Our third stop took us to the very southern-most tip of India. We literally stood at the point where we faced three bodies of water: the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. It is also a place where people come to bathe because when three bodies of water come together it is considered a sacred site that will cleanse you of whatever needs cleaning. This is also close to a pilgrimage place in the mountains of Kerala. The temple people go to is only open for two months each year so thousands of people come. The guide said that for Hindu’s, coming to this place is on every person’s bucket list. We walked through a row of people with tiny stalls like the ones you might see at the exhibition. Everyone was selling something. There were people who followed us everywhere trying to sell something or simply begging for money. We got in line and waited a bit for a ferry. We picked up a lifejacket from a pile, put it on and get on the boat. It was crowded and the boat staff made everyone squish together on the benches so no one stood. The crossing to the island was choppy and everyone cheered whenever a big wave hit the boat. We got across the channel, known for its sharks, and got off to see two monuments. One was dedicated to Ramakrishna, a famous spiritual leader in India who introduced the western world to Hinduism by speaking at a huge spiritual convention in Chicago in the late 1800’s. The shrine marks the spot where he meditated for three days before leaving. The other building housed a naturally occurring outcrop of rock that apparently looks like a goddess’s footprint. We didn’t get the whole story but it did look like a footprint. We then returned to the mainland and went to see a monument dedicated to Ghandi. Apparently, a good way to honour your ancestors is to have your ashes dumped into the confluence of three bodies of water. So, this is what they did with Ghandi’s ashes. We knew something of Ghandi’s history but the monument made it clear how important the Indians viewed him.