Goa saved us

All we can say about Goa is that it saved us...it truly has saved us! This place is amazing...like no other place here on earth...well at least no other place that I have seen yet. It is the marriage of palm tree lined beaches, every shade of green foliage covered mountians and rain forests with every imaginable bird sound one can think of...so its a polygamist's marriage, but you get the idea. We have not updated the blog in a few days, but not because we have been too busy. In fact, we have been doing nothing but relaxing and walking only from our beachfront hostel that is painted lime green on the outside and marigold yellow on the inside to the same shop to buy water and 10 rupee tiger biscuits for the dogs (as we have both become dog whisperers and have a pack that follow us around all day) then to the beach, which is less than 1/2 a kilometer from the hostel. Sometimes, there is no beach to speak of, as the tide have rushed in so far and the monsoon is relentless. Previously, I did speak about my weather prowess, but I have had to give up this title, as well..as I suck to be quite honest. The sky can be white, black, grey, even a tiny bit powder blue and the rain will hit without warning. Also, the rain can pound down for minutes nad then stop for hours or, like today it can just rain and rain and rain. Like Forrest Gump said...there is fat rain, sideways rain, little stinging needles in the face rain, slow rain, drizzle, etc...We have experienced it all and yet it just adds so much charm to this magical place. So, now for some stories...I think it is only right to start with the story in which I stepped in what could have been dog or cow poop (it was orange) while walking on the beach. So, let me paint the picture of me walking next to the model, otherwise known as Alex, in her bikini with her tan and tattoos looking all hot and there I am in my full piece bathing suit, pale skin and a smile! I am sucking in that tummy hard trying to look as cool as possible next to Alex and I look down wondering why my left foot is orange and this strange substance would not come off when I shook my foot...then we both suddenly realized that it was poop...oh the laughter from the locals as I desparately ran into the sea to wash it off...needless to say, I did not look cool and have just given up my attempts to have any sort of street cred and will just leave that to Alex, as it comes quite naturally to her. I do get to be the sidekick of a very cool traveller and that is enough for me! Playing in the sea is like risky death defying fun, as the currant beneath the ocean surface is so strong that before you know it, you have been sucked so far out and so far down the length of the beach that you have to run a marathon to get back to your mildewy towels, but what a rush it is! We also brought a frisbee, which is too much fun, but I am not that sporty as we all know so this is more of a game of toss and retrieve. Dogs here do not really like to play fetch, they just like to follow you around and lay by your towels or the entrances to the shops and resturants you go into waiting for you to return. It makes leaving this dream place all the more heartbreaking. Alex wants me to empty my backpack and take a few with us, but I don't think that is appropriate...I always ruin the fun! We met these two English women the other day who came to visit Goa on vacation and felt so connected to these animals that they moved here and opened the Goa Animal Welfare Trust (www.gawt.org) and they take dogs/cats from the beach, spay/neuter them and give them meds or any medical treatment they need and either try to adopt them out or bring them back to the beach. They clip a tiny piece of their left ear to mark that they have been treated so that they know which ones have received help. We went to visit their rescue facility today on our scooter (I will talk about the scooter in a moment) and it was amazing. We spent about 3 hours there with all of the cats, kittens, dogs, puppies, and baby cow (well, calf). The two women were out on an emergency, as a dog had been shot in the face and his eye was hanging out (their words, not ours), but we are going back tomorrow morning to walk some dogs and just hang out and chat with these amazing women. Mom, Wendy Sarah, you MUST check out this website and make donations! It is truly the most amzing animal rescue facility we have seen and they need support. You can actually donate money and "adopt" an animal that they will keep in their home forever...there are no cages and they just get to roam free. It is beautiful! Now for the scooter...you all know me...as Julia Roberts says, "I'm a safety girl," and yes, I am. However, I wrestled with myself over these past 23 days and I figured if families of 5, including small children and newborns ride these things, then surely I can too. Also, after the poop on the foot at the beach incident, I had much street cred to recoup, so I caved. If ever I should have let my guard down and be free, it was today with the scooter. I cannot explain the feeling, as we rode through the streets of South Goa getting lost in various villiages and the rain forest. The wind in our faces felt so freeing, until the monsoon hit and the stinging needles of rain began to hit us relentlessly, but did we give up...NO! Afterall, the Jew in me did remember that we rented this bugger until 7pm for 200 rupee and we were going to get our 2 pound 80 pence worth G-d Damni it! It did become a bit dnagerous for Al, as she was driving so we eventually took respite at the little resturant below our hostel for a warm cup of masala chai...a sweet creamy tea like drink that is warm and spicey and goes down a right treat when one is water logged and soaked to the bone. The rain has just let up and we must get back on the scooter to enjoy the last hour we have on this amazing piece of machinery and then we will tuck into a lovely chees and tomato pizza cooked in a brick oven then off to our beachfront resturant for nutella/banana crepes and the football...go England and America! It will be with a very heavy heart that we say goodbye to this place in 2 days time, but we plan to come back after our yoga retreat and explore the north of Goa where Sue and John (Alex's mom and step dad) go on their holiday...I think it might differ slightly from the 7 pound a night accommodation we are used to...what do you think?