Animals of Arambol

expectations on a beach might generally include human footprints, people lounging, playing frisbee, beach volleyball, probably some seabird footprints, and perhaps some dogs frollicking around. all of these are pretty much fulfilled, but there are also hoofprints and cow dung...and herds of cattle with gnarly horns curving around their heads, nonchalauntly walking or lying beachside...and packs of dogs biting their skin catching some cool air in the shade of a shored boat.

there are some pretty fantastic restaurants too, offering a variety of food with equally great ambiance. the fresh fruit and their juices are out of this world...and there is good coffee to be found here (which unfortunately reintroduces and feeds my addiction that i just recovered from 2 days of caffeine withdrawal headaches from. but it is worth it for now. i guess i will have to rid myself of dependencies another time.) anyway, (back on course), our favorite restaurant here is called double dutch, so we continue to return. the beggars just do not give in though (the cats that is). they watch you, sit in the extra chair at the table and meow. or they treat the sandy ground beneath as a giant litter box and proceed to do their business beneath the chairs...and even theirs is not solid! hahaha

nonetheless, all of these 4-legged beasts are friendly.

and the 6+ legged and winged, i am not quite sure what it is but man, they are eating me alive!

life is good here and laid-back. it moves at a nice, slow pace. we have started to recognize some of the fellow travelers and locals, and they recognize us. but now the time has come for us to move on. we leave unbronzed...as pale as we came, but we are eastbound on an overnight bus the extensive ruins in the ghost-town of hampi (aka "humpy").

Rats, Cats, Dogs, Cows...and Monkeys

The animals are many, and they coexist quite well. however, many of them are not necessarily well, nor are the resources available for them to be well...or fixed. the result is a large number of unwell and unclaimed cats and dogs. most are pretty calm, roaming around minding their own business, hunting for food. but we tend to attract some friends occasionally. yesterday morning, meg, tim, and i hit the fishmarket for a stoll. we strolled quickly as instructed because it is closely monitored due to the nearby military base. it is also apparently monitored by dogs. we immediately befriended "tripod", a 3-legged dog who led us through the market. he was a loyal pup since he caught up with us even after being cornered by a small gang of dogs. we eventually lost tripod, but in search of the nearby market, we took a turn through a neighborhood (which were open shacks along a walkway). it was an accidental, but invasive turn at the least, but we hadn't realized until the unfriendly guard dogs appeared. my heart about jumped out of my chest when it lunged and jumped on my leg barking and growling. in a frozen stance, all i could think was "rabies, rabies, rabies". I did not look back and hoped for the best. i escaped unharmed. it was a reminder to be more aware of people's privacy and making an effort to maintain it.

rats have also seemed to become local inhabitants. they hang out under food carts, in the streets, in the trash can of our shared hostel bathroom (witnessed twice by tim). i have unfortunately become a little paranoid and try to keep my legs elevated as much as possile. and i wondered why all of the cats around cannot keep them under control. perhaps the sheer size of them in comparison to the cats is a bit intimidating. or perhaps the cats are not up for the challenge. one cat in particular had problems walking as its legs collapsed beneath it when it tried. it can be quite heartbreaking watching the suffering animals, and even moreso witnessing the poverty (which is at least a separate blog entry).

the cows seem quite content roaming the streets and treated quite well by their respective owners. fresh blades of grass appear out of thin air and they contently munch the day away.

the monkeys on elephanta island that we witnessed today were cute, but because of human intervention (as is often the case with bears, squirrels, etc) have become quite a nuissance as we have forced them to depend on human food and drink. it was not unusual to see a monkey drinking out of a water bottle they had just stolen from a tourist.

as for the bed bugs...they are simply a nuissance!