More Puri

The caves

Seeing as I love being at the ocean, I thought I would split up this blog some so I can share some of my pictures. On the second day we were in Puri, we had to get up early to go to caves that were a couple hours away from Puri. Some of us opted to stay back so they could spend the day on the beach, and I was jealous of them after getting in the bus and finding out that there was no air conditioning and I would have to sweat on the way there. The rest of us packed the bus and made our way to the caves.

On the bus with the Brahmin priest

On the way there a Brahmin priest came on the bus and blessed the Hindu pictures that were on the bus (many Hindu drivers have some kind of shrine or small statue in their car). Then he came to each of us and blessed us with a tikka (bindi) and put camphor on some of our eyes. After he left we drove some more before stopping and making our way over to the caves.

Exploring the caves

The caves turned out to be more like a large rock formation that had outcroppings dug into it. After reading a sign I learned that the structure was thousands of years old and had been excavated so people could visit. After being burnt the previous day and having to sit on a bus with no air conditioning, you can imagine how we all sweated while perusing the caves out in the sun. By the time we were done and back by the bus we all decided to get a nice cold drink and decided to buy some appy fizzes. Let me just say, appy fizz is a delicious drink! Appy is the brand name for the apple juice (might I say that best apple juice I have ever had) and an appy fizz is carbonated apple juice (highly recommend it if you can find it in stores). For many of us, the appy fizz was the best part of being at the caves.

I'm going to miss India

We made our way back to the hotel, ate lunch, and ran for the beach. The waves were a lot more turbulent so it was fun because we didn't have our little lifeguard to watch over us. After awhile Erik came over to us and told us that the hotel had informed him that we had to swim at our own risk because there was a tsunami warning. Most of us didn't care overly much because we were having too much fun but after awhile it started to be quite a workout jumping over the waves and Rachel had seen a sea snake so we eventually came out of the water to dry off. Erik, Kate, and I started roaming the beach for shells and after finding a few, Kate ditched us to see if she could go take a camel ride on the beach. We went inside and after taking a shower, Becca, Brenna, and I walked along the beach and took some pictures. After snacks and dinner we played games late into the night and did impressions of each other. Sucharita sung us a Tagore song and we presented her with a book that we had all written and put a picture in. Puri was a great trip because it was one of the last times we will all be together for awhile and I am so glad to have been on this trip with such great people. Compared to a lot of study abroad trips with all their drama, we all got along and were instant friends. I am definitely going to miss everyone once we leave India, but I am looking forward to being able to hang out together next year at school.

Great friends, great memories...as one journey ends, another begins