Sunday, January 27th

Beach... or something like that

Last night at 7pm I was sitting alone in the yoga hall, waiting for the movie 'Gandhi' with Ben Kingsley from 1982. The IT person was busy installing the computer and projector. 10 minutes later, it still wasn't working and the second person, a German, who had joined me, went to the restaurant. I had planned my dinner accordingly and had already eaten. Good job, Daniela! Smile

At around 7:20pm, the movie started in English with German subtitles. We were 3 guests who witnessed the start of the film. Those who have seen it know that it is quite intense and the images shown often take your breath away... but it also has a few small, but funny scenes that show Gandhi as a humorous person. Since the film is 3 hours long, there was a short break on the DVD. This gave me the opportunity to look around. Oops. In the meantime, there were about 20 guests who had gathered.
An impressive film about an incredibly charismatic man! I really liked it.

Afterwards, I was too tired to read and went to bed straight away. The night was good. Even though I was a little too hot....

Breakfast, consultation, therapy. This time something new: first the obligatory embalming and then I was rubbed with 2 large cotton stamps filled with boiled rice and herbs. The brown cream that stuck to me was rinsed off with water. Then there was another infusion with herbal water. Actually, there should have been a third part, but somehow the ingredients were missing today. I will get them tomorrow. Oh yes, for 2 days now the therapists have to wear face masks! Like in the hospital! Terrible... to look at and they hardly get any air. Apparently, this is a new instruction from the doctors..! Bingo!

After yoga, shower and lunch, I went on a tour through the gardens again. And down to the beach. Today is Sunday and apparently there should be something going on because the locals are there. Well, nothing at all! Except for the tourists, there was nothing to see on the beach. Lonely and kilometers long... I was only there for 20 minutes. Two vendors immediately came up and wanted to sell me various stone figures. Even if I had wanted to, I didn't have my wallet with me. Besides, I didn't feel like bargaining anyway!
There are actually guests who let themselves roast in the blazing sun. I, on the other hand, am still as pale as I was when I arrived. And that's perfectly fine!

After the beach, I lay down in the garden, under a palm tree that provided shade, in the public hammock and read a book. The wind blew softly, the view of the beach and the sea; simply pure relaxation! Except for the red color that I suddenly discovered on myself! Apparently, I wasn't always in the shade after all! So I will come home with a very gentle tan. But first I have to rub in some arnica ointment for the slight burns.

On the way back to the room, I kept stopping and taking pictures of little flowers, insects, or other details. This did not go unnoticed and the gardener approached me. I wanted to book the garden tour this week to get more details about the flora of Kerala. Boom! I was on my way with him. Across the entire property. He explained every herb to me. There are 8 types of papaya here, 4 types of bananas, 3 types of coconuts, and next to my room is a papaya tree over 100 years old! He kept holding leaves, flowers, and fruits under my nose. It's incredible how they smell: curry bush, lemon tree, orange tree, jasmine flowers, frangipani flowers, chili, starfruit, and finally the large jackfruit that we will eat in the restaurant tomorrow. I was also able to taste the rose apples. They don't have a strong flavor, but they are crunchy and refreshing to eat. It was a very exciting tour.