Saturday August 09

Sorry I was so slow getting the rest of the Hampi pictures up! I hope you are all enjoying our adventures – we are having a blast yet relaxing as well. There is no reason to follow any schedule or commit to anything!

Speaking of commitments, Nicole promised her neighbor Jane that we would attend “Peace Day” at the Catholic Church right down the road. (Valencia’s resting place - We really agreed to go because we heard they throw the old bones in a well and we needed to find out where that was.) She said it was a play but as all Catholics manipulate, it was a full mass with eight priest on the altar then a “performance”! We expected to see her kids but she said it was very hard to get them to go! The mass was all in Konkoni, the local language, so we understood nothing but recognized the flow! We decided to go to communion because it was peace day and after Bush, Americans need all the good press they can get. It seems every Priest had to talk but soon we all moved outside for the show!

The front row consisted of the eight Priests and twenty Nuns in peachy colored saris. The first number was performed by ninth grade girls and boys doing a slow dance to Shakira’s “The Hips Don’t Lie!” I was embarrassed and hoped the masses couldn’t understand the words! Next came the Ladies Gospel Group (18 verses) followed by a rousing game of Bible Bingo.

Well, for those of you who know me, I can only behave for so long and then I get punchy and it is going on three hours now! We were trying to slip out but Jane caught us at the stairs and dragged us into the Clergy Hall where all the Priests and Nuns were eating. They gave us plates and told us to fill up as everyone was eating. I look down at this huge cake that reads “Thank you Fat hors!” I start laughing and could not get out any words to try to get Nicole to read the cake. I am dying, Nicole can’t figure out what is going on, tears are running down my face and this Nun says “Don’t be shy, have some cake!”

Come to find out, it is not “Peace Day” but it is “Priest Day” so the cake sloppily read “Thank you Fathers”. Then to top it all off, we got sick the next day and spent the day running to the bathroom! Catholics always get their revenge!


We had a slow week but did get many things done. We did go to Fort Aguada and found an old watchtower like you find in St. Augustine or Spanish Ports. There was a group of Sikhs sitting on the rocks getting battered by the waves. They invited us to join them. I stayed on dry land to take photos but the wild child joined in! She looked a little strange at lunch, all wet, but was cool!

I was taken to my first all night Trance party. The evening started out to see Elvis at his final night. He is off to Spain and then to Amsterdam with a Russian Band. He told me I was his inspiration to get back in the business rather than just playing in Goa. He said it was inspiring to know an American who had lived through the rock and roll era and thought he was good. If he ever makes it back to the US, there will be a concert in Pulaski!

Then came the Trance Party! It was a local DJ’s birthday party. She played for a while, and then Angus took over at 3 am! Angus traveled the world recording sounds to put in electronic music. His stuff was okay but not melodic enough for an Autenrith girl! (my mother’s side of the family) Jonny Jungle Juice asked me if I liked the music and I answered not really. He told me next time he would bring some acid and then I would enjoy it more! Can’t wait to avoid that! The party broke up at sunset and on the way home we had to stop and buy four water bottles of Petrol to get home. The shop was also frying up the first sweet bread of the day so Angus treated us for taking him home! Delicious! India’s version of the donut. Angus added hot peppers in the center of his but it didn’t appeal to me.

I talked to several family members in the past couple of days. Main questions were reoccurring so I will give a little basic information:

- The temperature has been around 75 degrees but can get very humid before it rains. There is usually a breeze since we are close to the ocean. The monsoon has been very mild this year.

- The food has been great. I have been eating everything but have avoided the hot chilies. The local restaurants have thalis (plate). You can get a veg or fish thalis. This a variation of whatever is fresh and available that day. There is a bakery one town over where we can get almond cake, walnut cake and coconut cookies. If we are out of eggs, we have my favorite cake thali for breakfast with nutella, peanut butter or lemon marmalade! The boats are just starting to go out into the ocean, as the monsoon was almost nonexistent this week! We may start getting bigger fish. I could be a vegetarian here if they included shrimp!

- There are regular bathrooms with toilets. Nicole has a lovely bathroom that Ajay built onto the house. It has a normal flush toilet with paper. Most bathrooms are wet bathrooms. The showerhead and all faucets just pour onto the floor with a drain at one end. The shower is not connected to the hot water and comes out about 70 degrees so feels great after a hot afternoon. The tank needs to be turned on for a bucket bath but is ready in 15 or 20 minutes. You can work on the laundry while bathing since you are wet anyway! It is best to air dry since the towels don’t want to dry. It is very green and very refreshing! It might be too cold in NY to do the big room approach but the tank idea is better than heating water all day!

- Contrary to my original belief, Goa is a state, not a city. It’s a small one, the old Portuguese Province. So Nicole actually lives in the ward of Oxel, city of Siolim, Goa.


OFF TO MUMBAI on Tuesday. We are flying as the tickets cost only $50 each. We will be there for a week so may not get any news out! We were going to lived it up but decided to slum it and see how the other half lives. Stay tuned for more adventures!