Castaways

Hello! Sorry for the gap in posts but we've just been playing in the ocean and chasing Lee around. The water here is warm, I say just over 80 degrees. There are just enough waves to play in but you don't have to go far out to bob around with the fishes. The water is a crystal clear blue. Lee was pretty unsure of the sea at first. We've been slowly getting closer & closer and today he played in the water just like at the pool. He's still eating his weight in sand which makes for interesting diapers. 

We went into Varkala town looking for a baby hat. The manager of where we are staying sent us to a multi level clothing store much like we had expierenced in Kochi but more like its frumpy sad small cousin. They pulled out a few hats with visors, ball cap style. One said puma on the bill and had a sad excuse for a Nike swoosh on the front with decorative buckles on the sides. It was ridiculous. The clothes here for boys are ridiculous. Lots of English words out of context. We settled on a nice grey cap that says "style star" and "fashion" on it. They brought out a ton of clothes trying to get us to buy something. We saw a salmon colored tank top and short set we couldn't pass up. The top has Mickey Mouse, a monkey and an elephant on the front and says "SARFING" in big letters on the back. The matching shorts say "Eeyore" on them. Hmmmmmm. We're pretty sure sarfing isn't a word but have since dubbed riding in the baby backpack sarfing. Lee had a long day of safring. While Tommy hoists the pack onto his back, "sarf's up!". Well worth the $3 spent on the outfit. We had some lunch at a great local spot, roamed a bit. The area is a bit more depressed, dirty, less friendly. I attribute it directly to the type of tourists that have taken over their town. It's mostly downtrodden seeming dirty, cheap, hippyish travelers roaming the beaches and town. They don't seem to really respect the local customs and as our Kiwi friends put it "seem like lost souls". It's like a bunch of sad 40 year old yoga hippy types are searching for their place in the world and wound up here. Sitting in the western style cafes writing in their journals. Then a few people like us mixed in simply here for vacation and culture. It's an odd scene that's obviously worn on the locals. They still fawn over the baby. We have met a great kiwi family that we first came across in Ft Cochin and are drying right near us here. They are both ICU nurses and have two kids, 6 & 9, and have been traveling through Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and now India for the past 3 months. We have been enjoying lively dinners with them, it been fun to make friends on the road. We have been going to the beach in the morning and evening and a little adventure, tea and cake in between. I've even started reading my book(thus no blog posts). We have two days left and only small plans. It's been a a nice few mellow days. Ok, onto pictures!