Tigers ... oh my!
What would a trip to Calcutta be without a visit to the home of one of the largest tiger populations on the planet ... the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve! Even better, tigers with an appetite for humans ... I heard one posting of only about 34 human deaths in the last year. They lurk in the mangrove forests and swim the delta's channels. Although they have an appetite for humans, they're pretty shy and we know that any sighting will be the lucky exception ... according to one sign, the last sighting was on December 12th.
So, bright and early one morning,
Anna and I catch a taxi to the bus stand for our three day tiger adventure. First there's the 3 hour bus ride ... the usual Indian swerving and braking and carreening and tummy-wrenching ... whew, that's over with! Followed by a 4 hour boat ride through the world's largest delta ... both huge and narrow waterways, meandering through the world's biggest mangrove forest. 
Along the way we pick up our guide ... imagine he's pretty knowledgeable about tigers since he survived a tiger attack during his early days as a poacher.
We settle in to our Swiss Cottage tents (and yes, the perimeter is safely fenced). How quiet, serene, and peaceful ... a world away from the Calcutta chaos. Every morning our tea and biscuits are brought to us in bed ... now that's service, even if it is at the crack of dawn! And grabbing our blankets (yikes, it's cold), we head off to the boat to look for tigers. Not so easy!
It's quiet and foggy ... and surprisingly little wildlife about. But sure enough, come the third day and we've mostly given up seeing one ... we find tiger footprints coming up from swimming across the delta (well I didn't, but our guide did). 
Everyone goes wild ... looking at the tiger hiding in the trees. Um, I know I took a picture of the right place ... but I sure couldn't tell you that's a tiger!
What else to do at camp ... we wander about a fairly affluent village nearby ... sat around the campfire at night having tea and snacks ... but really just sat about and enjoyed the serenity. How pleasant ... how civilized!
So, bright and early one morning,
Anna and I catch a taxi to the bus stand for our three day tiger adventure. First there's the 3 hour bus ride ... the usual Indian swerving and braking and carreening and tummy-wrenching ... whew, that's over with! Followed by a 4 hour boat ride through the world's largest delta ... both huge and narrow waterways, meandering through the world's biggest mangrove forest. 
Along the way we pick up our guide ... imagine he's pretty knowledgeable about tigers since he survived a tiger attack during his early days as a poacher. We settle in to our Swiss Cottage tents (and yes, the perimeter is safely fenced). How quiet, serene, and peaceful ... a world away from the Calcutta chaos. Every morning our tea and biscuits are brought to us in bed ... now that's service, even if it is at the crack of dawn! And grabbing our blankets (yikes, it's cold), we head off to the boat to look for tigers. Not so easy!
It's quiet and foggy ... and surprisingly little wildlife about. But sure enough, come the third day and we've mostly given up seeing one ... we find tiger footprints coming up from swimming across the delta (well I didn't, but our guide did). 
Everyone goes wild ... looking at the tiger hiding in the trees. Um, I know I took a picture of the right place ... but I sure couldn't tell you that's a tiger!
What else to do at camp ... we wander about a fairly affluent village nearby ... sat around the campfire at night having tea and snacks ... but really just sat about and enjoyed the serenity. How pleasant ... how civilized!
posted by CECILIA at 1:41 PM
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