On our previous visits to Coconut Lagoon, we had seen large houseboats cruising around Vembanad Lake and weren’t particularly attracted to them. However, a couple of years ago we were invited to stay on one of the CGH Earth houseboats, which are traditional in design. We were enchanted and resolved to book a Spice Coast Cruise the next time we came to Kerala, which is what we did in February.

The company has seven boats; four with two bedrooms and three with one bedroom each. All are skillfully constructed in natural materials the traditional way, yet are not lacking in comfort, with separate bathrooms and plenty of space. We were given the smallest boat, which was ideal for us, since we were able to travel along the narrower backwaters. This gave us an unending panorama of rural life, on and beside the water and across the fields. People paddled their canoes, fishermen cast their nets, children were ferried to school and birds were everywhere. Back on the lake a family of otters swam right past us. It was all very peaceful.

We had a crew of three, who could not have been more skilled and hospitable. We own a canal boat in England, so know something about handling and living on a boat. It was sheer luxury to have all the tasks done for us this time, while we could relax and enjoy every moment. The quality of the meals, prepared in a small space above the engine, was superb. Everything was fresh and beautifully presented, from the vegetables to the grated coconut and, of course, the fish. We are glad we chose to go for more than one night; it merits at least two or even three. In this way you can cover quite a large area and go ashore too, as we did when we visited a temple. Now that we know how lovely a Spice Coast Cruise can be, we shall definitely be recommending it to our friends, and we ourselves would happily do it all over again.