This morning I rose after a restless night. There are a pack of stray, but delightful, dogs that congregate outside my current accommodation, the Bridge and Tunnel. They spend their nights howling at the moon and their days lying on the beach with their bodies nestled into coves dug out in the sand. Some of the stray dogs in other parts of India are rather disheveled and I fear for rabies. However, thanks to the local animal rescue team around Putnam and Colomb bay these dogs are quite lovely.
There is something extremely comforting about waking up, walking out your door, and pressing your feet into the sand. The ocean waves have a methodical nature that makes sitting quietly by the beach at dawn tranquil. Today I headed south along Putnam beach, my feet toying with the lapping waves. Something stirred inside me and my inner child took hold as I performed several cartwheels along the beach, the only audience was the ocean waves. I then pressed my big toe into the sand and drew a love heart, because I could.
I have spent the last few days here on Putnam beach in south Goa with Jess. After the chaotic vibe that had become familiar in the large cities, it is a welcome change. This beach is one of the quieter beaches in Goa, with less tourists and a very relaxed feel. The beach is lined with restaurants and resorts and signs advertising yoga, it feels like my kind of paradise. I have attended several yoga classes and yesterday I went along to the Shiva Yoga Center where Swami Shivanand Jee took us through his gentle hatha yoga session. The day before I had gone to an early morning ashtanga (Mysore style) yoga session and while it was great, I have problems with my knee and hip and so didn't want to push it to the limit, because that's not what yoga is about after all. I got into a conversation with Swami after the yoga session as I was keen to see what sort of insight this yogi from India had. He told me about life, happiness and love and one thing stood out from the rest. He said 'what is beautiful? ... Truth is beautiful. Beauty is truth. It's not until you know you're own truth that you can be happy'. I think these were very wise words.
Last night we made our way to Neptune Point after hearing that there was an open air cinema. It is an absolutely stunning bay and we ate our dinner while watching the sun go down. As we ate there were a large group of kids playing football on the sand. They ran up and down the bay, the older boys taking charge and instructing the younger ones on the finer points of the game. There were some serious skills unfolding in front of my eyes. What a wonderful way to spend the evening for these children. I am reminded of going on a family holiday to Otaki as a child and spending hours on the beach making sand castles and rolling, time and time again, down the enormous dunes. At the time they seemed like mountains to us as we set out from the base and crawled and dug our way to the top. But it was all worth it when at last we reached the top. We'd climb on our flutter boards or cardboard or any other board we found lying around and fly down the dunes, sand spraying out beside us. Nothing felt better than that. Pure bliss. I intend now to go off and enjoy the rest of the day, doing more child like activities, because it feels like that kind of day.
There is something extremely comforting about waking up, walking out your door, and pressing your feet into the sand. The ocean waves have a methodical nature that makes sitting quietly by the beach at dawn tranquil. Today I headed south along Putnam beach, my feet toying with the lapping waves. Something stirred inside me and my inner child took hold as I performed several cartwheels along the beach, the only audience was the ocean waves. I then pressed my big toe into the sand and drew a love heart, because I could.
I have spent the last few days here on Putnam beach in south Goa with Jess. After the chaotic vibe that had become familiar in the large cities, it is a welcome change. This beach is one of the quieter beaches in Goa, with less tourists and a very relaxed feel. The beach is lined with restaurants and resorts and signs advertising yoga, it feels like my kind of paradise. I have attended several yoga classes and yesterday I went along to the Shiva Yoga Center where Swami Shivanand Jee took us through his gentle hatha yoga session. The day before I had gone to an early morning ashtanga (Mysore style) yoga session and while it was great, I have problems with my knee and hip and so didn't want to push it to the limit, because that's not what yoga is about after all. I got into a conversation with Swami after the yoga session as I was keen to see what sort of insight this yogi from India had. He told me about life, happiness and love and one thing stood out from the rest. He said 'what is beautiful? ... Truth is beautiful. Beauty is truth. It's not until you know you're own truth that you can be happy'. I think these were very wise words.
Last night we made our way to Neptune Point after hearing that there was an open air cinema. It is an absolutely stunning bay and we ate our dinner while watching the sun go down. As we ate there were a large group of kids playing football on the sand. They ran up and down the bay, the older boys taking charge and instructing the younger ones on the finer points of the game. There were some serious skills unfolding in front of my eyes. What a wonderful way to spend the evening for these children. I am reminded of going on a family holiday to Otaki as a child and spending hours on the beach making sand castles and rolling, time and time again, down the enormous dunes. At the time they seemed like mountains to us as we set out from the base and crawled and dug our way to the top. But it was all worth it when at last we reached the top. We'd climb on our flutter boards or cardboard or any other board we found lying around and fly down the dunes, sand spraying out beside us. Nothing felt better than that. Pure bliss. I intend now to go off and enjoy the rest of the day, doing more child like activities, because it feels like that kind of day.
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