Varkala is a nice Cliffside beach resort in southern Kerala popular with foreign tourists. Continuing the very relaxed pace of the southern leg of the India loop, we had three nights and two and a half days of beaching in Varkala. Without any specific sights to see I tried a few new things like taking a surfing lesson (my first in about 8 or 9 years), yoga, and a Keralan ayurvedic massage.

The last of those only cost a few dollars for an hour but was quite different from other massages I've had . They first rub you down with an oil scented of carob. The full body massage is then mostly done with the masseuse's feet while using a rope hanging from above to hold onto. As you can imagine, this will rough you up much more than just a massage done manually.

While at the surf shop I noticed a posting for a daytrip the following day to a temple festival somewhere in the countryside near Varkala. The surf shop dudes highly recommended going, so I planned for it. The temple procession was very entertaining and one of my favorite experiences in India. I've dedicated the blog entry that follows this one to it.