Coffee and spice country on two wheels

Continuing to explore Kerala, we made arrangements to work on a coffee and spice farm up in the hills. The bus rides to and from are an experience in themselves. We experienced the beautiful countryside by two wheels (or so it felt), but we certainly weren't on a motorcycle. The busses barrel wildly along the narrow roads that weave through the hills. At times it seems almost like a competition. However, it seems quite ironic that while I feel like we are flying along on two wheels around curves, the 120km journey still takes 4 hours! The busses creak and moan while coughing out clouds of black smoke as they struggle up the hills, and then they make up for lost time on the way down, trying to make the trip in a personal best time. The goal is to get a seat on the bus because standing is a full body workout to keep yourself from flying down the aisle or into someone's lap. The tiny women look stand so effortlessly though! All the while, we are climbing past rubber plantations, spice gardens dominated by large bushy cardamom plants, shady coffee plantations with bright red fruits awaiting harvesting, and endless fields of tea trees with the bright green new growth on top. The landscape is exquisite and calms the heartrate a bit from the blind curves and steep drop-offs. Not everyone makes the trip without incident though. We have witnessed several accidents that make me feel justified with the elevated heartrate throughout the rides...see video! Despite the dangers, I thoroughly enjoy the excitement of the ride and the views from the open windows.