I admit I was very sad when Kurtis left - my heart felt like it was ripped out when he turned away and got into the rickshaw. Kovalam was a place to regroup, nurse a cold, and have a few moments to remind me of the magic of India and the wonders of traveling alone.
While Kurtis was there he wondered into a man's art studio/shop and with in minutes we absolutely fell in love his him and his work. Raju was his name. We spent a lot of hours there and money:) and Raju inspired us with Ideas and inspired Kurtis to do even more art. When Kurtis left I spent lots of time at Raju's shop were he offered my a safe and warm place to shed a tear, told me jokes, shared stories, invited me to his families home, and always greeted me with a warm smile and made sure i was happy each day. He still stays in touch with me, makes sure I am safe, and we may meet up in March for the festival of colors in Pushkar where his family is. He is a blessing!
I met another women in the labriynth walkways behind kovalam beach who had a beauty shop. I sat and talked with her and her friend for a while about our new president. It was the night of the innaugriation and she invited me to her home to watch it. I later went to her house by motorbike about 6 miles away and she took me down to this beautiful lake with her 2 young and beautiful boys to watch the sunset. We skipped stones and talked about different types of cars and biikes and boolywood movies and hollywood stars and food. I walked through the village and was quickly surrounded by MANY villagers shaking my hand, handing me flowers, and asking me questions. There were farms of unique vewgetables of all colors and big poster boards of the villages favorite bollywood star. WILD. Later her husband came home and we all chatted and ate chips and bread and jelly and sprite (special occasions call for special food). He was Estatic to have a women from America sit in his home. They really wanted me to spend the night but I prefered to go back to my hotel mainly because I felt a cold coming on and needed a good night sleep. I did not go back and visit like I thought I would BUT if I return to Kovalam beach ever I will!
The last day I ate some fruit under a umbrella on the beach that I bought from the local fruit ladies. I sat there and a little girl of one of the shop owners came and sat with me. we have randomly been playing with eachother here and there in the past few days. I brought her a little salad and we sat and played silly games with eachother. I was reminded once again how much I love children and I have decided to try to start visiting schools and orphanages while I am traveling and keeping a journal of it.
I wondered out of the tourist bubble on the last day and went to the other beach for sunset. Though I would get my feet wet for the next day travels back into the real world. It was were all the Indian tourist go. I shook some hands and had my photo taken along the way. I found a spot and watched three women play in the water joyfully as the sun fell into the arabian sea. they were like teenage girls experiencing the touch of water, the sound of the ocean for the first time, and tickled by its energy. A women sat next to me and told me they were sisters. We talked the few words we had in common. I was suprised later to find out that the women were all at least 45. It made my heart smile to see how youthful they were and how they loved each other soooo much. It made me think of all the beautiful women in my life and how strong we all are and how important it is no matter what life brings you to play and have fun. Later a man that was traveling wiht all the women told me i was luky because women in India are not allowed to travel alone. I AM LUCKY!!!!
Once again.....thanks for reading.
More Later:)
