April 11, 2024
Settling back into the flow of Varkala. Not a hard task.
The crowds are much less than in February. It’s low season. The only busy times are friday to monday, the weekend crowd, then holidays. Yesterday was Eid, Muslim holiday, so the cliff and the beach were packed with families and hoardes of young men. 
The lifestyle here suits me. I feel at home. There is a slow pace that is such a huge contrast from the west. Still the hustle, but it doesn’t permeate everything. Underneath the busyness is a calm. Easy to stay tapped into that energy and enjoy the peace of everyday life.
I have been up early mornings, onto the beach for long walks, before the sun comes over the cliff. It is a quiet time of day, not so many people out and usually there is a bit of a breeze off the sea.
One needs to be out before 7 AM to feel the coolness in the air, by 8 AM it’s heating up!
The beach dogs are always hanging around, in hopes of treats, and/or pats.
Quite a few have collars these days, so someone has taken them in. I think they just know where to go to get extra snacks!
I wanted to take these two cuties home:)
I always stop for a fresh juice at my favourite shop, before my trek back to my room.
A “beer” mug filled to the brim. Watermelon juice 40 RPS = 60 cents!!! Got to get my fill before I come back to exorbitant fruit prices! Not really looking forward to that part.
I spend my days, mostly on my own, cautiously soaking up the sun (I got a very burnt nose and forehead last week) The comment from one young friend when she saw me “Oh Sasha now pink colour!” HaHa. Not the look I was going for!
I make my rounds each day short visits to Arya’s Spices to say hi to the lovely couple there and have my juice, then past the Maria’s Salon for a little visit, on to see Krishna and Ayesha, shopkeepers whom I have known for quite a few years, and lastly a little visit with Ikram, the young man who lent me the rupees when I first arrived.
All soulful people and a pleasure to sit and chat with.
I am loving every hot, sweaty, sacred moment and I can hardly believe that it is only fifteen days til I leave Varkala on the long journey home.
This place has embedded itself in my heart. I know without a doubt that I will return.
