Hey! Well, we've been stuck inside after a few days of bad luck. The worst part was that we both got sick, especially me. Seems like food poisoning, as it came on in the night after dinner and lasted about 24 hours for the worst part. I won't go into gory details, but let's just say it had been many years since I had opportunity to remember how bad a real gut bug can be.

This photo has a little crab in it.

Yesterday I tried coming down here, but was only able to eat and return home. I was famished, not having been able to keep anything down for a day and a half at that point. I felt better, but realized my little trip to the restaurant had taken all my strength. Today, finally I have been able to get back to normal.

Mark's illness was exactly like mine except milder and it's onset was about 12 hours after mine. He is fine now, too.

Tomorrow we are going to Kanyakumari, the tip of India. Vinesh's brother will drive us all (Mark, Vinesh and me). It should be a neat day trip, about 2-3 hours drive from here. I really don't know what is there yet, but when I find out I'll send pictures. Speaking of which, I hope you are enjoying some of these. I've been putting up pictures for you from a batch of photos we (mostly Mark) took when we first moved here. I have other batches ready to go, so I'm going to finish this one off and give you all that's left. I hope you enjoy and are ready for something new next time.

Charlotte's comment about there being no shortage of palm trees cracked me up. That is for sure. Mark and I have been discussing how much the coconut palm is used for here. All you have to do if you want a coconut is just go get one off the ground, like pecans in Texas. They don't even sell them at the stores. All the food dishes, and I mean all of them, use coconut in one way or another. Not to mention being cooked in coconut oil. The fire food is cooked on is burning coconut husks. Rope is made from coconut fiber. The leaves used to be used as paper. Young coconuts are a common drink, just whack off the top and put a straw in. Also, the even younger, baby coconut is eaten as a snack. And coconut oil is great for the skin; I have often used it in massage, for about ten times what it costs here, so now I can put it on whenever. There are many more uses, I am sure. Let's see, the oil lamps that burn everywhere around here use coconut oil for their fuel. Probably lots more. It is a very useful plant, but the wood is not good for building, so they are not chopped down. Oh, I know another use, the fires that are always burning outside, burning up the days trash or whatever, are started with the large palm leaves that you find drying out and hanging off the tree. OK, well, that's it for today! I hope you are well. We are fine and very happy now that we are feeling good! Lots of love!