Vacation

I realized Sunday morning that I was on vacation. I was sitting outside my cute little hotel room, on a cute little veranda, swinging on a hammock under palm trees listening to sea gulls and breaking waves. I may have been traveling for three months, but this weekend was a vacation.

Varkala is a beach town completely geared for Westerners. Restaurants and shops line the spectacular cliff and crooked stairs lead down to the water and two little beaches. We spent an afternoon playing in the waves-- the current is strong. I love that feeling of exhaustion after swimming in the ocean.

Our train on Friday evening was more than two hours late arriving. The ride itself was only about an hour and a half. Martin and I entertained ourselves on the train platform doing mental math (we were solving quadratic equations and converting numbers to binary). Time flew!

I have more I want to write about good food and how speaking the language (or having a friend who does) makes the experience that much better, but I just got the two minute warning. I am now at Amma's ashram and internet time is very, very limited. Like wait an hour in line for 30 minutes of access. There seem to be about eight computers and something like 3000 residents on the ashram. So, don't expect updates for a few days!