The latest pictures are from Old Goa. It is like the Vatican City of India. Goa is actually a small state – I thought it was the city Nicole lived in –that the Portuguese settled in 1500’s to 1930’s (?). I now have an official guidebook so I will try to be more specific! The Catholic Church converted many in the region with the help of St. Francis Xavier.
We started at lunch at a cute Portuguese restaurant on the second floor overlooking the street. We had to sample the local drink of Palm Feni. I preferred it to the feni drink in Nicole’s area of Oxel (oshell) which is fermented cashews. The small trees are all over the area and jungle.
Our first find was the ruins of St. Augustine’s. They are doing digs under the altar area for remains. It was a huge site that included a monastery and other out buildings. Pictures don’t do it justice.
We next found Basilica Bom Jesus – the most famous and a world heritage site. The altar is entirely gold with some silver! On a side chapel is a silver coffin of St. Francis of Xavier. He died in China and asked to return to his beloved Goa to be buried. He never really decomposed and there are tons of stories with miracles concerning him. They parade the coffin through the streets once a year. We visited another big complex across the park that included St. Francis of Assisi Church and St. Catherine of Siena Chapel. I included a sample of different sculpture I found interesting for many different reasons.
It was a full day and I had enough of churches for a while – so it is on to Hindu temples in the area called Hampi! It was the capital of the region during the 1200’s. It is also a World Heritage site so I have lectured Nicole and she promised to behave! Saturday was Elvis night and when he finished we climbed on the back of two Royal Enfield bikes and went barhopping. Elvis jammed at the next place with a phenomenal drummer. A professional American jazz singer showed up and blew us all away jamming with Elvis! When we were finally dropped off at our car, Nicole attempted to turn around a drove into a drainage ditch!!!! She stood in the road and quickly a van full of boys stopped and lifted her front end out of the ditch! All is fine with the car and us! They need more streetlights!
We were still sleeping at 1:00 on Sunday when GB arrived from Mumbai and asked us to lunch. We quickly cleaned up and made our way to the Taj Resort in Calangute. We had very nice lunch on the ocean. GB presented me with my first Ganesha statue and Hanuman prayer book. It was very sweet of him. Hanuman is the monkey god so I know the writings will help me with the management of Nicole!
The driver arrives at 8am tomorrow morning and we are off to Hampi. I will be out of touch until Friday or Saturday. Hope you all have a great week!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
July 23
Yes, we hear all about Hillary! Every paper has about seven articles!
We did not see the eclipse. We didn’t wake up ( due to Cuba Libres ) but it was total cloud coverage so no one in Goa saw it!
Tuesday evening, Viraj wanted to take us to dinner at the BBQ place. He had a friend in town and wanted some more talkers. We decided to drink the rum and cokes because we would be only having a couple. Well, the dinner turned out to be a full banquet. It started with fish in a kind of tartar sauce in a little cup that tasted like a salty potato chip! It was delicious!!!! Bhot! That means excellent if I spelled it correctly. Next came the water buffalo tongue – picture of Nicole coming soon – which was very tasty. It was a little like Canadian bacon but drier. I can eat most things that are not squishy!......or green…….or hairy……or stinky…..etc. We had another great piece of beef as good as any tenderloin I have ever had with cold beet and potato salad. Then came the Goan chicken curry. Viraj disappeared for five minutes and came back with chocolate eclairs for dessert. In a small package he had chocolate covered corn flakes for us to sample! By now we had five or six rounds of drinks! And you know it is not the booze that gets you, but all the soda!
In a third package he brought us a prepared lady fish because Nicole said she had never eaten it. He suggested it for breakfast but since it was red in color we assumed it was spicy and saved it for lunch! We were both sneezing just cooking it in the kitchen. The flavor and the fish were excellent….very easy to eat around the bones.
Viraj promised to take us to see a waterfall on Wednesday and said it was a half an hour away and he would pick us up at noon. To make a long story short, we reached the waterfall at five o’clock in a Toyota van with eight people including a family from St. Augustine with two small children. We had to cross into another state and we were detained for not having passports. After a bribe was paid, we were on our way until the little boy started vomiting because of the winding roads. He always waited till we were stopped thankfully! The little girl sang “Dora the explorer” most of the trip!
I believe we went to the edge of the Deccan Plateau. The water, river, whatever just spills over down to the valley. It was magnificent! We were in the clouds so the pictures don’t tell the entire story but we want to go back on a clearer day. Most pictures are taken halfway up the road with the valley views obscured. And then there were the monkeys!!!!! ( not the ones in the shorts in the waterfalls but the hairier ones!) They were waiting for handouts but would only grab and not really trust you to get too close! When you came close, they would jump over the wall to certain death only to grab a vine below and hide out for a while! I just want to go back……build a tree house and live there forever! It would be heaven if you could keep those less hairy monkeys out of the water!
