This February, I spent thirty days walking from Mumbai to Goa along the coast paths, beaches and cliffs with my partner Brian. It was wonderful to be back in India, and to be travelling at a slow pace, where we met so many people, encountered all aspects of village life, and in the spirit of adventure, we never knew what was going to be around the next corner…
We were very touched by the warm welcome, kindness and generosity of the people of Maharastra, who often offered us food, drinks and hospitality. The sun shone ever day, and this was sometimes a challenge, so we tried to relax somewhere in the shade during the hottest hours of the day. The other main challenge was crossing rivers, which we sometimes did with our luggage on our heads, being pulled by the current, up to our chests in water!
Another highlight for me was the prollific birdlife – hundreds of eagles, Brahmin kites, hornbills, hummingbirds, koels, storks, 3 kinds of kingfishers, parakeets, bee-eaters, hoopoes, egrets, drongoes, doves and crows.
Along the way I loved to see the way people made their homes sacred with a home altar to their spirituality, and there would often be designs made on the floor outside the house with coloured sand to attract blessings to their home. At festival time, we saw how they decorated their fishing boats with theses patterns and garlands of flowers too.
On a larger scale I noticed how many hotel complexes and resorts could be vastly improved with some Feng Shui advice at the planning stage, and I would love to extend my services in this area.
