Andre and I landed safely in Hilo last night. We were exhausted after being cooped up in airports and planes ALL day. We got the car, a four wheel Ford Focus, and checked in at Uncle Billy’s. Two great rooms across the hall from each other. Right on the bay. I went to sleep to tree frogs croaking and the sound of the surf. We went for a walk (in the rain/mist. There is water everywhere, ponds, ocean, water from the sky. I wish California had some of this. Today is a beautiful day to start our adventure, farmers market and some geneological hunting for the mysterious Laura Becquette, my great aunt, who came to Hawaii in the Late 1800’s.
The photo was taken from the balcony of my room.

Today we tried to relax, breakfast at our hotel with real coffee. We had some last minute shopping to do so we had to go into the depths of the old city by tuk-tuk, up a back stairway in an alley to get copper water containers for the table. That was a trip. We tried to connect with a women’s collective group that was recommended by Paolo Gianturco but it did not happen.

We ate a lunch of more exotic foods. (This was a textiles and food trip)  we dropped Marion (our third textile person) off at the airport and back to the hotel. Tomorrow is our real travel day. Ahmedabad to Bombay, Bombay to Newark, Newark to S.F by late afternoon Monday.

The mouse was in our room all night. I saw him slip out under the door this morning. And we are off today to Ahmedabad to thankfully, a better hotel, for two nights before we start the trek home. We made a few stops along the way, at the Modhera Sun Temple, with fabulously Hindu pictorial stories carved all over. It was designed and built in 1029 AD. Onward, next stop Jalpa’s family temple them to the Adalaj Stepwell. This is a place built in 1499 by a Gujerat queen. It goes down 5 stories with a well at the bottom. The people used to come there for water. Story goes that she (the queen) threw herself in the well over the death of her husband.
Our bedraggled bunch landed at the quite elegant Novotel in the afternoon. It was great to have a a comfortable bed, hot shower, wash my hair and be out of the mud and dust.
We went to our farewell dinner, a lovely outdoor restaurant with a traditional Gujerati meal and lots of entertainment including a girl dancing on nails with pots on her head. Jalpa provided us with a great send off.

This morning was a ride in an open Safari type jeep into the countryside to see birds and what they call asses. They are a cross between a horse and a zebra, but brown and white.
There were beautiful flamingos, storks and spoonbills. It’s bird watchers paradise. There is
Lots of water from underground. The do locals make a living from the salt and from growing cumin and castor beans, also from herding cows and water buffalo.

Bonnie didn’t accompany us as she felt ill with a cold and took the wrong medication and it turned out she slept with a mouse in the spare blanket the staff gave her. She is better today.
We had an afternoon rest and then went to see some village craftspeople working in their homes. I wish I had brought pencils for the kids. That would have been a good thing. Next time. Bonnie Marion and Jalpa went on a late sunset camel cart ride. It was almost dark so I skipped it and took pictures instead. Tomorrow we leave here for Ahmedabad for a day, then Bombay and home.

After leaving our hotel in Bhuj at 8 am, we arrived at 2 at Dasada. Of interest along the highway: camel carts, nomad goat herders and lots of highly decorated trucks. We ended up at a resort that is a sanctuary for wild asses. No jokes please.  The place here is calm and we all have small huts to stay in, a big outdoor dining area, a big seating area with lots of pillows. There is a tour group here to photograph birds and W.A.s. We are in an area of bird sanctuaries.
It’s a bit humid here compared to the dry area around Bhuj. It even rained a few drops. It reminds me more of Africa here than India.
The only horrible scenario was when I accidentally locked Bonnie in our room and went out to the dining area. Bonnie was a good sport and I felt really dumb. If you tried to think of things that could go wrong, that would be a new one for the books.
Tomorrow a safari into bird-land. No pics yet. I can’t get my blog to cooperate.