We now have to settle down and get our work and errands done. We leave for Hampi Monday morning. Nicole’s friend is flying in Sunday and has a driver to take us. It is a site built around 1200 and full of sculpture and temples. There is an animal reserve in the area and Nicole wants to meet her animal spirit, the sloth bear! I am very excited about the trip and to meet GB. I hear he is the handsomest man in all of Mumbai….and I hear he has been reading the blog! :)
We did not see the eclipse. We didn’t wake up ( due to Cuba Libres ) but it was total cloud coverage so no one in Goa saw it!
Tuesday evening, Viraj wanted to take us to dinner at the BBQ place. He had a friend in town and wanted some more talkers. We decided to drink the rum and cokes because we would be only having a couple. Well, the dinner turned out to be a full banquet. It started with fish in a kind of tartar sauce in a little cup that tasted like a salty potato chip! It was delicious!!!! Bhot! That means excellent if I spelled it correctly. Next came the water buffalo tongue – picture of Nicole coming soon – which was very tasty. It was a little like Canadian bacon but drier. I can eat most things that are not squishy!......or green…….or hairy……or stinky…..etc. We had another great piece of beef as good as any tenderloin I have ever had with cold beet and potato salad. Then came the Goan chicken curry. Viraj disappeared for five minutes and came back with chocolate eclairs for dessert. In a small package he had chocolate covered corn flakes for us to sample! By now we had five or six rounds of drinks! And you know it is not the booze that gets you, but all the soda!
In a third package he brought us a prepared lady fish because Nicole said she had never eaten it. He suggested it for breakfast but since it was red in color we assumed it was spicy and saved it for lunch! We were both sneezing just cooking it in the kitchen. The flavor and the fish were excellent….very easy to eat around the bones.
Viraj promised to take us to see a waterfall on Wednesday and said it was a half an hour away and he would pick us up at noon. To make a long story short, we reached the waterfall at five o’clock in a Toyota van with eight people including a family from St. Augustine with two small children. We had to cross into another state and we were detained for not having passports. After a bribe was paid, we were on our way until the little boy started vomiting because of the winding roads. He always waited till we were stopped thankfully! The little girl sang “Dora the explorer” most of the trip!
I believe we went to the edge of the Deccan Plateau. The water, river, whatever just spills over down to the valley. It was magnificent! We were in the clouds so the pictures don’t tell the entire story but we want to go back on a clearer day. Most pictures are taken halfway up the road with the valley views obscured. And then there were the monkeys!!!!! ( not the ones in the shorts in the waterfalls but the hairier ones!) They were waiting for handouts but would only grab and not really trust you to get too close! When you came close, they would jump over the wall to certain death only to grab a vine below and hide out for a while! I just want to go back……build a tree house and live there forever! It would be heaven if you could keep those less hairy monkeys out of the water!
We now have to settle down and get our work and errands done. We leave for Hampi Monday morning. Nicole’s friend is flying in Sunday and has a driver to take us. It is a site built around 1200 and full of sculpture and temples. There is an animal reserve in the area and Nicole wants to meet her animal spirit, the sloth bear! I am very excited about the trip and to meet GB. I hear he is the handsomest man in all of Mumbai….and I hear he has been reading the blog! :)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Saturday, July 18
It has been a busy week but we got a lot done and are settling into more of a routine!
We went to a neighboring town of Panjam for a day to do many errands. We went to the market which was an adventure - I didn't know what half the veggies and fruits were. I will post some pictures soon of the neatly stacked piles - especially the garlic, a thousand little heads all stacked up!!!! The fish market was not as pleasant with the the flies all over everything. The fish were normal except for the little shark. We bought two pounds of large prawn for $8. They are in the freezer awaiting a feast. We also went to the movies to see "Ice Age III" and I had popcorn! It was a large complex and I felt like I was in Syracuse! We finally got Nicole a new pair of glasses - she has had a clump of red clay stuck on for a nose piece for 6 months! We went for a fish plate lunch and I had large prawns ( they don't know shrimp ). They are great and cheap! Nicole eats the heads but I refuse!!!!! She had a case of the trots and we had to pull over a few times on the way home - I have been fine so I think she is rethinking the head sucking!!!!
