Monday, 10 February
7:45 AM – Iyengar yoga. Only three of us showed up at class. Even the instructors’ number was diminished by half; only the chick turned up. Anya was bright and enthusiastic. Since there were so few of us, she said, we could do harder poses at a faster pace, etc., etc., etc.
And then ten Chinese showed up.
Don’t ask. Long story. But, yes, they were expected.
So ten Chinese showed up for class. With long-sleeved shirts, jackets, hats and cameras. They looked lost, like aliens who weren’t quite sure on which planet they had landed.
Picture the scene: A Russian chick, already struggling with English, trying to teach yoga to ten Chinese – who cannot speak English, but have an “interpreter” who pretends that she can – in India. It was quite surreal.
Suffice it to say that I did not have much exercise this morning. Which is just as well, as I am in massive pain.
By the way, I take back what I said about Max (the male Russian yoga instructor) and Anya. There’s no way that she is his mentor. She seems to be more of a novice at yoga than he is.
12:00 PM – Chai break. Papaya, bananas, and grapes. No chai.
2:00 PM – We ended massage class early because there’s a Kundalini meditation session scheduled at 4 PM at the school. Monica and I grabbed lunch at Cafe Dolphin down the road, where I had a grilled red snapper with lemon butter. No chips, please.
4:00 PM – It turns out that the Kundalini meditation isn’t till Wednesday.
I took this as a sign to have another slice of that wonderful carrot cake at Cafe Delicieux. I practically skipped all the way there. Once there, I was confronted with a freshly baked carrot cake and a leftover slice from yesterday. Which to choose??? I took a gamble and spent my last rupees on a slice of the fresh cake. Of course it wasn’t anywhere close to the one I had yesterday. Remaining stubbornly optimistic, I told the manager to save the leftover slice from yesterday for me while I hoofed it back to my guesthouse for money.
The cake turned out to be yet another waste of time and calories. It was already too dry. (Yes, of course, I still ate it all. Did you really have to ask?)
7:15 PM – I got a text message from Urja. She and Monica (who is staying at Urja’s) want to have dinner at my guesthouse and did I want to join them? I told them I’d sit with them but wouldn’t eat, on account of The Plan. And the two carrot cakes.
8 – 10:00 PM – We had dinner at La Plage instead.
La Plage was the only fancy restaurant in Ashwem-Morjim before and was always an institution in Goa. Eight years ago, our entire massage class treated ourselves to lunch there after we finished our course.
How could I not have dinner there tonight? Well, not only did I have dinner, I had everything carbohydrates. I guess I don’t score any points for ordering from the vegetarian menu.
Starter: Macaroni stuffed with ricotta and fresh herbs, lime leaf and tomato coulis. (290 rs.) It was very citrusy.
Starter: Mango and beetroot carpaccio, coriander and feta. (290 rs.) For my main course, I had a mushroom and spinach risotto with a “tangy red wine reduction” that tasted more like a balsamic reduction. (420 rs.)
I did skip dessert.
(Note: Two appetizers, three mains, and a bottle of red cost only 3000 rs!)
After dinner, we walked along the beach. It was a beautiful, clear night and I wanted to walk barefoot in the sand, but Monica reminded me that we had found a used syringe on the beach yesterday. We ended up somewhere near the massage school and walked back up the road to my guesthouse where Urja had left her motorbike.