A trip along the beach took us to a fleet of shipping boats- it was one of these occasions where you say, "let's just get to that next corner, and see what's around it". These are the best kind of walks. We passed a baba (holy man) in bright orange, utterly still, meditating as the sun set. As we approached the pretty boats the fishermen waved, and came up to us. Some of the younger boys asked for pens which we exchanged for a handful of peanuts.
On our way back we found a large dead turtle washed up on the shore. In the distance it looked turtle shaped but we couldn't believe it until we got closer; his shell was broken and his eyes shut tight. Poor thing. We half expected him to trundle off back to the waves. But no, not him, not this turtle!
On another day we all piled into a taxi and took a one hour drive to Murudeshwar, where there is a Hindu temple and a giant statue of Shiva, who sits amongst the hills in meditation. To convey the scale: we were probably no bigger than one of his toes! He has a beautiful, serene expression and in the evening the stone looks blue. There were several other impressive statues; one of a chariot pulled by four horses and another depicting a banyan tree under which sat Shiva and his son, Ganesh.
No comments:
Post a Comment