We had her neighbor Jane and her two teenage kids over for dinner - they wanted pasta so Nicole made red pepper, mushroom cream sauce over penne. We had fresh broccoli on the side with garlic bread. She bought a chocolate nut torte at the bakery and we had vanilla ice cream - very American dinner! The teens would not touch the broccoli, as typical. They all speak great English as they are Catholic Indians and go to Catholic school. ( Goa was a Portuguese settlement up to 1940 I believe. There are crosses, chapels and churches everywhere. The native language even sounds very Spanish. You can hear the influence in the music also.)
Jane told us of an old abandon quarry right up the hill by her house.. she also told us a woman had died from a cobra strike two miles down the road that day! Nicole and I decided to explore the quarry the next day - I think she secretly wanted to spot a python!!!! We did see a few very small snakes and lizards but nothing scary.
It really is a beautiful spot at the top of the valley looking down at the rice paddies. The top was flat and barren and a few water buffalo were grazing and giving us strange looks - they really look prehistoric! The pits are huge and you can see all the marks where they quarried the rock with hand tools. All would have been great but Nicole saw a little trail and decided to go home a different way. We were totally lost in the jungle - we found mountain streams and glens, I was sliding down on my butt at one point, and eventually returned back to the top and retraced our steps. There were monkeys in the trees but kept their distance. We saw big nests that turned out to be a solid moving mass of wasps!!!!
BUT.......the best was, we saw the largest peacock I have ever seen in a tree. It was so large the tail almost hit the ground. By the time I got the camera out, it had jumped down into the valley and we couldn't see it. It was a spectacle!!!!...but no photo! I will have to go back and hope it is it's favorite perch. So we survived with no cobras!
We went out for a quiet dinner at the beach hot spots. They had a group of local boy in a band trying to be American. "One oklick, two blay blay, three oklick, rock! Let us rock around the klick tonight!" They were pretty raw....but then Elvis and his friends showed up. The crowd was many American Indians on holiday, British and we meet another Scotsman! When the band stopped playing they asked if Elvis would play and there was a large jam session of all the good local players! It was crazy. They played for an hour or so then everyone just sat around chatting - when we finally left, the whole place was closed up! They just left us there and went home - it was 4 in the morning! We slept till eleven and now have to get ready to go out tonight because Elvis plays for real tonight! Nicole needs to get a job so I can sleep more!
I think you can just click on comments to contact me rather than email! Try it!
We went to a neighboring town of Panjam for a day to do many errands. We went to the market which was an adventure - I didn't know what half the veggies and fruits were. I will post some pictures soon of the neatly stacked piles - especially the garlic, a thousand little heads all stacked up!!!! The fish market was not as pleasant with the the flies all over everything. The fish were normal except for the little shark. We bought two pounds of large prawn for $8. They are in the freezer awaiting a feast. We also went to the movies to see "Ice Age III" and I had popcorn! It was a large complex and I felt like I was in Syracuse! We finally got Nicole a new pair of glasses - she has had a clump of red clay stuck on for a nose piece for 6 months! We went for a fish plate lunch and I had large prawns ( they don't know shrimp ). They are great and cheap! Nicole eats the heads but I refuse!!!!! She had a case of the trots and we had to pull over a few times on the way home - I have been fine so I think she is rethinking the head sucking!!!!
We had her neighbor Jane and her two teenage kids over for dinner - they wanted pasta so Nicole made red pepper, mushroom cream sauce over penne. We had fresh broccoli on the side with garlic bread. She bought a chocolate nut torte at the bakery and we had vanilla ice cream - very American dinner! The teens would not touch the broccoli, as typical. They all speak great English as they are Catholic Indians and go to Catholic school. ( Goa was a Portuguese settlement up to 1940 I believe. There are crosses, chapels and churches everywhere. The native language even sounds very Spanish. You can hear the influence in the music also.)
Jane told us of an old abandon quarry right up the hill by her house.. she also told us a woman had died from a cobra strike two miles down the road that day! Nicole and I decided to explore the quarry the next day - I think she secretly wanted to spot a python!!!! We did see a few very small snakes and lizards but nothing scary.
It really is a beautiful spot at the top of the valley looking down at the rice paddies. The top was flat and barren and a few water buffalo were grazing and giving us strange looks - they really look prehistoric! The pits are huge and you can see all the marks where they quarried the rock with hand tools. All would have been great but Nicole saw a little trail and decided to go home a different way. We were totally lost in the jungle - we found mountain streams and glens, I was sliding down on my butt at one point, and eventually returned back to the top and retraced our steps. There were monkeys in the trees but kept their distance. We saw big nests that turned out to be a solid moving mass of wasps!!!!
