birthday blessings

we awoke today (carson's birthday!) early and ate some street food, watching the people pass by (puri, idly, and sabji, followed by chai of course!) then we walked down to the ghats by the river and were delighted to see lakshmi the elephant having her daily bath! she received quite a thorough scrub-down from her faithful attendants, laying in the water on both sides of her body, slapping her tail on the surface and breathing through her snout intermittently. we bought some bananas for the future monkeys we would meet, and then got on a boat and crossed the river to the otherside. we bought a chocolate croissant and a doughnut! and rented two bikes from a sweet young man there. mine was pink and said "divine" on it, and carson's was black and was not *quite* as sleek as his REI bike back home. but the ride was absolutely beautiful, down the dirt road and onto a street 1km away, through some villages, so many lush vibrant green rice paddies, the everpresent boulders, cows, one camel (!! where did he come from?) and sheep and goats, and white egrets balancing on the cow's back. we rode for 2km more and stopped to drink a coconut. we then climbed up 600 some odd steps to the hanuman temple on the hill, the birthplace of the monkey god hanuman! we saw many monkeys on our hot sweat drenched walk up, some were yelling at each other, and we gave out some bananas gingerly as they ran quickly away with their treasures. at the top, we took off our shoes, circumnavigated the small temple, and were then invited inside by the baba attending the main temple room. we felt lucky to be invited in, and we kneeled in front of a shimmering hanuman as he painted red bindi lines on our foreheads and gave us some sacred water to drink and some very large sugar granules to eat. magical. then we were invited to sit in another room in the temple and eat some little fried lentil filled cakes and some chai with all of the other Indian people also visiting Hanuman. we walked out over the rocks to a lone plumeria tree, and overlooked the 360* view of the beautiful land all around us, ruins, rice paddies, boulders....ahh! heaven on earth (though a hot heaven at this time of year!) we walked down and sat for an hour with a 12 year old boy selling coconuts; i gave him a US dollar that I had in my camera case, for he collects coins and bills from all over the world. he showed us his collection, and he and carson traded bracelets with each other. we talked of king kong, the price of rent in the USA (he couldn't believe it!) and how much money a coca cola might cost in the US vs. India. he was great. we rode back in the noonday sun and caught the boat back across the river, and ate lunch at our beloved Mango Tree restaurant. oh, Mango Tree, you cook such good food and employ such nice people! we will miss it, and Hampi, for we leave on a train tomorrow morning headed to Goa. (on the Arabian sea!) We will spend 2 days in Goa, and then we will bravely embark on a TWENTY FOUR HOUR STRAIGHT train over 1600 kilometers up to Rajasthan! eeek! better get some good snacks and a couple books for that one! we will bypass the Mumbai craziness (maybe next time, India) and will land in Bundi, Rajasthan for a couple days before heading to Udaipur, the "most romantic city in India" on the lake, and also to Pushkar. The rest of our trip is sill formulating itself, for there are always so many options, but we are so enormously grateful to Hampi for letting us taste India's sweetness and magic, and finding a home here. I am sad to leave; already we know and recognize so many people here, and staying in one place helps home seem much closer and more tangible.

Happy Birthday to dear Carson! Still a sunset to enjoy for his special day, and another trunk blessing from Lakshmi to receive in the temple.

Love!!
M