Day #70 Varkala, a town for routine building and taking action
Before taking off to Auroville where we are planning to work for 10 days in a farm, we decided to take it easy and explore the southern coast of Kerala. We settled in this coastal town called Varkala which, is mostly known for being the only place in South Kerala where cliffs are found adjacent to the Arabian sea. It has also become a popular village amongst backpackers who are looking to do some yoga, surf or take an ayurvedic treatement. The perfect combination of what we were looking for!
Getting to Varkala was fairly easy. It was a 3 hour train journey from Kochi and the station is quite close to the coast itself. We had initially booked a hostel but the recent cyclone had broken down its electric system and flooded its facilities. Fortunately, the manager of the hostel owned other places to stay and we ended up being upgraded into a room in a type of apart hotel in the main street of Varkala!
For those 5 days, we really took our time to settle down. We had been absorbing a lot of information these last couple of weeks, visiting numerous places, learning about their culture, getting inspired and having ideas but we were lacking time to let them sink in consciously and concretely put these into action. Therefore, we took these days to process and get from ideation to implementation! In order to do this, we knew we had to establish a healthy and pleasurable routine which, we did literally. We basically chose the healthiest restaurant in Varkala and made it our home for the next 5 days! Breakfast, lunch and dinner would always be in the White Rabbit restaurant and believe me when I say that we tried almost every dish of the menu! Still, this was perfect for us! It offered us the feeling of routine we were really needing, allowed us to finally start implementing habits around it and concretising projects that we had in the back of our minds for a while.
Antonio finally got to surf his first waves in India! He rented a board for these 5 days and everyday he would spend at least 2 hours in the sea. The waves weren’t perfect but still, it allowed him to have some fun at sea and he was so happy about it!! He went surfing to nearby beaches with locals, gave me a surfing lesson and even got me standing on the board! Antonio also got inspired with some of the local recipes of the White Rabbit and, because we spent so much time there, he could just walk in the kitchen and learn all its secrets! Antonio was waking up early in the morning, exercising in nature, learning about food with the locals and working on the future projects we have for Food for Soul. As for me, I went and explore all of what Varkala has to offer in terms of Ayurveda and yoga! I practiced Hatha yoga and tried an Ayurvedic treatment that is meant to help disconnect your mind as a way for me to explore therapies to complement my coaching sessions in the future. Also, it was a big moment for me where I decided (with a huge push from Ant) to start my coaching sessions again! We have finally gotten to a point of the trip in which we are starting to settle for longer in each town and where we want to more actively share and apply what we love. Also, I have had several people come to me saying the content I was writing was very helpful, wanting to know more about it. These last weeks, I was deeply feeling how much I missed connecting and helping people but I realised I don't have to feel this way as I can also coach via Skype! This was a big decision for both of us actually and we are happily working towards that. So, for those of you wondering: I have officially started giving coaching sessions online :) Do get in touch if you feel I could help and would like to have an initial conversation.
With this, our 5 days in Varkala flew by but were extremely rewarding. Day after day, this trip has taken amazing turns and I am so grateful that we have been able to listen so well to what we need and want out of our travels. We have been growing fast at every level and the most amazing part is that we have been doing it together as a team! I am so thankful for these rich experiences and what our life is turning out to be! Also, super excited for our next adventure in Auroville where we will be volunteering for 10 days!
Let's do this :)
