Islands off the Coast of India: Port Blair & Ross Island

Some scenes from around Port Blair

A view of Ripple Resort cottages

Statue of a freedom fighter - Probably Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Park around the Aberdeen jetty from where you catch a boat to Ross Island

Above & below - scenes from the Marine Museum

after some haggling, Meena, Meghana & self hired a small motorboat for the 2 minute journey to Ross island. tjis saml island visible from the Marina was home to the British officers who built a very comfortable camp for themselves while the natives toiled in the mainland across. Later, it also faced a brutal Japanese invasion during World War II followed by a devastating earthquake. Today it is more of a memorial as most of the structures are crumbling. here are a few scenes.

Above & below - scenes from Ross Island

the Commissioners House

Remains of the Church

The Charming Corbyn's cove area was a great motivator for Meghana & I to have an early morning wake-up for birding

Above & below - Pacific Swallows congregating. Also seen the yellow bittern & the endemic Andaman Coucal. At night heard the call of the Andaman Wood Owl, but all efforts by our entire BNHS group to trace it came to naught. Well these are some of the disappointments that birders have learnt to take in their stride!

At dusk

Scenes near the Marina

Andamans is well known for being the "Kala Pani" or literally translated the black waters of India. during the British rule, Many Indian nationalists, the most famous of the being Veer Savarkar were interred in the cellular jail that was built to house something like 700 prisoners undergoing rigorous imprisonemt. Today, it is a national monument and a must visit for any tourist coming to the island. While the prisoners have long since gone, the ambiance is enough to instill an eerie feeling of an unfortunate era gone by in Indian history.The government has done a good effort in showcasing this monument to the world with good graphical presentations and a Son-et-lumiere in the evening.