BUT.......the best was, we saw the largest peacock I have ever seen in a tree. It was so large the tail almost hit the ground. By the time I got the camera out, it had jumped down into the valley and we couldn't see it. It was a spectacle!!!!...but no photo! I will have to go back and hope it is it's favorite perch. So we survived with no cobras!
We went out for a quiet dinner at the beach hot spots. They had a group of local boy in a band trying to be American. "One oklick, two blay blay, three oklick, rock! Let us rock around the klick tonight!" They were pretty raw....but then Elvis and his friends showed up. The crowd was many American Indians on holiday, British and we meet another Scotsman! When the band stopped playing they asked if Elvis would play and there was a large jam session of all the good local players! It was crazy. They played for an hour or so then everyone just sat around chatting - when we finally left, the whole place was closed up! They just left us there and went home - it was 4 in the morning! We slept till eleven and now have to get ready to go out tonight because Elvis plays for real tonight! Nicole needs to get a job so I can sleep more!
I think you can just click on comments to contact me rather than email! Try it!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday Trek
Nicole and I went to the beach north of Goa. There was a phenomenal rock formation the locals call "the Elders." I want to go back many times in different light! We climbed the hills above looking for sweet lake but our directions were messed up!
The sweet part was we had dinner on the beach with the warm winds from Africa fanning our banquet. Look for the pictures - it is difficult to tell we are outside - Angus joined us! Angus - he is Scottish and he is definitely not ccrraaaaappppp! He is a former choir boy singer, then violinist who sold his instrument when he was 18 for hashish! He is an inventor, musician of synthesized music from world sounds, an the owner of the blue painted house which will be a retreat resort. Cool dude! He has much knowledge of the local spots and important information like where to buy something that tastes like cheddar cheese and who has Nutella!
Sat. night - we did go see Elvis again! He was good but then a drummer came into jam and it got wild!!!!! We left as soon as they stopped playing and went for BBQ. I had a big fillet cooked on the coals right next to me with a simple BBQ sauce - it was delicious!!! Yum - beef! $5.00!!!!!
The sweet part was we had dinner on the beach with the warm winds from Africa fanning our banquet. Look for the pictures - it is difficult to tell we are outside - Angus joined us! Angus - he is Scottish and he is definitely not ccrraaaaappppp! He is a former choir boy singer, then violinist who sold his instrument when he was 18 for hashish! He is an inventor, musician of synthesized music from world sounds, an the owner of the blue painted house which will be a retreat resort. Cool dude! He has much knowledge of the local spots and important information like where to buy something that tastes like cheddar cheese and who has Nutella!
Sat. night - we did go see Elvis again! He was good but then a drummer came into jam and it got wild!!!!! We left as soon as they stopped playing and went for BBQ. I had a big fillet cooked on the coals right next to me with a simple BBQ sauce - it was delicious!!! Yum - beef! $5.00!!!!!
Quick Note From Nicole
Namaste! Just a quick note to confirm that Mom is doing fantastic! She hasn't been sick, although we've kept her on mineral water (in refillable bottles, so less waste!). She hasn't seen any big spiders yet, so no panic attacks, but she hasn't been shy about walking through the jungle. I've been feeding her well with fish and fresh local vegetables, some local bbq, and feni (fermented cashew fruit juice!). My kittens and the dog absolutely love her.
Only thing is that she sleeps a lot. I've never seen her sleep so much, she is notorious for never napping! Here - she's a total slug! But monsoon does that to you... it's lovely to sleep in the rain... guess she needs to make up for all those sleepless nights...
Only thing is that she sleeps a lot. I've never seen her sleep so much, she is notorious for never napping! Here - she's a total slug! But monsoon does that to you... it's lovely to sleep in the rain... guess she needs to make up for all those sleepless nights...
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Fabulous sunshiny Friday!
It was total sunshine this morning! I dragged Nicole's white butt out of bed and made her take me to the shrine down the road from us! It is the highest point in the river valley and you can see the ocean. Stone stairs lead us to the top where the view was great and ocean breeze was refreshing.It was interesting looking down at our neighborhood and all the rice paddies! We saw a few temple roofs we had never seen so penciled them in for another day.
Our next stop was a Catholic church also on our road. The big find was a cemetery in the back! There we discovered Valencia - she was laying there drying out - her front tooth missing! I believe, as in Italy, you only get your plot for ten years or until the next family member dies. So Valencia was dug up to dry. Isn't she pretty!
We stopped back at the house to make breakfast and feed the kittens. Nicole has been feeding me very well. Breakfast is usually eggs or a grain cereal like oatmeal only spicey with onions, tomatoes and curry leaves! We found a loaf of sourdough in the market and are enjoying that as toast!
