It finally happened. We got sick. Part of me thinks this is because we were starting to get proud of our seemingly superior gastrointestinal tracts. Six months in Asia and we had dodged all major illnesses, until Varkala.
We are not sure the source of the ills. But lucky for us, our sickness was staggered. Brandon first and then me. So instead of lying on the beach, soaking up the sun, we were lying in bed. I’ll spare you the details but let me saw that it’s a good thing Indian bathrooms come with a bucket. Despite getting knocked down we both recovered fairly quickly and didn’t need to see a doctor.
Our time in Varkala flew by so we decided to extend our stay five days and cut out Gokarna. We took it easy for a couple more days and then finally spent our last few days exploring.
A parasailer over Varkala beach
Varkala is beautiful. The tourist town is on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea. There are beaches with soft, clean sand, and clear water. The power of the surf was stronger than any I’d been in the past, so I stayed close to the shore.
One of Varkala’s beautiful beaches
The thing we like most about Varkala were the people. When we arrived at our guesthouse, Skylark, we found out the owner, Faith, was from Vashon (an island near Seattle). She went to Evergreen like Brandon and we know people in common. When we went out to Johnny Cools for cake, we met another expat from Portland, OR and chatted for a couple hours. She had just returned from an evening in Trivandrum where she saw Sting and Sir Bob Geldorf perform. The owner of the Juice Shack, Umesh, made great drinks and food, but also struck me as a long lost friend. I met all sorts of people and savored the conversations.
What took a bite out of this banana?
We quickly realized why Varkala sucks people in. It’s a hard place to leave. But as we have less than a month left in India now, we had to say goodbye so we could see more of the country.
