Goin to Goa!

I survived my very first lone taxi ride! And he only ripped me off 10 rupees, which is like 20¢...no biggie. I negotiated him down and was satisfied with the price. When we arrived he tried to go with the first price but I held on to my bills until he had all the change out! The bus I booked was a sleeper which meant I had a bed. It's a bit small but I can lie down which is great. The bus was stifling as it sat on the curb waiting for passengers. What a relief when they turned the air on in the bus......until it was painfully cold. I had to dig my bag out to get 2 jackets! And I was still chilly! I slept pretty well and every time I woke up I saw something interesting outside my window....a hilly landscape, mud huts, slums.....very diverse.

We arrived and I stepped off the bus into a crowd of people hollering "taxi! Scooter! Rickshaw!". I walked away, forcefully, and found the local bus going to Vagator. No problem at all. I found my hostel with ease and they invited me to breakfast. Since I was early for check in, I sat on cushions placed on the floor in front of a huge door open to the forest outside. It's lovely. After check in I wandered down to the beach. I passed shops where ladies yelled at me to come inside. I declined and found myself looking at a beautiful quiet beach. I walked along, enjoying the surf splashing my ankles. Looking over I saw cows grazing......wait cows? Yep, cows roaming the beach, several of them. I'm pretty sure I even saw a man sharing his lunch with one. I strolled through the sand enjoying the sun. I got asked to pose for pictures, this time with a group of young guys....kind of weird but whatever. I really love the sound of the ocean, the waves gently lapping the shore. I could get used to this!

I sat on a rock enjoying the waves, the sand and the sun when a butterfly came fluttering over my shoulder. It looked like a Monarch, maybe an Indian version, but smaller. It danced around in front of me before coming to rest on the rock near where I sat. I looked away for a moment, searching for my camera, and when I looked it was gone. In the blink of an eye this beautiful reminder had vanished into thin air........I'm happy to know I'm being looked after.