We headed out for the old Portugese fort that stands on a high hill at the mouth of the river? It is basically just walls but the views were great and hope you can get the effect in the pictures. We headed south to one of Nicole's favorite beaches. There were many people partying and enjoying the first sunshine in a couple weeks. We had a few beers and hummus on the beach and watched a few German men try to master the art of surf fishing ( Kyle could have schooled them). We got a little sun burned but it is okay because now my mosquito bites don't seem so red and swollen! They say the first ones are the worst then the body stops fighting! I am taking malaria medicine but "they say" the mosquitoes in this clean area are harmless because they have never bitten diseased people!
It was a long day - we came home and Nicole made a delicious beet, cucumber and pomegranite salad. We tried to watch " Who wants to be the next Joseph?" ( and the techicolor dreamcoat). It is British - is it showing there? Not impressed but Andrew LW is on the panel. We were both soon sleeping! I'm not sure who turned the TV off - maybe the cats!
Today Saturday is again sunny. We are getting laundry done along with housework. We must bathe and get ready for our night out on the town. We are going to listen to Elvis again and Nicole has told many friends to come so it will be great fun again! Cheers!
Our next stop was a Catholic church also on our road. The big find was a cemetery in the back! There we discovered Valencia - she was laying there drying out - her front tooth missing! I believe, as in Italy, you only get your plot for ten years or until the next family member dies. So Valencia was dug up to dry. Isn't she pretty!
We stopped back at the house to make breakfast and feed the kittens. Nicole has been feeding me very well. Breakfast is usually eggs or a grain cereal like oatmeal only spicey with onions, tomatoes and curry leaves! We found a loaf of sourdough in the market and are enjoying that as toast!
We headed out for the old Portugese fort that stands on a high hill at the mouth of the river? It is basically just walls but the views were great and hope you can get the effect in the pictures. We headed south to one of Nicole's favorite beaches. There were many people partying and enjoying the first sunshine in a couple weeks. We had a few beers and hummus on the beach and watched a few German men try to master the art of surf fishing ( Kyle could have schooled them). We got a little sun burned but it is okay because now my mosquito bites don't seem so red and swollen! They say the first ones are the worst then the body stops fighting! I am taking malaria medicine but "they say" the mosquitoes in this clean area are harmless because they have never bitten diseased people!
It was a long day - we came home and Nicole made a delicious beet, cucumber and pomegranite salad. We tried to watch " Who wants to be the next Joseph?" ( and the techicolor dreamcoat). It is British - is it showing there? Not impressed but Andrew LW is on the panel. We were both soon sleeping! I'm not sure who turned the TV off - maybe the cats!
Today Saturday is again sunny. We are getting laundry done along with housework. We must bathe and get ready for our night out on the town. We are going to listen to Elvis again and Nicole has told many friends to come so it will be great fun again! Cheers!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Midweek adventures
USE THE LINK ON THE RIGHT TO SEE PHOTOS - if some don't show we will work on them and get them smaller to load better!
Wednesday we packed up the two small kittens and headed to Panjam. The have a vet clinic there and they saw the sick kitten. They could not draw blood because the kitten is so small it would greatly weaken him. She considered he was epileptic but also anemic. We had managed to get a urine sample because Nicole has a litter box but no litter! So we are waiting for test to come back and trying to make the kittens eat their food with "geritol" in it! THEY KNEW! I had to add cookies and feed them by hand!
The town was very pretty - very Portugese and similar to Spanish. The big cathedral looks very similar to the Spanish steps in Italy. It was an adventure but was pouring the entire time. We went to a bakery, the Bombay store, and had a great mutton stew with onion bread!
Nicole and I decided to take a nap. We were exhausted - Elvis came over for drinks and gave us a personal concert the night before - we laid down at 5:30 pm and woke up at 7:30am this morning. I can't believe the brats let us sleep!
Today I worked on farming. I took some bamboo poles, grown on the property, and made some channels to redirect the water to the ditch in front of the house. I am very proud of my water management skills and go back out after every downpour to make sure no loose depris is clogging my flow pattern! (I saw my first kingfisher today - it is like the parrot of India - A big shock of teal on its wings and a yellow orange belly - it sits on the wires and dives down for fish in the irrigatiion ditches!)
Nicole wants to run errand and take me to a fish stand for lunch! Bye for now!
Wednesday we packed up the two small kittens and headed to Panjam. The have a vet clinic there and they saw the sick kitten. They could not draw blood because the kitten is so small it would greatly weaken him. She considered he was epileptic but also anemic. We had managed to get a urine sample because Nicole has a litter box but no litter! So we are waiting for test to come back and trying to make the kittens eat their food with "geritol" in it! THEY KNEW! I had to add cookies and feed them by hand!
