This is the lake we cycled to yesterday - serene. Except for the rickshaw tourists and water wallahs. HA!

We have just seperated from our first travelling companions, Nar and David from Israel. There isn't much that I can say about them that will offer any justice, but I will try. Nar fended monkeys with sticks (I apparently can deal with them, either - albeit  true story, they threw rocks at us), David educated me on the Palestinean-Israeli conflict (he works for an NGO assisting Palestineans in the Gaza/WestBank areas....) and both guided us on an amazing path of spiritual interpretation.

They asked us if we were lost (when we thought it was apparent that we werent) and their stopping literally interrupted our discussing that we wanted our first interaction with others to be one of both spiritual and sociological importance - and there they were.
3 days, two hikes, one monkey attack and a beautiful bike ride through the country later we seperated. I have stayed awake every night since meeting them; they have given me more food for thought than any other experience in my life. Live in love. Beethoven's 9th beats out the rest. Serve each other. Something created this.

 It is all the same, it is all here.

Until we meet again in Israel - thank you.

Who Knows Really...

Well time is becoming less and less important, and all the days are melding into one, as we are becoming familiar with the village of hampi. The train ride here from Margao was quite the experience. Getting on was actually easier than we were expecting, a bit of a panic trying to figure out which coach to jump on in all the mayhem. Once on the mayhem continued into getting the right seats, which was confusing as we knew we were in sleeper class but didn't realize the seats actually fold up into beds three fold high. But again we struck gold and the saint sitting next to us was happy to help. The ride itself was amazing, with waterfalls and monkeys to keep us entertained. We arrived in Hospet earlier than we expected, and luckily the Group sitting with us was getting off there as well and advised us accordingly. Now getting off the train should require a bit of a tutorial, as we were all obviously unprepared for what was to come. In the front of the line, 2 girls from Korea... Big NO NO! We were at a stalemate, i'm thinking the doors are jammed, panic sets in with the possibility of us being shipped off to the next town, because for all we know, we only have six minutes to get off this train. Well I guess the people getting on the train think the same way and therefor caused the gridlock. It was survival of the fittest as two big Indian men went head to head with two Korean girls, i mention there ethnicity as reference to their size. I was however impressed with the two girls who did put up a good match, but inevitably the men won. As soon as they got on the girls got off then the OFF team had stronger players behind it and finally we made it. Tip for travelling on trains in India, ELBOWS ALWAYS UP! We caught a rickshaw from Hospet to Hampi and we decided to take up fort on the far side of the river in Virupapur Gaddi, as we had read it would be quieter. Getting here we were a bit reluctant on it being the wisest choice, but after a couple of days we found a great hostel that fits our budget nicely (7.50 a night) with a CLEAN private bathroom (western toilet included, very nice) and a great relaxed restaurant which serves delicious momos, google momo! We have spent the last few days trekking around to some of the old ruins and temples, all within walking distance but each taking a days trek, having to make sure we get back to the ferry in time for the days finale! I never would have imagined you could fit so many people on a fishing boat, but yes, it is possible! Thinking we have about 4-5 days left here then back to the west coast, not sure yet, but hearing great things about the backwaters in kerala, so we may go there. Who knows is fast becoming our new favorite phrase....  

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Boulders - like the lego of the gods.

half a world away from any thing close to familiarity... and loving every second of it. we spent a slow paced week in Anjuna Beach, absorbing the sun and the food, and an incredible goan flea market experience, then we moved on. Now in Vagator, just north of Anjuna, we see that Goa is Goa and we are definately in need of India. We have decided the beer here is nothing to be fancied, as the glycerine to glaze ratio isn't in our favour and therefore we have discovered the world of rum (a twix for $3). We started the day with a "choose your own adventure" type hike up to the Chapora Fort, and enjoyed the breathtaking view at the top. The hike back down (the easy way) was nice, but we were stoked that we earned our way up. The final days of goa are counting down, our tans are setting in nicely, and we are looking onwards to the state of Karnataka.

Did I say 28?

Try 35 with 100% humidity (cent percente for those of you at Shambhala). It's great....Trevor has been keeping me from mild, I-am-not-used-to-the-heat-yet panic attacks.

The get-here was interesting enough... flight from Calgary to Frankfurt: spacious, free movies, great food. Flight from Frankfurt to Mumbai: packed to the nines, sitting next to 2 other people, with little to no air flow. Welcome to India, time to get used to it! We arrived in Mumbai on time, but our luggage took 2.5 hours to get to us, so we ended up missing our connecting flight to Goa (to also find out that the connecting domestic flights are in a different airport which is a ten minute cab away. My bad, that was suppose to be my 'area' to research). We rushed to the airline counter, and to be honest I was partly ready to deal with all of the "India scams" I had read - already knowing that it was technically our fault for missing the flight.

Nope! Full refund and a referral to the airline counter next to us where they had a flight for the same price, an hour and a half later (as opposed to the same airline that didn't have a flight until later that afternoon)..... first lesson of humility for amaris. Prepaid taxi and we were on our way to the domestic airport.

I truly don't know what to say about Mumbai, or how Trevor and I can even convey what happened there. We, of course, did not take any pictures (not sure if we needed to look even more like fresh tourists than we already did) and not sure if they would have given an appropriate picture. When we stepped outside, we both agreed later that we were confused to the fact that we had even gone outside. My brain was completely unable to process the images! There were thousands of people everywhere (it was 4 am by the time), the air was thick with smoke, and we were sleep deprived...... on our way to the airport, we had to stop for some sort of security/government check in (I think because we were in a taxi, to ensure that the fare had been prepaid). But, it's not as though we knew this when our non English speaking driver pulled over in the middle of the dark road, turned off the car and got out. It was at this moment that we truly realized the exact kind of travel we got into. 10 minutes, a chat with some nice local children and two aneurysms later (yes, one each, not just for amaris) we arrived at the Domestic airport. One hour flight to Goa. Arrival in Goa - pure ecstasy.

We are now in Anjuna, Goa, in a lovely hostel. We have a private room, with a small bathroom (western toilets, a nice introduction) that is literally next to the beach. We ate toast with beans and had black coffee for breakfast, for a total of less than $2. We are in the right place!

Not sure when we will write next, but hopefully we can add some pictures at that point. If not, just google "amazing indian beach representing joy and freedom" and we are sure you'll find some appropriate images.

Not sure how long we are here for, or where we are going next. Purpose of travel : complete. :)

Much love, keep safe......

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On our way today!

Visa's here, bags packed, ready to go.

We will update from beautiful, 28 degree Goa!

:)