Bombay Bound

On our final day in Arambol, just getting ourselves sorted for our big trip up north to Varanasi. I'm a little bit sad as our week here has been really good for us, for our senses, and just getting back to normal after our experience in kollur. The week here in Arambol has been really chilled and relaxed, lots of yummy fresh food, yoga, swimming in the Arabian Sea and getting really hardcore body work massage from Martin's friend Adam, who is amazing. Adam really gets into the muscle, deeper than deep and does lots of painfully deliciousl work. I was covered in bruises the other after I finished my session with him, but for the first time in years I have no neck pain and my bodyfeels less rigid! So 2 thumbs up to Adam! Definitely worth checking him out if you pop over this way. We've spent quite a nice amount of time with Adam and his Kundalini teacher partner Virium over the past week, so its been really lovely.
Yesterday Martin and I decided to rent a cherry red Royal Enfield motocycle and take it for a ride across norther Goa. So off we went, and embarked on a7 hr adventure without any clue where we were headed.
We drove through shady coconut groves, past elementary schools (with sweet girls in matching uniforms and red bows in their braids), through small villages, past vast lagoons of turquoise water until we reached the ferry (complete with a completely pagal ranting local!) which consisted of a rusted out hull of a boat, to take us across the estuary to the next state of Majharasta. From there we peeled up steep hills and across wide open lanes until we ended up at a beautifully neary empty white sand beach where we swam in the waves and relaxed our bums. It was so peaceful there, devoid of any beach shack restos and pumping music. Eagles soared overhead while the lone dog cantered down the sand. It was exquisite.
After catching some rays (my feet are finally looking less white!) we continued on, keeping the coast on our left shoulder and sticking to jungle paths. We finally found ourselves in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, where we were probably the only whities around for miles. We stopped for the best cup(s) of chai I have had to date in India this trip and gorgeous samosas, trying to block out the non-so-subtle curiousity of us standing on the corner, Martin talking Hindi and me munching samosas. After our delectable meal, we hopped back on and headed back to the ferry, only getting a little lost on the way back. We got back at nearly 7 pm wind blown, dusty and supremely happy.
We are off to Bombay tonite on an overnight bus which means we should get there at 8:30am Saturday morning. We are going to chance our arm that we can get on a train to Varanasi tomorrow, but my foot is down that since it's a looong 28hr journey, I refuse to travel 3A/C (so much for the adventurous hippy I am!!). So if we cannot get on 2 or 1AC, then we'll spend a night in Bombay and head out on Sunday. The original plan was to fly to Varanasi, but the flights are ridiculously expensive (starting at nearly 10,000 Rs) so its the long awaited (dreaded?) train journey. At least 1 have lots of boring uni reading to do!
Sending you all some Goan love and sunshine.
Ashley xxxxxxxxxxx