rootlessdreams

Halloween is pretty much nonexistant in India. I can only imagine what the people here would think of me if I paraded around in a superman costume. Not that I don’t already get stared at enought, but this would be out of control. No one seems to be affected by Oct. 31st but everyone is Hampi is working hard all through the city getting everything prepared for the Hampi Festival. I think the festival starts on the 3rd of November and last 2 or 3 days. The city already looks amazing and there is still 3 days to prepare. There are banners and columns with lights set up everywhere. They have even taken the tin shelter off the massive carriage that they will pull through the streets. It looks like a totally different city than when I first arrived almost a month ago.

The patient waiting has payed off. I was able to start climbing this week. I’ve only gone out 3 times but have managed to do a couple hard problems and heaps of classic moderates. I’m eating a lot of painkillers and going through rolls of tape but at least I’m climbing. We’ve had a lot of solid sessions with a good group of people: Yan and Isabella (Germany), Florence and Nicola (France), Jaione, Mikel, Luis, and Ruben (Spain).

The climbing has been nice but this week I had one of the best days of my trip. Ruben and Luis had two proper motorcycles….big and loud. Three days ago the offered to let me ride one with them. Jaione and I rode one with Ruben and Luis on the other. We took off after breakfast and road through many villages. We past endless boulders. I had to keep my focus on the road so I didn’t kill Jaione but often caught myself looking for possible lines up these amazing blocks. The next mission was to cross the river. The area where we wanted to cross had a nice bridge that spanned a really beautiful river cutting through the granite boulder formations. The only problem was the monsoon took out about 40ft of the middle. Instead of the bridge, we had to drive a little bit offroad down to the riverside. Then we had to put the fairly large motorcycles in a basket and get paddled across the river. One basket, two motorcycles, and at least 15+ people….it was hectic!! We had the camera’s rolling though. As the water was getting deeper in the basket I started to worry, then an Indian guy looked at me and said: “No problem, anything is possible in India.” This seems to be there motto.

After the amazing river crossing we had some problems starting our bikes but after a little push start, we were off and running. We rode all through Hampi proper, stopping a temples and various places to take photos. We grabbed some food at a bakery in town, then head to Hospit to take the long way back to Hampi Island to avoid the river crossing.

Hospit was crazy. Not as bad as I’d seen it, but it was different when you are riding a motorcycle with someone on the back. I wasn’t sure if I was getting all the smiles and waves because of my beard and aviators or the beautiful girl on the back. Needless to say it was wild. Not having a helmet made weaving through all the cars, trucks, motorcycles, bikes, and people everywhere a little scary. No rules and no lanes I guess makes anything possible.

We made it through Hospit with no problem and managed to get to a nice spot on the side of the road to watch the sunset. It was so beautiful. As it started getting darker, we headed back. The nice cool breeze was a bit chilly on the bike but I think all the flies I drove through was worse. We parked at the Laughing Budha for dinner meeting all our friends with lots of stories and huge smiles. Thank you again Ruben and Luis for letting me borrow the motorcycle….it was amazing.

I have many pics and videos of most my time here so far…..I’ll see if it is possible to get them online. If not, you’ll have to wait until I return home.

Ben and Vanessa left last week for the North and I will be joining them soon. I think we’ll travel for a bit in India then head into Nepal for safari, rafting, bunge jumping, and a glimpse of Everest!! I hope this post finds you well. Until next time….much love from India.

-Matt