In search of Warmth
November 2025
After having been thrown around on our thrilling sailing adventure in a small boat, crossing the North Atlantic from Iceland to the West coast of Scotland (via The Faroe Islands), we felt the need for warmth. Returning to the advancing autumn murkiness of both London and La Coste, a decision was easily made. Let’s go back to paradise!
We booked an ocean view hut at the Bamboo Yoga Retreat, which we enjoyed so much on our World Trip in 2023. Located in the Southern reach of Goa, in India, it lingered in our memories as a perfect tropical paradise. Empty, superbly clean and uncluttered beach embraced by lazily leaning palm trees, ripe with coconuts, waves gently lapping.
This time, we planned to fulfil our dreams to visit the Southern Indian state of Kerala – Spice Paradise!
We urgently booked our flights – we were to be quite busy from December ‘till March, when we plan to return to La Coste. At the same time, we booked a private tour, taking us to Kochi, the inland mountains and Backwaters of Kerala.
Pleased with our plans, we proceeded with our annual tasks of getting Plein Ciel and Point de Vue ready for winter. Busily, we covered beds with plastic, put quilts and sheets safely away, trimmed rampant bushes, cut down rogue trees, drained outdoor water pipes, pruned thorny rose bushes. Lynne thrived best clambering on ladders, onto roofs with secateurs and clippers.
Cutting, Pruning….
And then disaster struck – Lynne tumbled backwards while simply pruning the tall rose by our front door. At the Emergency Department of the local Clinic in Albi, X-rays confirmed that Lynne’s left wrist was broken in two or three places. A bright pink plaster cast was applied – strong painkillers were prescribed.
Making her way back to London (Peter to follow a week later), Lynne depended on her new sling, the said painkillers and a lot of ingenuity to survive the trains and plane journey.
We considered delaying our trip to India, but we concluded that our travel insurance would not cover the cost of cancelling or delaying the trip. Also, to put a positive spin on it, better to do the healing in an interesting and engaging environment than being bored sitting in our flat in damp, dark London.
After a couple of weeks, the pain slowly subsided (except for inadvertent knocks and bumps), but the inconvenience of only being able to use one arm became apparent. Even simple things became difficult or even impossible, like putting on socks, opening a water bottle, showering….or even opening the front door from inside the flat!
After having the plaster cast changed at the Royal Free Hospital, it became clear that cancelling the trip was not feasible. For better, for worse, we were going!
