I guess the width of the beach is about 25 meters and it’s only three meters from the shoreline to the palm trees behind me. But I enjoy having this beach to myself and quietly read a light book about India (Holy cow).

Surprisingly, the locals sail a boat that consists of three loosely attached wooden poles that seemed terribly inefficient as it didn’t have a sharp, pointed hull. I supposed that the possibility of detaching them and be able to easily carry them up the beach outweighed the benefits of actually getting somewhere quickly with the boat.

I was proven wrong once again. When I was about to leave a local fisherman walked up and we started chatting about the type of fish he catches (small ones), the size of his net (1 km), and what they do with the fish (eat them with tea). Quickly afterwards his friend joined him and they pulled the boat into the water. The small size of the boat proved to be a big asset for navigating the big waves close to the shore, the fishing nets fitted like a glove between the two outer wooden poles. Combined with the skill of the two men it made being a fisherman in South India seem easy.

This morning I joined a yoga class. The ticket seller ensured me it was for beginners and the two Russian ladies who were present confirmed it was only their second lesson. After a couple of minutes, the teacher asked us to sit cross-legged, a position I’m unable to maintain for more than a minute. He ensured we sat up straight (otherwise the position wouldn’t ‘work’). He then spoke and demonstrated the position at the same time. Move your hands uuuup and then slooowly move your body forward and touch the floor with your head. I must have looked stunned as he smilingly returned to the sitting position and nodded for me to start repeating his example. I sighed and stretched my arms upward and barely maintained balance in my cross legged position then. I managed to move my head forward at least 10 centimeters in a forward head wobble when I felt that I was about to loose my equilibrium and got a cramp in both my left foot and my side as I quickly returned to the dreaded cross-legged position. It was the beginning of a long 1,5 hour class.