Goan Beach Bums

So it has been quite a stretch since our last post. We have no real excuses except for being bums, beach bums that is.

We had planned to do a three week tour of the Indian state, Rajastan, back in January followed by a flight south to Kerala; but after freezing our toes off in Amritsar and having a little personal meltdown in the process, we cut short the desert and took an earlier flight to Goa.

Goa is a small state, probably not much over 100 miles long on the Arabian sea. It was a former Portuguese colony, so it not unusual to meet Indians with Spanish sounding names such as Armando, Rosario, or Valeriano. Additionally it is a predominantly Catholic state, so meat and alcohol are back on the menus.

We were looking for some beach time and Amalia was especially looking forward to lazing by the sea, so after a week hanging out in a beach hut, we found a small one room apartment just off the beach with a stove and refrigerator and decided to rent it for a month.

Most of Goa is overrun by tourists, predominantly of British, Russian and German origin, but we were lucky to find Agonda (thanks Amber & Kurt) in southern Goa, which was laid back and not overly commercialized.

For the first three weeks we simply hung out, practiced our yoga, drew, ate lots of yummy papaya, tried to brew the perfect cup of masala chai, read, played chess, and of course spent lots of time on the beach. It was a great time to be by ourselves and try to understand and integrate the lessons we had learned in Rishikesh. Long conversations, deep pondering and shared intimacy made for a wonderful and insightful time.

Nearing the end of our stay we reconnected with our friend, Mr. Cycle Strongman Chris Roach, who we had met earlier in Nepal on the Annapurna trek. He was taking a small break from the northern winter with his lovely Spanish girlfriend, Amanda. After a few days we were joined by a lovely German biking duo, Patrick and Peggy, who were/ are cycling around India for a month or two.

We had a blast doing yoga on the beach in the morning followed by scrumptious breakfasts on our back patio, beach volleyball in late afternoon, sundowners and g&t's over wonderful sunsets, and epic dinners back at our place. Again and again I am amazed and convinced at how the cycling crowd simply gels together and how many common interests and ideas we share. Everyone got along splendidly and it added a wonderful finish to to our Agonda beach bum days.

All said, we found that five weeks on the beach was our limit and amazingly Amalia was the first to get cabin fever, so after many days of debate we made plans to head south and do up Karnataka. As we headed out of Goa, we made a two night stopover at Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary for some birdwatching and peace and quiet. Enjoy the pictures!