Is Humpy the same place as Hampi?

this was our concern when we bought our bus tickets, considering the possibility that we actually bought our tickets for a similar (but different) location. apparently it goes by both names, and i believe hampi and humpy have made my favorite places list. meg, tim, and i spent a week there, but i could have easily spent much more time. and many people do spend weeks to months there. it is difficult to fully capture its charm but it certainly involves the sense of community between both the locals and visitors. at sunny guesthouse, the place we initially crashed, was extremely friendly. by the first evening, we knew the names of the staff and they knew ours.

their kindness made it difficult to move on, but i was itching to check out the rocks. besides the vast ruins that are clustered in the main bazaar area and the temples taht pepper the surrounding areas, it is very well-known among the climbing community for its boulders. while i am certainly no pro, i was anxious to see what the talk was all about. so i headed to goan corner, a further removed guesthouse of huts and good food surrounded by rice fields and coconut trees and close to banana fields and the hot spots for bouldering. it is sort of the "camp 4" of hampi. charmilla, the owner, is a very savy, strong, confident woman with a great sense of humor, a good business sense. she makes the place what it is and draws in groups of climbers and other visitors who seem to grow roots there. this is where i met nick, a seasoned climber and outdoor educator from england, who introduced me to many others in the area. nick served as a great motivator and guide especially to us novices.

groups met every morning at 6:30 and every evening at 4p to avoid the heat of mid-day. this also meant catching some incredible sunrises and sunsets. and the middle of the day was filled with lazily reading in a hammock, strolling, visiting with other travellers or whatever. it felt fantastic to be out working the muscles i haven't used in several months. the first morning, meg and i went out on the rocks with nick. after a couple of hours, nick randomly asked if we had brought any money and if we wanted to buy a cake. it seemed an odd question considering our surroundings and the time of day. but just then, the "cake man" appeared around the corner of the rock we were working on and presented delicious cake options. his wife bakes them every morning and he walks miles each day delivering them to a welcoming audience. they have creatively found their niche in the climbers. we ate our banana chocolate cake with smiles on our faces. after a couple of days, my muscles and a beat-up hand ended that venture for a bit. but man, i think i fell in love with hampi! hahaha! and after a week, the group decision was to head back into india as hampi is a world of its own.