Another couple of days of hanging out on the beach, hoping for conditions to improve for paragliding but to no avail. The sea breeze picks up in the afternoon but just fails to get that last 5-10 km/hr extra required to allow sustained flight. So instead I did some of my usual activities: jogging, swimming, reading. One afternoon I chatted with a guy named Jay who is building some huts in a nearby lot. He’s an IT business guy who moved from India to the US for 20 years but has returned to India with his young family for a slower pace of life. He’s interested in learning to paraglide so a lot of our discussion was centered on that.
Some random posers on the beach:
A good chunk of the other afternoon was spent sorting out the paragliding permission issue. Thankfully a guy who does tandems here has the application forms and is willing to take a bunch of them to Panjim (80 km away) for a small fee. So I had to wander around to get a photocopy of this and get that but now I’ve jumped through the silly hoop as best as I can...watch, the weather won’t cooperate for the rest of the time that I’m here and it will all be for naught!
Most evenings the odd firework is shot off on the beach or sometimes a small show. They seem to love their pyrotechnics here. Sometimes it’s early in the evening, other times most people have gone to sleep (but are awake now!). One of these nights they seemed to explode right over my hut. I would hear the initial “Thumph” of the rocket taking flight and then a second or two later a big bang followed by small crackling as the individual fragments fell back towards the earth, silhouetted by large palm trees...how sweet.
Shaving by headlamp...just one of the little differences you notice living here:
I’ve been spending more time at the Olive Garden, playing some games of chess against Manu (the manager) and his younger brother who just arrived from the north, Panna. I haven’t won a game yet and only in the first couple of games did I put up a decent showing against Manu but I sure have enjoyed playing and watching some of the other heated battles. Mehi, a local yoga guy, and Manu have quite the entertaining duels but I think Mehi, who usually loses, should play a little slower than he does (you would think that the yoga would instil that in him).
Mehi and Manu dueling it out:
Manu finishing me off:
Two of my favourite guys in the Garden are the waiters: Ram and Pinku. Very fun and always smiling despite the long hours they put in. I’ve been learning most of my rudimentary Hindi from them. Then there is Ramesh and Sanju, the cooks. Ramesh is always interested in what I’m doing or wanting to look at photos. Sanju, a tall smiling fellow who is often standing behind a large clay oven, slapping naan into the inside walls to cook them. His mannerisms and smile remind me of my good friend Dave Burke back in Victoria. Another tall fellow is Raj, who manages the dozen huts out the back. I just found out yesterday that they are in fact two separate companies or owners but it is a healthy symbiotic relationship.
Ramesh and Pinku teaching me Hindi:
Happy Sanju:
A quiet Olive Garden:
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