“Ahhhh Cato.”

We’ve moved onto Kochin for a few days to see the fishing nets in the backwaters of Kerala. Rising early the next morning we wander down to the breakfast area to look for Memsahib’s father who suddenly pops up behind us silently with only a whisper on the marble to announce his arrival.

After breakfast we decide to take the tour to see the fishing nets. Just as we’re about to head off the meeting point for the slow boat, the hotel manager comes trotting over and informs us that there’s been a cancellation and the speedboat is free if we’d like to use that instead. As none of us are known for our patience, we agree covering more distance in less time is the best idea.

Getting into the boat proves the challenge of morning; Memsahib goes first as she is the lady and sets off a certain rocking motion. Sensei Dad is next and politely avoids showing us up with any back flips, simply stepping into the boat lightly. Finally I get in with both of them urging the pilot to start up and pull away while I’m straddling the dock and deck. It’s all fun and japes.

After spending a few hours racing down the waterways we arrange to get dropped off for lunch in Fort Kochi. We wander through the town and find a seaside restaurant where I eat the best spicy prawns I’ve had for long time.

Sensei Dad and I start talking about why surfing doesn’t seem to be a big sport in India even though they have thousands of miles of warm coastline. Maybe it’s the difficulty in preparing and maintaining the surfboards I suggest. But it’s quite simple he says; “Wax on, Wax off”.