Chintsa - Day 2

I slept well but, as usual, I woke up earlier than I wanted at 6am. I got a shower and joined my fellow travellers for a nice breakfast of cinnamon buns and an omelette which we prepared ourselves. I was still feeling queasy and low in energy due to my virus, and it was overcast and raining, so I decided not to do any of the paid activities such as horse riding or quad biking. Instead, I walked down to the beach with fellow traveller, Graham. The ecology of the lagoon, large sand dunes, and beach, was varied and really beautiful. There were many types of flowers and plants on the walk down with lush forest up on the very high sand dunes. As we approached the smaller sand dunes at the end of the lagoon and before the beach, the dunes were covered in grasses and long stems of a very attractive magenta coloured bell shaped flowers. We walked out onto the beach and walked along the shore with the white foaming waves rolling in. The spray created a mist over the sea and it was very atmospheric. It was very warm despite the overcast skies and I decided that I would go for a swim. Graham walked back across the beach and returned to the campsite. As I walked out into the waves and dived under a large wave, I could feel a very strong undertow current pulling me out to sea and decided that it would be dangerous to go out any further so returned to the shore. I then spent the next couple of hours walking along the shore, paddling in the sea and picking up brightly coloured shells. This allowed me to reflect on the journey through Africa and all the life that I had seen along the way. I fell into a reverie, feeling deeply that everything is alive in nature, including the sea, rocks, mountains, trees, creatures and even the great multitudes of stars and planets above. I experienced nature as God, or the Great Spirit of native Americans, and that I am a part of that nature and everything existing plays their small role in this immense unfolding creation from the grains of sand beneath my feet, to the skipping birds running past me, to the clouds and sun beyond. God as nature is therefore not to be believed in, but to be lived and experienced imminently in the world all around us. In this sense everything is holy, precious and can be loved and cared for. I wondered if humanity could play a vital role on this planet by becoming guardians and protectors of life and nature rather than the current destroyers of it?
I eventually returned to the hostel, chatted with my fellow travellers, had some lunch down at the poolside bar and wrote up my blog. I then returned to my dorm room to rest as the rain fell gently over the land and sea beyond the balcony window.
We had a very tasty Indian buffet meal in the hostel's dining room in the evening and I had a nice chat with my fellow travellers where my head felt clearer than it had done since I got the virus which was a positive sign that I was finally recovering. I then got an early night ahead of an early start in the morning.Read more