Rajani and Rajiv (in his glory)
Goa is the only state in India that wasn't settled by the British. It was settled by the Portuguese and so there is a lot of Portuguese influence in the architecture, music and religion - hence the large population of Roman Catholics and their cathedrals. Our first stop was to one such cathedral,
and then we went to the High Court of Bombay where Rajani practices law.
After that, we went up to this beautiful overlook called Dona Paula and absorbed the beauty of the Indian Ocean.
On our way back to the car, we saw a tiny, starving street puppy. Rajani - the animal lover - stopped and bought some biscuits to feed it. She's really the first person I've seen even acknowledge the street dogs.
We stopped at an ATM to get some cash and for some reason, my card was retained. It wasn't supposed to have expired until March 1. I have to go back to the bank tomorrow and can hopefully recover it.
We met up with some of the Goa Rotarians for lunch and I just had a little bit of rice. My stomach is still quite queasy from yesterday's escapades. In fact, I had my first bout of diarrhea since I got here. It probably was the Gobi Manchurian. And the booze.
I think we're leaving again around 5:30 to do more sight-seeing and to visit a beach. Rajani wants to take us to a club tonight, but I think I will skip it. Clubs aren't really my scene and I just don't feel 100%
I dunno. Goa is definitely beautiful, but it feels like when we left Hubli - we left India. I really feel like I'm in another country. Which is okay. But for me, it's been more about the beauty and the hearts of the people in India and less about the vacation aspect. It's cool though. It was kind of like my first trip to Sedona: even though I went on to Tucson and California afterwards, for me, the trip seemed to end when I left the beautiful people I met in Sedona.
If I could, I think I would go back and spend the remaining days here in Gadag. I got a text message from Mohan this morning via Rajiv's phone. He wanted to let me know that I was always welcome to come back to India and stay with his family. God, I would love to come back with Wolf someday.
I can't believe I'm homesick for a place I've only just been to! I dunno... maybe I haven't just been there this one time. Maybe Poonam was right the very first time we met, when she said she felt like she already knew me. I can't explain this - it's like Sedona all over again. That familiarity... as if I'd been there before. I miss my "family" so much it's tearing my heart out. What the hell?
Man, my stomach feels really crappy. Maybe I'll try to sleep for a little bit.