The town was very pretty - very Portugese and similar to Spanish. The big cathedral looks very similar to the Spanish steps in Italy. It was an adventure but was pouring the entire time. We went to a bakery, the Bombay store, and had a great mutton stew with onion bread!
Nicole and I decided to take a nap. We were exhausted - Elvis came over for drinks and gave us a personal concert the night before - we laid down at 5:30 pm and woke up at 7:30am this morning. I can't believe the brats let us sleep!
Today I worked on farming. I took some bamboo poles, grown on the property, and made some channels to redirect the water to the ditch in front of the house. I am very proud of my water management skills and go back out after every downpour to make sure no loose depris is clogging my flow pattern! (I saw my first kingfisher today - it is like the parrot of India - A big shock of teal on its wings and a yellow orange belly - it sits on the wires and dives down for fish in the irrigatiion ditches!)
Nicole wants to run errand and take me to a fish stand for lunch! Bye for now!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday
It was suppose to be a quiet day. We went to Jane's for chai! When we arrived home, Nicole's rescued kitten was in a bad way. It was in a reverse fetal position, it had lost all fluids including sinus and was cold as ice. It was dead! I dug the whole and dropped a shovel full on it but Nicole
made me wrap it up and hold it as she sped to the International Animal Shelter. No one was there so she sped to a next town to get a drip to replenish the fluids. She parked on a side street in front of an open bar. There were many drunk men staggering around and some women with too much makeup on! She leaves me there for 15 minutes that seemed like two hours. I was thinking if she never comes back should I just drive away but it is a standard shift and we were on a hill so I waited for her. We sped back to her house while avoiding every cow and dog in the county along with drunk men on their scooters trying to remember where they lived. The cat is comatose! It has no color, is stiff and cold but laying on a hot water bottle! I consider it dead but am along for the ride!
We are up and down with it all night - got no sleep - but the little bugger pulls through. At one point I thought it was blind but he appears fine now. She thinks it was renal failure. This has happened before but he is going to a real Dr. tomorrow so we may find out more after a few tests!
We had to sleep in late so treated ourselves to a trek up the waterfall just up the road. Photos will be coming. It was beautiful, cooling and relaxing. We walked a little further and got caught in a downpour but had an umbrella this time. It is warm so really is not a problem!
There are some great smells coming from the kitchen! The fishman passed again today so I know that is a main ingredient. She made me scrambled eggs for brunch with tomatoes and onions! Yum! She is taking good care of me - my stomach has been very calm so far!
made me wrap it up and hold it as she sped to the International Animal Shelter. No one was there so she sped to a next town to get a drip to replenish the fluids. She parked on a side street in front of an open bar. There were many drunk men staggering around and some women with too much makeup on! She leaves me there for 15 minutes that seemed like two hours. I was thinking if she never comes back should I just drive away but it is a standard shift and we were on a hill so I waited for her. We sped back to her house while avoiding every cow and dog in the county along with drunk men on their scooters trying to remember where they lived. The cat is comatose! It has no color, is stiff and cold but laying on a hot water bottle! I consider it dead but am along for the ride!
We are up and down with it all night - got no sleep - but the little bugger pulls through. At one point I thought it was blind but he appears fine now. She thinks it was renal failure. This has happened before but he is going to a real Dr. tomorrow so we may find out more after a few tests!
We had to sleep in late so treated ourselves to a trek up the waterfall just up the road. Photos will be coming. It was beautiful, cooling and relaxing. We walked a little further and got caught in a downpour but had an umbrella this time. It is warm so really is not a problem!
There are some great smells coming from the kitchen! The fishman passed again today so I know that is a main ingredient. She made me scrambled eggs for brunch with tomatoes and onions! Yum! She is taking good care of me - my stomach has been very calm so far!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The first weekend!
There was a stoppage in the rain - occasionally! It cleared Saturday morning and we took off to see the rice paddies across the road and the little temple down the way. We barely made it to the temple ( which turned out to be a shrine) and were caught in a downpour! You could hear the Indians thinking that the Americans don't know enough to carry an umbrella! It soon passed and we were off to see the water buffalo plowing the fields, we explored an old estate that was in ruins and were careful to watch the ground as not to step on a snake! There were some monkeys jumping in the trees but a man in the nearby house was doing everything he could to make noise and drive them away. That usually means banging on pots and pans but can also include a cap gun and firecrackers! I finally got some good pictures. So far, Nicole has only let me take photos of her three kittens.
