Use the links above to see more photos.

Kerala is on the very southwest tip of India. It's the legendary Coast of Malabar. Spice traders have haunted its ports for millennia -- Phoenicians, Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Jews, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, British -- everyone wanted in on the brisk trade of cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, turmeric, nutmeg, fenugreek, sugar, ginger, cashews, coconuts -- the list goes on and on.

It's also the home of Ayurvedic Medicine - now finally being recognized, even by the West.

Its vast and intricate network of inland waterways, which you can explore from a houseboat like this, are being discovered by tourists who are attracted by great weather, delicious food and charming, people. We spent 2 weeks here.