The Sunderbans are a group of Islands in the Gangetic delta between India and Bangladesh. We flew to Kolkata (Calcutta), drove two hours to the coast.
The boat ride from the coast to Bali Island is two hours. Past civilization that is difficult to imagine.
It is a difficult way of life. Much of it dependent upon honey collecting and farming prawn seedlings.
The Sunderbans are home to what’s left of the Bengal tigers, which have learned to swim from island to island. Rising seas over the years have cause 30% of the land mass of the islands to disappear at high tide, Causing the tigers to relocate.
There are also Barking Deer, Estuary Dolphins, Stanley Crocodiles, Innumerable birds and snakes.
… and monkeys.
The only way to walk in the mangrove swamps at low tide is barefoot — knee deep in muck.
Even the boats are dry when the tide goes out.
The primary trade on Bali Island is honey collecting, a dangerous career with small payback. The villagers used to be tiger pelt poachers, but have been taught to build and run a solar-powered jungle camp. These rows of boxes are filled with Beehives. The wax is worth more than the honey.
The long days on the boat exploring the islands are mystical. As I was told by a friend later “Looking out over the water in the Sunderbans is like looking out at either the end of the world, or the beginning of it.”