We bathed ( in a bucket ) and headed out for a big evening on the town. We went to TAKE 5
jazz club!!!! I was not really expecting too much but it was a superior musical experience.
Elvis was in the house. He is a Goan boy who plays a Bruce Springstein guitar he bought in Chicago. He was utterly amazing. He could tune his guitar electronically - I had never seen that - a built in gadget! He played with another accoustical dude that did all the singing. They were playing "Three dead in Ohio" when we came in - then rifted into solos. They occassionally slurred over words they didn't know but were great! Their blues numbers were a highlight.
Nicole, of course knew everyone and the owner, Virage, sat us down at his table and started ordering food and drinks that continued all evening! We started with chicken and beef spicy dishes and by the end of the evening were eating shrimp and calamari. He insisted we try his seafood soup of the day then a brownie with chocolate sauce arrived with vanilla ice cream. I starting drinking coconut rum with fresh pineapple juice but was accused of liking girly drinks and joined Nicole in choking down whiskey and water!!!!! We were not charge a penny - he was mad when Nicole left a tip for the waiter! Having Nicole in the window is good for business is his theory!
Elvis was thrilled we gave him a couple standing ovations - he knows he could be a superstar but just wants to hangout and play in Goa. We are already planning on going back next weekend so I will get a picture! He is a cutie! The Goa beach area is definately like a hippie hangout!
Sunday we went on a nice ride and saw where the river by her house enters the ocean. The surf was rough and pounding. We went to dinner (a delicious vege and rice meal)at Angus' house which is a resort in progress. It is an artists retreat and meditation camp! Look forward to the pictures - three story house with wrap around staircase. The walls are blue with green follage airbrushed up the walls and dolphins higher up! Inside there are garden scenes with many
bubbles and butterflies - total fantasy images. He has a swinging bed hanging from the ceiling and has ordered sliding wood panels (like japanese paper sliding doors) but wants to put stained glass in. He picked my brain for ideas and if we can find the materials - especially the glass - Nicole and I might start work on a simple flowing design to carry across the wall of doors! Cool! We could start and Nicole could wrap it up over the winter! It mainly depends on if they can get colored glass other than a few basic primaries.
Monday is a day of rest!....bland food and a nap!
We bathed ( in a bucket ) and headed out for a big evening on the town. We went to TAKE 5
jazz club!!!! I was not really expecting too much but it was a superior musical experience.
Elvis was in the house. He is a Goan boy who plays a Bruce Springstein guitar he bought in Chicago. He was utterly amazing. He could tune his guitar electronically - I had never seen that - a built in gadget! He played with another accoustical dude that did all the singing. They were playing "Three dead in Ohio" when we came in - then rifted into solos. They occassionally slurred over words they didn't know but were great! Their blues numbers were a highlight.
Nicole, of course knew everyone and the owner, Virage, sat us down at his table and started ordering food and drinks that continued all evening! We started with chicken and beef spicy dishes and by the end of the evening were eating shrimp and calamari. He insisted we try his seafood soup of the day then a brownie with chocolate sauce arrived with vanilla ice cream. I starting drinking coconut rum with fresh pineapple juice but was accused of liking girly drinks and joined Nicole in choking down whiskey and water!!!!! We were not charge a penny - he was mad when Nicole left a tip for the waiter! Having Nicole in the window is good for business is his theory!
Elvis was thrilled we gave him a couple standing ovations - he knows he could be a superstar but just wants to hangout and play in Goa. We are already planning on going back next weekend so I will get a picture! He is a cutie! The Goa beach area is definately like a hippie hangout!
Sunday we went on a nice ride and saw where the river by her house enters the ocean. The surf was rough and pounding. We went to dinner (a delicious vege and rice meal)at Angus' house which is a resort in progress. It is an artists retreat and meditation camp! Look forward to the pictures - three story house with wrap around staircase. The walls are blue with green follage airbrushed up the walls and dolphins higher up! Inside there are garden scenes with many
bubbles and butterflies - total fantasy images. He has a swinging bed hanging from the ceiling and has ordered sliding wood panels (like japanese paper sliding doors) but wants to put stained glass in. He picked my brain for ideas and if we can find the materials - especially the glass - Nicole and I might start work on a simple flowing design to carry across the wall of doors! Cool! We could start and Nicole could wrap it up over the winter! It mainly depends on if they can get colored glass other than a few basic primaries.
Monday is a day of rest!....bland food and a nap!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Oh my God! Where do I start?
Hello all!
I have returned from the living dead! I am the person who can not nap or does not read books!
