goa sunsets

anj and i are on the fourth day of an intensive 5-day iyengar yoga course (of course she has done a lot of iyengar yoga before, but this is my first true experience with it) in a studio overlooking the beach in arambol, goa. i am definitely feeling the effects of doing 3 hours of aligning poses and inversions and meditation a day. it makes you stand straighter and really bring awareness to your whole body throughout the day. i am feeling very healthy and strong, though i would like to do some ayurvedic cleansing while i am here, to get rid of some of the toxins we naturally build up through our lifestyles.

the beaches and sunsets here are beautiful, and we are meeting so many interesting folks to spend our days with. one friend we met in hampi is staying with us in a shared apartment-like set up, and it has been really incredible how well we get along and enjoy each other's company. people you meet travelling in india generally have an interesting story or twenty to tell.


last wednesday the group of us took a rickshaw down to anjuna, to check out the famed flea market there. we were expecting more people playing music or performing, but it was really just a sprawl of tents with colorful fabrics and every kind of handicraft, jewelry, or trinket you could want to buy. after a few hours we were all exhausted and headed to the beach to watch the sun set and hoop a little.

yesterday we cooked dinner (penne with homemade tomato/pepper/mushroom sauce and feta cheese) with a new friend and had fun checking out his music collection and crazy homemade dj equiptment. he let me play with a vj program that he had (a vj is a person who mixes video, much like a dj) and i realized that i was actually missing working with video so that's probably a good thing.

today we are planning to slather ourselves in mud (supposed to have healing properties), dip in the ocean, and then have a dinner to say goodbye to that same good friend we've been staying with, who is heading back to new york. we have been doing yoga, sharing stories, and just generally bumming around together for over a week and a half now, which is a long time when your time is unstructured and full-on, as it is with travelling.

i have to cut this short, but i am posting many pictures, so make scroll down to see pics from hampi and before and come back to see them from this time. til soon...