And relax (ed)

Colva. Goa. Colva. Goa. *sigh*.

Came face to face with some wild boars a few minutes after leaving the internet cafe day before yesterday. They were pretty un-wild. Saw lots more yesterday and today in Colva and the cutest ever baby wild boars. Boarlets?

So. Yesterday was interesting. Am still utterly blissed out but things took a strange turn yesterday. The whole of Colva went on strike. Everything was shut. Every shop. Every restaurant. Only food places in hotels and those along the beach were open. Barricades were put up. Tyres were burned. Nothing with four wheels was allowed in or out. The tension in the air was frightening.

Why?

Blasphemy!

Freedom of speech isn't alive or kicking in Goa and neither will musician dude be if the locals get to him before the police do.

In a nutshell - for people who can't be arsed to open the link - and the 'facts' of the article aren't exactly the same as the facts I've heard around the village:

Musician dude released a cd singing about a local priest being indiscrete and also bad-mouthing the local head of police and a local politician. Musician dude is, apparantly, protected by some other politicians so, one version says, he CANNOT be arrested. Another version says the police don't know where he is.

The priest got angry and declared the church shut. The village got angry. They burned down the dude's house and put an effigy of him on a lamp post. The tension in the evening yesterday was incredible. Really strong. People were almost totally silent. If you've been to India, you know how loudly Indian people generally talk. Imagine a silent mob. It sent shivers up my spine.

The streets were eery. Normally they are busy with taxis and buses coming and going. Shopkeepers calling people into their shops. Instead it was ghost town like.

Imagine the witch hunts you see in movies where the locals want to hand out their own brand of justice and set off with their pitch-forks / rifles. It felt like that.

This morning the strike was over. Musician guy is still at large. Apparantly he's still definitely in the village. How that is known I have no idea. The police are being given two days to arrest the guy or people go on strike again / go looking for him themselves.

Eesh.

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So yesterday was certainly different. I walked. I read. I ate. I drank. I enjoyed. Not really so different for me. The sun isn't so bright. It's a little overcast but I've got a tan and if it was hotter I'd probably not be so content. It's warm enough. Dipping my toes into the warm sea and feeling the warm sand between my toes - how could I not be content?

I started chatting to an English couple yesterday along the beach. Nattered for quite a while before they invited me to join them and some friends they were meeting for lunch. It was nice but I was happy to get away and settle back down with my book again.

Since I left India last year I've not read a book for pleasure. It's all been diploma related stuff. Am blissed out now. Have been here 2.5 weeks (I think!) and am half way through my 7th book. AM BLOODY LOVING IT!

Today I walked my socks off! Went strolling along the endless coast and didn't stop for ages, apart from a brief coffee break. Loved it! Perfect peacefulness. Not many people were along the way. The main sound was the ocean. I practiced breathing and focusing on the sea. Nothing else. Happiness.

I feel so relaxed. It took me a while to figure out but the tension I've felt ALL YEAR is gone. Quite a feeling.

Thing is, I don't know how long I would be able to stay here without getting bored, but right now these few days are absolutely perfect, and I get to leave BEFORE I get the chance to get bored.

There's a LOT of middle-aged European couples around which is strange for me. I haven't really seen any middle-aged European couples in a LONG time. There seems to be a lot from the north of England too. They talk about bringing ketchup and branston pickle with them. I don't think they leave the beaches but I hear them talking about how adventurous they are being by not going to costa del (insert your own spanish costa here). I guess they are. But then most of the food you could find in restaurants in England, you can find here. Just cheaper. But each to their own. As long as they are happy.