From Mike, on the deck of the coco hut:
I can't remember if we mentioned this someplace before, but a couple of days ago I negotiated with a guy to rent a little scooter for three days. Actually, it's not so little at 125 cc's. Anyway, I pretty much use it to scoot down to the wine shop to buy beer. It's a crazy bumpy road for like the first km or so which requires real concentration. If you don't focus on missing big rocks, they can actually throw you off balance. Things get a bit better when the pavement starts, but still there's the cows, the cars, and the pilgrims on foot, all vying for a very narrow lane. I will make my final trip in about twenty minutes, when I finish this blog, and will then--regretfully--hand back the keys to its rightful owner.
Today we went in search of a post office, and ended up getting out on the main road and opening it up a bit. I found myself marveling at the range of landscapes and views. One minute you're taking in a craggy rock cliff, then whiz past a perfectly manicured football (as in soccer) field with a squad of young men arranging themselves for a cricket match. All punctuated by the obligatory cows, trash, pigs, and fish drying on burlap mats in the sun. And each part of the scenery is rich with a myriad of attendant smells.
Just now, as I look out over the railing at the sea and the other huts, I'm smelling wood smoke. This is the smell of evening. Cooking fires primarily. Probably clearing slash for crops as well. Later, it will be the smell of the salt air, coupled with the damp of the night and the burning of incense.
Over lunch today--a simple bowl of seafood noodles for me, veg thali for Rebecca--I realized I was leaning into my bowl and sucking the smell of it into my face. Really hoovering it in. I did the same thing with bites of Rebecca's dal and pumpkin curry. We've kind of taken to eating in silence, too. At first I thought we were just , you know, stupid. Not able to come up with a coherent thought. Then, while eating, it occurred to me we were both engrossed in the flavor, feel, and smell of the food. And let's be frank: we know what each other look like, have to say, and, typically, are thinking. Which might help us to better get a bite of our experience.
OK. I'm off to buy cold Kingfisher and potato chips. Take my last bumpy ride on the scooter. Then we will watch the sun set into the Arabian Sea. I imagine we will be quiet.
I can't remember if we mentioned this someplace before, but a couple of days ago I negotiated with a guy to rent a little scooter for three days. Actually, it's not so little at 125 cc's. Anyway, I pretty much use it to scoot down to the wine shop to buy beer. It's a crazy bumpy road for like the first km or so which requires real concentration. If you don't focus on missing big rocks, they can actually throw you off balance. Things get a bit better when the pavement starts, but still there's the cows, the cars, and the pilgrims on foot, all vying for a very narrow lane. I will make my final trip in about twenty minutes, when I finish this blog, and will then--regretfully--hand back the keys to its rightful owner.
Today we went in search of a post office, and ended up getting out on the main road and opening it up a bit. I found myself marveling at the range of landscapes and views. One minute you're taking in a craggy rock cliff, then whiz past a perfectly manicured football (as in soccer) field with a squad of young men arranging themselves for a cricket match. All punctuated by the obligatory cows, trash, pigs, and fish drying on burlap mats in the sun. And each part of the scenery is rich with a myriad of attendant smells.
Just now, as I look out over the railing at the sea and the other huts, I'm smelling wood smoke. This is the smell of evening. Cooking fires primarily. Probably clearing slash for crops as well. Later, it will be the smell of the salt air, coupled with the damp of the night and the burning of incense.
Over lunch today--a simple bowl of seafood noodles for me, veg thali for Rebecca--I realized I was leaning into my bowl and sucking the smell of it into my face. Really hoovering it in. I did the same thing with bites of Rebecca's dal and pumpkin curry. We've kind of taken to eating in silence, too. At first I thought we were just , you know, stupid. Not able to come up with a coherent thought. Then, while eating, it occurred to me we were both engrossed in the flavor, feel, and smell of the food. And let's be frank: we know what each other look like, have to say, and, typically, are thinking. Which might help us to better get a bite of our experience.
OK. I'm off to buy cold Kingfisher and potato chips. Take my last bumpy ride on the scooter. Then we will watch the sun set into the Arabian Sea. I imagine we will be quiet.
That's love.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to post this, in hopes others will figure it out, and post too. It seems strange to be one of the only "followers".
I had to set up a google (gmail) account to use this. So type in gmail on google, and set up a fake (one that you'll never use for anything else) or a real gmail account. The hardest part is finding a user name that nobody has taken. I'm randomuser14@gmail.com, but I hope to never use that account. Then I used my real name (Jill)I have other gmail accounts, but they are for business, not social. BE SURE to remember your user name and password. You will need this the first time you post on the blog. From then on it'll just show up as Jill (Google), and you can post, then publish. The hardest thing is figuring out the encryption you must retype to prove you are not a robot. If you can't figure it out, click on the round arrow and it'll change it, and you can do that until you can read it.
I hope this isn't insulting in any way…I know Rebecca and Mike would love to read our comments. And somehow these things are not inherently obvious.
Hi, Just caught up with your blogs. Forgot the address. The only thing that stuck in my mind was the SEXellent adventure. Tried Mike's, Rebecca's and combinations of both. You two are doing an Excellent job on these blogs. And...you are certainly more adventurous than I could be. Stay safe an keep up the good work. Love ya', Yer MOM (and Maw)
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