Yesterday Naomi and I had a lazy morning, eating our last brunch at the Fernandez restaurant on the beach before our pre-arranged taxi (from Chili’s Guesthouse in Arambol) would pick us up to go back north. The driver arrived a couple of hours early as he had a late afternoon run to the airport for another client to do but we weren’t immediately aware of this fact and initially took our time eating our meal until I received a call from Raphael at Chili’s asking if we were ready to go yet. Both Naomi and I were reluctant to leave paradise but it had to be done.
Naomi wishing to stay in Palolem:
Yes, it is paradise...
The drive back was uneventful apart from the fact that we hit a bus! Our young driver, Arun, was trying to pull around a bus that had stopped on the road and he simply misjudged the size of the car. We clipped the back bumper of the bus with the front left side of the car. It wasn’t a major impact by any means but he simply backed up and then proceeded around the bus as many heads popped out of the windows to see what was going on. Naomi and I were both a bit shocked that Arun didn’t even bother to check out what damage there was to the car nor talk to the bus driver. The bus bumper was pushed in a bit but nothing big however we both remarked that had this happened in our home countries that there would probably be an exchange of phone numbers and insurance information etc. However sometimes keeping it simple is sometimes much easier and makes a whole lot more sense. When we finally arrived in Arambol a few hours later, I checked out the front of the car and all that had happened was that some of the black bumper of the bus was now smeared across the large curved headlight cover...no biggie.
Taxi boogeying:
Well now to today. September 30th is my birthday as well as my stepmother Nola’s and this happened to be a big one for both of us...I’m turning 40 and she 65 (we shared our 25th and 50th which was pretty cool). Nola is spending her big day in New York City with her two daughters and her sister Bernice. I hope she has a fantastic time...and I’m sure she will.
As for me, it’s fantastic that Naomi is here to share my big day with me. There are also a few others around Arambol that I have gotten to know over the past few months so it’s great I won’t be alone to celebrate cracking into my fourth decade on this beautiful planet.
The day started lazily followed by brunch on the beach at 21 Coconut’s. Since Naomi has arrived, the monsoon has broken and no rain has fallen (much to her dismay as it’s been really hot in Israel and she was looking for a reprieve from the heat). We sat with a German fellow Peter who has been in Arambol throughout the monsoon season and I’ve spent some time with and also an English woman Natalie who has been around for the past couple of weeks. Peter’s an interesting fellow in his mid 50s, an ex-hippie (I think) with silver hair and a strong belief in conspiracy theories. He spent the 80s driving a big colourful bus around Nepal for other budget travelers so you can imagine that he’s got some stories.
Naomi snapped this lovely picture of Seona, the daughter of Derek and Caffena from Chillies Guesthouse:
My birthday brunch with Israeli Naomi, German Peter and English Natalie:
Following brunch Naomi and I ventured up to the main street to check out getting massages. Unfortunately they only had masseurs and no masseuses so Naomi wasn’t interested and I wasn’t terribly bothered either. The weather was looking flyable so I decided to head up the ridge to see if I could get a birthday flight.
Walking along Arambol beach you never know what you'll see:
The Olive Garden restaurant being resurrected:
I strapped on my neglected paraglider (only used 3 times in the last 3 months) and hiked up the small, close hill that faces Sweet Water Lake. The wind was fairly strong and after my last flight there where I spent more time picking my wing out of a bush than flying, I decided to hike down to the Sweet Water beach and back up the main ridge as the launch areas there are much larger and would be more suitable for a strong wind launch, especially unassisted. For all the time I’ve spent in Arambol, surprisingly I’ve never hiked up the small hill, down again and back up the main one...so I was getting a birthday work out...testing these “new” 40 year old legs.
On the main ridge I first set up on the west launch but after a few attempts I realized that the wind had a north component to it so I moved to what’s called the “Russian Launch”. This is where the fun really started. I spent about an hour trying over and over to launch. If someone had been there to anchor me I don’t think it would have been a big deal but instead every time I brought up my wing I’d have to run quickly back or even be pulled back away from the cliff edge and sometimes even popped up a few feet in the air before the leading edge of the paraglider would fold under from the rotor (turbulence) of the wind. It was quite the workout. On any other day I probably would have packed up the wing and hiked down the hill but I really wanted to fly on my 40th.
Finally I got the wing up cleanly and was only pulled back 15 meters from the cliff face. As I maximized my loading and minimized my braking I inched forward and took to the air before I reach the edge. Off I went...and wow was I happy. The eagles that had been looking down at me with disdain during my hour long ordeal were now my partners in the air. A few of them flew quite close to me and one even brought a fish to celebrate my birthday with me...but he didn’t share, he just tucked his head down and took the odd peck from his catch as he soared through the sky. I only flew for half an hour but just before I left the main ridge some monkeys showed up on some rocks below to also wish me a happy birthday...how thoughtful of them.
I crossed Sweet Water beach and then hung out above the small ridge for about five minutes before heading to land near the beach restaurant called Cock’s Town (just a couple of doors down from the Olive Garden, which hasn’t reopened yet but Manu and a few of the staff are working on getting ready). I had told Naomi to hang out there to wait for me and expected her to have her camera ready but alas...she didn’t. Sadly my HD camera’s battery was dead too so I have no pics of my birthday flight but believe me when I say it was well worth the price of admission!
I sat down with Naomi and had a post flight beer as we watched the sun set. I was in such a good mood that I actually even bought a little necklace and a couple of colourful pens from a lamani (beach seller) Jessica whom I’ve met before. It was my first time in many months at Arambol buying something from a lamani but Jessica lives in Arambol, as opposed to many who come from other states just for the season, and her humour and smile won me over.
That evening Naomi had arranged for a dinner at a recently opened restaurant called Om Star. I dined at this restaurant once last season as the crazy old French woman Penny had mentioned that it was the best place to have steak in Arambol but when my English paramotor friend Deano and I had ventured there they had none and we dined on fish.
But tonight was different. They had reserved this big chill out table for us (the type where you sit on the floor with many cushions and the table is all of a foot and a half high). I wondered and worried whether we would actually be able to fill this large table as we hadn’t let anyone know of my birthday until the last minute and as I previously mentioned, there aren’t too many close friends of mine in Arambol at the moment. However, thanks to the social butterfly of German Pete, who not only mustered up a number of people to come and celebrate, he even commandeered the restaurant’s sound system and played some great tunes.
Okay, the birthday boy is here ready to party:
Seriously I am!
There was a Russian couple, Taras and Tata, whom I’d met a few months before for dinner at the “Mandala”, a house owned by an English fellow Angus that Pete house sat for a while. Manu from the Olive Garden came along with his new right hand man Sonu. Another mid-50s guy from England, Dave, showed up for a brief period. I’ve been helping him automate some Excel accounting spreadsheets over the last month. Natalie and another older English fellow Phil and his French partner Carmen arrived. I met a new young fellow from Colorado named Scott and chatted with him for quite some time. The food was great and the drinks were flowing...what a great evening! Thanks for organizing it Naomi.
My good friend, the manager of the Olive Garden Manu and his new right hand man Sonu:
Some new friends, Sergey and Niraj:
It must be an interesting conversation:
Another new friend, American Scott:
My awesome birthday cake:
So “Lordy Lordy, look who’s forty!” It’s not so bad...40’s the new 30 don’t you know!
No comments:
Post a Comment