I am doing both!...but as soon as we get some sun, I will be moving!
I was fascinated about the path of my flight to India! We flew up the coast of coast of Iceland, over Greenland, crossed Norway and Sweden, over St. Petersburg and Kabul into India? Were they avoiding the Middle East or just following the jet stream????
Did you know that monsoon means raining all the f*%@*#g time!!!!! There is a 120% chance of rain tomorrow!.....but it is a warm rain - everything is in bloom and very fresh. It rains straight down and hard. When it stops, you can hear the Arabian Sea pounding the seashore and the jungle comes to life. I can't see too much because the leaves are so dense, but the bird sounds are incredible, you can hear the monkeys jumping from tree to tree and the bugs are far less than I expected! I have seen no hairy spiders with knees or scorpions! There are several small lizards in the house but I don't mind them - they stay high on the wall and always seem to want to run away!
Yesterday, the fishermen went by and nicole bought three little fish. She scaled and gutted then and fried them up in garlic and onions.She made a tartar sauce with mayo, yogurt and fresh dill. It was better than any fish I have ever had in a restaurant!!! Today, the breadman went by ringing his bell and she bought two warm rolls for 4 cents each and we had peanut butter and jelly on warm bread. Life is good! She made me eat papaya which has an underlaying taste of vomit! It is not my favorite..obviously. Tonight we are enjoying a bottle of wine with pasta. There is only one wine that is drinkeable here - it cost $10 which is a fortune to most. It would be like $100 to most here but that is what mothers are for!
Love to all - the lights are flickering as it is raining again - enjoy your weekend! Mary Lou
I have returned from the living dead! I am the person who can not nap or does not read books!
I am doing both!...but as soon as we get some sun, I will be moving!
I was fascinated about the path of my flight to India! We flew up the coast of coast of Iceland, over Greenland, crossed Norway and Sweden, over St. Petersburg and Kabul into India? Were they avoiding the Middle East or just following the jet stream????
Did you know that monsoon means raining all the f*%@*#g time!!!!! There is a 120% chance of rain tomorrow!.....but it is a warm rain - everything is in bloom and very fresh. It rains straight down and hard. When it stops, you can hear the Arabian Sea pounding the seashore and the jungle comes to life. I can't see too much because the leaves are so dense, but the bird sounds are incredible, you can hear the monkeys jumping from tree to tree and the bugs are far less than I expected! I have seen no hairy spiders with knees or scorpions! There are several small lizards in the house but I don't mind them - they stay high on the wall and always seem to want to run away!
Yesterday, the fishermen went by and nicole bought three little fish. She scaled and gutted then and fried them up in garlic and onions.She made a tartar sauce with mayo, yogurt and fresh dill. It was better than any fish I have ever had in a restaurant!!! Today, the breadman went by ringing his bell and she bought two warm rolls for 4 cents each and we had peanut butter and jelly on warm bread. Life is good! She made me eat papaya which has an underlaying taste of vomit! It is not my favorite..obviously. Tonight we are enjoying a bottle of wine with pasta. There is only one wine that is drinkeable here - it cost $10 which is a fortune to most. It would be like $100 to most here but that is what mothers are for!
Love to all - the lights are flickering as it is raining again - enjoy your weekend! Mary Lou
Friday, July 3, 2009
She's All Mine!
Mummy is here safe and sound! Her trip was pretty easy and uneventful, except for the dead body laying draped in a sheet on a board in the airport. 27 hours total travel time. She's pretty jetlagged, but we rested a little, watched the rain, ate some fresh fish and guacamole, and I'm putting her to bed. She'll write tomorrow.
I've taken in three abandoned kittens that wandered up to my house. The locals come to my jungle road and throw out all their girl kittens and puppies, thinking they'll just get eaten up, I'm sure. They either all find their way to my place, or the neighbors drop them off to me, knowing that I can't resist them (or thinking because I have a car, I can drive them to the International Animal Rescue). Last year, we made 7 kittens all healthy and found them good homes, after getting them sterilized. So I have three little beauties here now, and they love Mom! Climbing all over her and sleeping on her bosom.
I've taken in three abandoned kittens that wandered up to my house. The locals come to my jungle road and throw out all their girl kittens and puppies, thinking they'll just get eaten up, I'm sure. They either all find their way to my place, or the neighbors drop them off to me, knowing that I can't resist them (or thinking because I have a car, I can drive them to the International Animal Rescue). Last year, we made 7 kittens all healthy and found them good homes, after getting them sterilized. So I have three little beauties here now, and they love Mom! Climbing all over her and sleeping on her bosom.
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