“HEART OF DARKNESS”
Two explorers on a journey into the “Heart of Darkness”, not likely. Adventurers maybe. They do not seem to have enough provisions on board for a long trip. In most cases there are some clues hidden in plain sight that help us to identify time and location. This photo presents some challenges. We date the photo to approximately 1923. But, location…location…location? The raft is made of bamboo. That narrows things to the tropic areas of the earth as they are in common use at that latitude virtually worldwide. We assess that these adventurers are Brits. Still, if you examine the extent of the British Empire in 1923 the task is quite difficult. This map shows the historic extent of the British Empire over time.
Using the process of elimination our assessment is that the location is the state of Kerala in India. Tours are still given today using bamboo rafts in Kerala.
“The Explorers“, c.1923