Safe in Goa

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First I should apologize for being very lazy recently. I didn't take the time to write anything on the blog for a few weeks... Well, probably because I didn't do much in the last few weeks! But I am at least safe in Goa, and thanks to people who sent me e-mails wondering if I was OK after what happened in Mumbai. I was in Mumbai recently, but now I am in Goa, and although I heard about what happened, nothing seems to be different in Goa. It is still a quite relaxed, slow paced place in India. And it is still as lovely, warm (hot) and green as it was earlier this year. I still love it.

So I am here now, doing yoga, resting, and doing not much else. After months of guiding and traveling from one country to the next, I was a lot more tired than I thought and after I arrived here, I hardly moved. I am healthy again though, which is very nice after 3 weeks of flu/stomach flu/cold, and I really enjoy eating healthy food, going to the local markets and going to places I know from my previous trip. It is almost like coming home, many people remember me too, it is quite funny.

My last few days in Varanasi were very pleasant, it now seems like a long long time ago. My train journey was like all the other ones: very interesting! It was long though, but fun. I was sitting with a family and one of the young girls was very curious about who I was, where I came from, etc. She really thought I was indian, I was of course wearing my salwar kameez, anklets, toe rings and all, and when she left, she thought I was coming from the indian city called "Canada". A very big city she said. I said yes, very big. We said good bye about 12 times, with the appropriate head shake, and it was sad that I couldn't speak hindi.

And then I was in Goa. Hot. Sweating. A lot. And loving it. Yoga in the morning, I was surprised how the weather makes you so much more flexible. But it was very hard to start again after months without any practice. I felt so weak. Now I feel a lot better. And the days go by very fast. It's already almost December. I can't believe it.

The big difference with last year though is that I now learned how to drive a scooter. In Goa, you almost need one. Everything is so far. I live in a house far from where I do yoga, and the market is somewhere else, and the beach too... So I started driving. Waw, it's not that easy at first, especially in a place like Goa. Lots of traffic, but also, you have to watch for cows and dogs and people and other vehicles. One of the first times I drove it, one neighbor looked at me and said: "How is Darling doing?"! Then the next guys, 3 muslims, helped me to turn around after I bought a big jug of filtered water. And almost every time I go out, people say something to me, to help me, to make sure I am safe. I like this country. Today I drove farther than usual and it's actually a good feeling to be on a bike like that, breeze in the hair, ahhhhhhh! Of course, I am careful. I know that it's dangerous. "Very danger" as they say here...

So this is life now. Yoga, healthy food, books to read, sweating, sleeping. It's fun, at least for a while!

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