Welcome to Varkala Beach (Day 40 of our world trip)

14th October 2019

Well, the power outage yesterday evening wasn't the only one: D. The power went out not only at our place but also at our neighbors' five or six times. It's pretty cool when you open the door and literally see darkness: D

But by the time we went to bed, the power was stable again, so we could sleep without melting, thanks to the fan :)

We woke up as usual at 7:30 am this morning. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in buying bread yesterday, so we had to ration our remaining four slices of toast for breakfast: D

After getting up, we did yoga for about 30 minutes for the first time since Rishikesh. Then we did Thera-band exercises for almost an hour (by the way, the new bands from Decathlon are perfect for Jonas :)). And then, yes, we could each have two slices of toast for breakfast :p I had chocolate spread and Jonas finished the jam. But I also took three cookies, just to be safe: D

After a late breakfast, we went out to the promenade and this time we took the camera with us. The promenade is cute with its shops where you can buy mainly hippie clothing and accessories like Tibetan bracelets or wooden carved elephants. Every second or third building is a hotel, cafe or an Ayurveda shop, so walking there is always accompanied by many "No, thank you" ;-)

After about 100 meters, I started to complain because it was so hot and humid: D You barely had to move and because of the palm trees, there's mostly shade on the promenade. And there's a gentle breeze from the sea. Still, it was quite intense for me! I have to get used to this tropical climate, because it won't be any cooler in our future destinations in India: O Jonas loves the climate, even though he sweats just as much as I do. He simply enjoys it:)

The goal of our walk was to find the surf school that we had read about on the Internet. Eventually, the promenade came to an end and we didn't find it. According to Google, we had walked past it. So when we turned back, we actually found a "sign" written on a stone with the name of the surf school. Next to this sign was a construction site. It looked like a storm had blown off the roof and now there were Indians in skirts sitting on the remaining beams, apparently repairing it. Quite promising: D :D

A man with a mobile phone approached us. He seemed to know the operators of the surf school and tried to call them, but unfortunately without success. Instead, we got a mobile number that we could contact. Okay! :)

The surf school has its own website, which states that the two surf instructors are just two guys who love surfing. It doesn't seem like a "company," but that's also part of the appeal. When we later contacted them on WhatsApp, everything was easy (except for a few misunderstandings due to language barriers :D). But it seems that we will be picked up from our hostel the day after tomorrow at 7:20 am and both of us will go surfing for the first time! :O<3

Originally, we wanted to do a whole week, but maybe we'll see how we like the first day first ;-)

At the end of the walk, we went to Joshi's supermarket, where we couldn't get any bread yesterday. The cashier waved us in very cheerfully and proudly showed me that he now had toast. Two packs! ;-) Since we don't know when we will get bread again (which is essential for our breakfast), we took both packages. Maybe a bit selfish, but oh well. He successfully sold his toast to us! :)

After a small lunch with the new bread and peanut butter, we got ready for the beach!

As we had seen from the promenade, there is a small stone staircase leading down to the beach, which is clean and quite wide. However, the water itself is quite wild. There is a strong current, and after just three or four steps, you are up to your shoulders in the water. It's super fun to stay there and be pushed back and forth by the waves: D But it's also a bit exhausting because you always have to make sure you don't drift too far away... Anyway.

The water is also really warm, but not as warm as last year in Thailand. But you could theoretically stay in the water for hours without getting cold. There is a bit of trash in the water, as can happen anywhere else. So you can really enjoy your time there :)

We frugal people just sat/lay on our towels on the sand, even though a friendly man offers sunbeds and umbrellas. When we arrived around 1-2pm, we were the only tourists lying in the sun. But we applied sunscreen several times and actually didn't get sunburned!! Yay! :D

We were back at the hostel around 4 pm, and after showering, we went back to the Nepalese restaurant. As we walked there for 5 minutes, it was completely quiet outside. It was the literal "calm before the storm." We reached the restaurant, ordered Chicken Biryani (Biryani is a typical dish in South India, consisting of rice and vegetables with additions like chicken) and Momo, a Nepalese dumpling. For drinks, we had freshly squeezed pineapple juice. Shortly after placing the order,

the owner came to us and apologized for the delay, but unfortunately, there was a power outage while he was blending: D

Power outages seem to be quite common here, so we remained calm. A few minutes later, it started to rain heavily and there was thunder and lightning. Since the cafe has a covered terrace that is open on all sides, the tables and chairs were moved to the center of the terrace, but despite the wind, almost everything (including us) got wet, which was actually quite funny: D

By the way, the food was delicious again <3 The chicken was too spicy for me, so I just ate everything around it and left it for Jonas ;-) The momos were also great! I like dumplings anyway, and these were really good :)

While we were eating, the sky gradually cleared up, so we could watch the twilight and the sunset over the sea, and it was so beautiful!!! Even after paying, when there was another lightning and the first thunder, we stayed on the promenade for a few more minutes to take photos :D

Well, today was another super relaxed day. We got to know the beach, made friends with the weather, and are curious about what the next few days will bring :)

Tomorrow, one task is definitely to look for a fruit vendor. The supermarkets on the promenade don't have fresh produce, so we probably have to go into town. It's supposedly a short walk, but we have plenty of time ;-)

Now we're curious how long the power will last today, and if the laundry that we hung up to dry after showering and is now soaked again from the rain, will dry by tomorrow :D