Varkala – where the livin’ is easy

Upon arriving, I got assaulted with requests to stay in various hotels and so it was pretty easy to find a place to stay.  I could have probably even gotten a better deal, but the room is nice enough.  And then I went to walk the strip — basically a long path of restaurants all with their fish out on display.  basically — you can pick out what you want cooked.  There were the usual assortment of crabs, prawns, fish of varying sizes.  One place had a butter fish that was probably 3 feet long and huge!

I tried to find some southern indian food (as I figure I don’t need to have pizza here, since the pizza I can get at home is really good and I can’t get southern indian food at home!) — but I could not find a place that had any.  All of the places have very touristy menus — food from home (Russian, Swedish, Continental, etc.) — which was kind of a bummer for me.  I am going to have to go search out a place — though town (the real town, not the tourist central) is a few km away.

this morning, i got up early and went down to the beach for a run.  There were a few other men running, some swimming and bathing and then some folks playing soccer.  I did my workout (sprints on the beach, barefoot — pretty awesome!) and got schooled by an old guy out there running — he was running back and forth on the short section of beach — and wanted me to join him — i tried to tell him I was doing sprints and then when i sprinted by him, he started to sprint too — and totally kicked my ass.  But, he invited me to come running with him tomorrow morning.  Then I got invited to join in on a pick-up game of soccer — a little 3 on 3.  It was super fun though I actually have no idea how to play soccer…  and i have no aim.  But, I decided that if I can start each day with 45-60 minutes of exercise and playing (preferably on the beach) every day followed by coffee overlooking the ocean….  that would work for me.

Funny enough — when I went for breakfast — the couple next to me asked if I had been trekking up in the everest base camp area.  Turns out Katherine and I spoke to them up there (though, honestly, i have no memory of meeting them!) — but it was fun to talk about our adventures since then.

I went for a walk , got yelled at for taking a picture in a temple (there were no signs and the last temple I was at, I could take pictures!   eek!), and then walked back on the beach — all the euros are wearing super tight and SMALL bathing suits…  including the two girls jogging on the beach in their bikinis….  i guess the whole advice thing to be culturally appropriate in dress doesn’t apply to the euros in their bathing wear….  (though….  i sort of wish it did with some of them! 🙂

My good friend was here for two months and I can see how people would get ‘stuck’ here — the living is easy…  I am sitting at a juice bar,  there is good coffee, i had fresh fruit salad, there is wifi.  All I could think this morning was…. it is a monday morning (sorry to all of you teacher friends — i am not trying to rub it in!)

Ok — i am off — maybe to eat some more, maybe to read, we shall see.

here are a few pictures from kochi (the weather hasn’t been good for photos — lots of rain the past few days!)

sunset from Kochi

coming across on the ferry to Kochi