Not much exciting to report, we've just been spending the last few days lounging on the beautiful Arambol beach in Goa. Food is amazing here, the past two days we've started our days in style with a delicious breakfast of eggs, hash-brown potatoes, toast, and an avocado salad, with fresh juice or a lassi (yogurt-like beverage) to drink. All that costs 90 rupees, or $2. Their are a multitude of Western-style restaurant/bars right along the beach, with umbrellas and chairs to use during the day and outside tables with a view for the immaculate sunsets we are watching nightly. We've switched hotels once so far, saving 50 rupees and escaping some semi-rude neighbors in the process, though last night's cockroach attack was almost enough to make us re-think our decision! Our current place is surprisingly cool during the day though, which was a welcome change, and is a mere 100 meters from the beach, though we have to weave through a animal-filled alley, which so far has been filled with dogs, a cat, an entire family of wild pigs, and a bull or two. Animals roam wherever they please throughout India, but along the beach they seem to have the run of things, looking well-fed, and at sunset the bulls will often playfully clash, until dogs start barking at them and chasing them around.
There is an abundance of things to buy here, with the beach literally infested with sales people, mostly selling necklaces, tapestries, and our personal favorite ear cleanings. Fortunately things are so calm and peaceful, that the sales pitches' are not too obnoxious. The waves are perfect for body-surfing in the afternoon, similar to Varkala in height (1-2 meters), though there is no sandbar here, instead the land is pretty flat, with little change in depth (around 1 meter) even as far out as 100 meters. Anderson has been playing some football in the afternoon, as impromptu matches have sprung up on most days, though reading has been our main beach-side entertainment. The nightlife here is actually surprisingly limited, Goa's days of partying hedonism are more memory than reality these days, as government restrictions force the bars to stop playing loud music rather promptly at 10 pm. Not to say that people aren't still out well past midnight, there just aren't the crazy super raves of the mid-90s anymore. Nonetheless we are enjoying Goa very much, the local drink of fenni (distilled from the coconut tree) is quickly becoming our favorite beverage. The seafood here has also been up to our expectations, though the traditional Goan dish of prawn-stuffed calamari is without a doubt our favorite thus far. However, in all fairness, we have yet to try the massive tiger prawns that are indubitably going to appear in one of our next few dinners!