Notes from the Ganges

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I'm still waiting on pictures/video/content to come in from the crew in Kanpur.

Meanwhile, the following text will be updated on the blog later today, but I thought everyone on these lists would appreciate reading these words now.

Sounds like that goat was pretty tasty - yums!

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That night we anchor in the middle of the river and setup the radial, upstream from a temple. Night fisherman row around us with bright LED flashlights. We made 12 miles that day, not much but better than the day before. Sadhus wade out into the river the next morning, waving their arms, chanting and cheering. A group of 30 kids and young men follow them. Everyone cheers and we cheer with them. Then we pull up the anchor and head downriver again.

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We make 12 miles again the next day and come to a village built high on a hundred foot bluff overlooking a bend in the river. We sail the sailboat onto the beach next to the other four boats. There's 100 kids on the riverbank, cheering, excited. I spray them with water from the cistern and they scream and run away and come back for more. Orien, Abusheck, Ben, Marin and Satbir go into town to try and find a goat to cook. Mike and I take two boats to a white beach on the east bank across from the village. Brahmpaul negotiates to get firewood from a villager. We beach the boats, and lower the radial wing pieces as gangplanks onto the beach. We lay down blankets and rugs and start a bonfire. We follow Brahmpaul's lead and anchor the boats by driving bamboo poles into the sand and tying off on them. The crew comes back with the goat already slaughtered and butchered. We cook it in three large pots over the fire with onions, garlic, spices and tomatoes. We stake candles in the sand and eat in a big circle around the fire. We fall asleep by midnight.

And up at dawn the next day.

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