back in Palolem, day 1

In the faint distance of a delirious dream, the beeping of my alarm trickled into consciousness.

It was still black outside and I thought since the train was so late leaving, it will probably be late arriving as well. I thought I'd sit up and wait until we arrive in Palolem. Next thing I know, I'm awoken by the sounds of people boarding the train and before I have a chance to get my things together we're already leaving the station. Within a couple of minutes, the inspector comes in to check tickets and I have no idea where I put it, so I tell him I lost it, to which he replies, "If you lose your ticket, you must pay a fine." I told him I'd look for it and he said he'd be back, but luckily we arrived at the next station before I saw him again. I wasn't so much relieved about not paying the fine as much as that the next stop was only a few minutes, not a few hours.

In the train station, I tried to get a ticket back to Palolem, but the next train wasn't until 1pm, and it was still only about 6am. They said there was a bus in town that would take me to Palolem, but the rickshaw driver that would take me to the bus talked me into letting him take me all the way to the beach. It cost a bit more, but I didn't have to wait around for the bus and it was a nice ride alone in the back.

We pulled up to the beach and a crowd of people started shouting beach hut prices at me, "700 rupees! 500 rupees!" I thought I'd test my luck, and asked, "how about 250 rupees?" One young guy told me to follow him and we walked down the west side of the beach, then in a ways, behind a little beachside church, to a small group of huts.

I had a nap until I knew Geeta would be in her shop, and went over. It was nice to see her, and we chatted for a bit, but the minute I sat down reality finally returned to me and I knew the whole thing was senseless. If I'd learned anything from May at all, now was a good time to remember it. Still, we made plans to meet the next day for lunch, and I went over to my favorite breakfast spot and ordered a tomato and olive omelet. Whatever combination of foolish mind and volatile heart had brought me back here, it really wasn't a bad place to be!