Arambol, Goa

Greetings friends,

I write (type) from a beach front in Arambol, in the north end of Goa. The internet cafe is situated about 3 meters from the sand which stretches out into the ocean. Just outside the window sits Mel. We smell incense and the ocean. I hear a drum and another percussion instrument...and a lot of tying going on, haha. The temperature right now seems to be about...oh...23 degrees? it was 31 when we flew in. it's warm, but with a steady breeze - a nice compromise for Mel and I as she likes the heat, and i like it cool. What a day it has been! Five jet plans, many disturbed sleeps, a couple of miscommunicated airport conversations and a 2 hour cab ride, and Mel and i arrived in Arambol around 2pm this afternoon.

Arambol is known for its laid-back hippy lifestyle. Relatively untouched by the tourist world (well, ok, there are still souvenir stands, and the typical touristy sorta stuff, but not nearly as much as i've seen in other places), it prides itself on the various cliffside beach huts/accomodations...one of which we scored for ourselves.

Upon picking up our baggage, Mel made friends with a fellow female traveler who happened to be heading to Arambol as well - so we split the cab ride 3 ways. The cab ride offered me a few initial observations:

-speed bumps are referred to as "speed breakers"
-while the official traffic rules are that you drive on the left, it seemed like we
were on the right-hand side of the street as much as we were on the left! strangely, though, i trusted our efficient cab driver. it didn't really phase me that we were driving into oncoming traffic at least a dozen times. i'd smirk, cock my head over at Mel who sat behind me, and we silently chuckled.

After connecting with a guesthouse we learned about in Lonely Planet, we quickly unpacked, changed into our skirts and headed out for a much needed meal. Um....it was delicious...Mel had a vegetable pillau, while i downed a methi paneer masala with roti, and a hot cup of black tea infused with a fist full of mint with a hint of honey. it was delightful...just what we needed after traveling for almost 36 hours... we sat as an array of children, stray dogs, lone cows, women carrying large amounts of sticks on their heads... and everything else in between passed us by. i think we spoke maybe 10 words to each other as we mmm'd thru our meal, soaked in the warmth, and recognized that we had made it.

stuffed, we wandered along the beach catching the sunset. in awe, once again. except at one point, we couldn't figure out which to watch...the wicked wind surfer who consistently got air, one of the most orange sunsets i've seen in my life, or the impromptu soccer game being played by young boys adjacent to us. it was all beautiful. what we didn't catch today...we'll catch tomorrow.

alright, well...im pooped. Mel's prediction was that we'd sit on our beds and i'd be in out about 5 minutes...we'll see if she's right.

peace,
dL