Indiahhhh. I saw more beauty today than I think I am intelligably capable of describing. We went up to a fort outside of the city, built to protect the land from Mughal invaders some time ago. The hills were amazingggg! Green flushed the terrain everywhere, and the sky was vast and cloudy, which opened up to this steep valley carved with rice terraces and dotted with yellow tea blossoms. We were about 4,000 feet up in the air, and later on in the day the clouds passed through the mountain and left us in the wake of its cool misty presence.

The people in the villages on the mountain were very traditional. One elder dressed in traditional garb sang a song to us in Marathi about how the Mongul invaders tried to penetrate the fort. In the song he told a story of the human history of his home, his valley and people. Apparently the king once had thousands of soldiers stationed along the wall.

The villagers cooked for us. We had very traditional food. Spicy green chutneey, this one fried chickpeas and onion snack which was probably the best thing I've ever tasted, more peppery sauces...everything was khoop chaan..very good. I had some yogurt in the mountains made from buffalo milk. I actually found out today that the milk served at breakfast this morning was buffalo milk.

Anju took us to this temple looking thing and showed us how the natives of the village drink water. They cup their hands and put their lips to the base of their hands. We all took turns drinking this way. At first I was apprehensive to drink water from this rustic village temple-looking structure in the middle of this unchanged mountain village. But I did it. Like a native. And I'm so proud of myself!

I could go on and on about today and still never fully capture the beauty, majesty and splendor of all I experienced. I will remember this day for a very long time. The mountains were divine, untouched by time or outside influence. Exploring the fort, looking down on the valley and its vivid greenery, being served by the locals, breathing in misty mountain air. Its true. There really is a paradise on earth. I happened to visit there today.

Syd