One of our main draws to southern India was to see the infamous backwaters of Kerala, where the sea stretches inland creating an endless series of channels and canals. We met a couple of other Americans and lazily drifted along in a canoe enjoying a soundtrack of Hindu chanting as it echoed through the canals from a nearby temple in celebration of a holy day. The guide made stops for us to see coconut twine making, wooden canoe construction, and a small spice plantation—the backbones of business along the backwaters. Hoping to catch Amma (The Hugging Mother) at her ashram and receive one of her infamous darshan hugs, we spent a night there on our way north, surprised to find out that not only was she not there, but that the schedule was quite loose and currently lacking any yoga. I did, however, score a great deal of sandalwood beads for a fair price in the ashram shop. Another 5 lazy hours on a ferry headed north, drifting and napping through rice fields at sunset had me longing for another beach. We finally made our way to Gokarna, our final destination where we planned to park for a few days on Om Beach. This was meant to be our official downtime with no schedules, obligations, or travel. Perhaps the laziest beaches in India, here you’ll find nearly deserted, beautiful shoreline fringed with thatched and mud huts for a buck a night, and activity that doesn’t exceed leaving a hammock. Needless to say I got a lot of reading done, yoga, a few shades added to my tan, and spent a great deal of time impersonating seaweed on the churning waves. There was a perfect point for meditation on a peninsula overlooking the sea doubled with prime viewing of the school of dolphins below. In celebration of the full moon, we enjoyed a very inspirational music meditation to FSOL’s “Lifeforms” album (what else), but didn’t make it until the am to see the lunar eclipse.

Now we’ve returned safely to our base in Anjuna feeling refreshed and grateful for the many colors of India we had the opportunity to see. Having missed our “home” in Goa a little, we already have a list of all our favorite spots serving unmatchable fruit juices and lassis that we have to visit. Once again we now look toward the future we are trying to create with renewed inspiration and a journal of new experiences.