January 1st of 2024

Well, writing that out just looks wild, and makes me feel old. I don't know why it is just one more year!…   

Anyway, our hostess, Jeeja (not Deeja), made us a special lunch. It is called a Sadya!  (According to Wikipedia this means banquet in Malayalam). It had eight dishes eaten with lots of rice, and is served on a banana leaf! The dishes: Sambar, Parippu Curry, Naranga Curry, Kerala Moru Curry, Avial, Mezhukkupuratti, Pulissery, Rasam Curry. Then there was Ada Payasam eaten w/banana and Semiya Payasam eaten w/papadums for  our dessert. WOW! I'll just say it was overwhelming and put us in a food coma of flavors, spices, and textures.

In the evening, we went for sunset swim. It was more like the ocean, the waves were “a force to be reckoned with”. They weren't too bad but I felt like a bobble head. The sky was all socked in with cloud cover, except just above the horizon. The sun was able to play peek-a-boo just before sunset with a little display of color.