Last day in Arambol

So it's Monday Jan 18, we've been in Arambol since Wed. night, and it's time for our trip into "the real India". And even though Arambol is more world travellers than Indians, it has been a fantastic five days of decompressing, getting over jet lag, hanging out with our friend Leita, and finding our way around this cool little beach town.

Today we walked around past the end of this beach, past beautiful rock formations to the next beach to the north. And right beside that beach is a little sweet water lake, so we camped out under a palm branch and swam in the lake and rested and read and talked and ate and drank, avocado and cheese and tomatoes and onion and bread and passion fruit and beer and... Definitely not at all hard to take.

We will take some new friends out to dinner tonight, they have been welcoming and hospitable to us. There is live music and Italian food waiting.

Tomorrow we take a bus to Margao, then an overnight "sleeper" bus with beds to Hampi, which is inland the next state south of Goa, Karnataka. There are amazing ruins and rock formations there, and it's supposed to be fantastic. I'll let you know...

We are realizing that travel time and distances are long and far in India, and we have to stay aware of not trying to cover too many places, or else we could get really run down. So slowly gradually we are heading south towards Kerala and more adventures.

Arambol is a little bit strange, with a real scene of travellers and "expats" who spend six months a year here, some since the 60's. There's one dude who sings at the jam night at Loekie's where I have played twice who is almost 80, has been here since the sixties, and sings songs like "Love Life" and "Love is a Gift" and so on with a little button accordion. He gets everyone going... I ran into him just now on the path to this Internet Cafe, and we hugged and shared appreciations for each other's gifts. Very cool...

There is a strong Yoga, Meditation, Ayurveda and healing arts focus. Also lots of drinking and charra smoking and general carousing. Some of it is genuine, some not so much. We met a beautiful Indian yoga instructor named Balu, who was definitely a wonderful and humble teacher. We see other people dressed like ninja gurus, looking like they are on the hunt. Sweet and gentle locals, and others that scowl and pester and hawk stuff you don't want at you repeatedly on the beach. If I wanted a taxi I would ask for one!

The roads are shared with Brahma cows, some pigs and dogs, walkers bikes scooters motorcycles cars vans trucks autorickshaws and buses, all trying to squeeze into the same two inches. Rules are nothing, horns are everything!

So many experiences already, and we are just beginning!