We
left Ahmedabad on the morning of Tuesday November 12 with a hired car and
driver on our trip to see sites in Gujarat. We first went to the archaeological
site of Lothal, one of the major Indus Valley Civilization sites. We were met
there by Dr. Yadubirsingh Rawat, the Director of the Gujarat State Department
of Archaeology, who showed us around the site. The site is most famous for a
large water reservoir that some think was a harbor.
Rani,
Roxna and Dr. Rawat at the water reservoir at Lothal
Dr.
Rawat with Rani and Romola at Lothal
Afterwards
we went to a friend’s home in a nearby village for lunch.
Our
lunch host and his wife
Rani,
Roxna and Romola with the host’s wife
We
then continued on to the Nal Sarovar bird sanctuary and checked into a hotel
nearby. Our hotel, unfortunately, turned out to be unsatisfactory. The
establishment was not yet fully ready to accommodate guests; we were among the
first, if not the very first guests to stay there.
The
next morning Wednesday November 13 we got up early and left at 5:30 am for the
Nal Sarovar bird sanctuary and took a long boat tour through the marshes,
getting underway well before sunrise.
Sunrise
at the Nal Sarovar bird sanctuary
A
boat in open water at Nal Sarovar
We
had planned to stay at our hotel for a second night, but after we had finished
our morning tour, we realized that there was not really anything more to do,
and because two of the rooms had no water, we decided to check out and go to
the Little Rann of Kutch a day early. We arrived there at an Eco Tour Camp at
Jogad at 3:00 pm and soon went on a jeep tour to see the wildlife there. I do not
have a telephoto lens for my camera, so my photographs are less than ideal.
A
herd of wild asses at the Little Rann of Kutch
The
next morning, Thursday November 14, we got up early for a dawn jeep trip to a
distant bird watching area of the Little Rann of Kutch, where flocks of
flamingos and pelicans were especially noteworthy. I had not seen flamingos in
the wild before. More herds of wild asses were in evidence as well.
The
group with our guide bird watching
The
group having breakfast
Rani
and me
Birds
in flight
A
flock of flamingos
We
were back at the eco camp in time for lunch and we hung out there for the rest
of the afternoon and evening.
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