The Lost View

The Home Journey

It was a long and tedious journey back to Lund but it all worked well, no delays. The Ambassador crashing down the dark highway to Trivandrum, standing in line at the airport, trying to sleep in the old Airbus to Bahrein. The flight to London had a full entertainment system and I got to see A Country For Old Men and Lakeview Palace. The former OK but the latter pretty bad. Our bags were already in place when we reached the baggage claim belt in Copenhagen. It must be a world record. All and all it took a little more than 24 hrs to travel from Odayam to Lund. Breakfast at McDonalds in Bahrein. The happy mechanic Santa Claus' we saw on our way to India had been changed to Arabic fishermen. Only water in London. Alice was motion sick most of the time but endured. She got some relief on the flight from London when she fell asleep, exhausted.

The Final Days

The final days and saying goodbye to the people we have gotten to know during this month: Niklas and Shah, Dr Sheikh, the yoga teachers, the staff at Kattil, Paella and Blue Water, and the final affternoon swim in the warm ocean. Alice and Anna made henna patterns on their hands while Esbjörn bought a small Ganesha statue.

Swimming, eating, sleeping, spending

Swimming, eating, sleeping, spending our savings... I've already stated my mind about going back to Lund but the kids are looking forward to it.

No consolation

No special events to report today. At least not yet. Thubten and his friend left for Kollam early this morning to catch the backwater tour boat to Allepey. Went swimming in the morning. The ocean water is warm, offering no consolation in the heat. I think I'll eat tiger prawns tonight.

Village Life

Yesterday was cloudy, even with a little drizzle in the evening. To be honest it was a relief from the usual heat. The ocean continues to rise and the waves are reaching all the way up to the breaker in most places. Thubten arrived in the late afternoon; from the intense city life of Bangalore to the slow village life in Odayam. It was good to see him again. Today followed the swim - lunch -sleep - Cliff to do internet and eat - routine. I guess there was a moment of excitement when we discovered that an insect had found a home on top of Alice's head. Not a tick but a small green-yellow bug. We went over to the doctor and he removed it. So now there will be no swimming until it heals. A friend of Thubten came up from Kovalam where he runs a shop and tomorrow they're going up to the backwaters and on to Cochin where he is catching a flight to Delhi.I'm starting to dread our return to the winter and to the hard work in Lund. It would be so good just to stay in India forever. Anna seems so healthy and happy here.

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