrating the same festival.

• Nine elephants and riders are lined up.