Saturday, February 20, "Let's Take a Walk"

Surprisingly, I slept well. Maybe the melatonin is working. We were joined at breakfast by Andrew, our guide, who will be with us throughout the tour. Somewhere between 40 and 50, he’s short and humpy without appearing obviously worked out, a gay man (with a partner in Tucson) who, despite its wrinkles has one of those perpetually young faces, short hair slightly askew and a smiling demeanor that would make him ideal for an ad for new brake lining or cleaning supplies, with a name like “Butch” or “Jake.” But appearances are deceiving. He speaks French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian and is in the process of learning Chinese and Arabic. He has a fourteen-year-old son who lives in New York with is mother, conceived in some mysterious process Andrew didn’t seem to want to clarify. When he’s not leading tours, which he does often, he manages 22 rental properties in Tucson. He insures quiet confidence and I feel perfectly comfortable in his hands.
We also met Bob, from LA, a large man somewhere in his 50’s, bulky through the midsection (who isn’t?) with graying hair parted in the middle and a bulky moustache and goatee surrounding a mouth that should be holding a meerschaum pipe. His eyes twinkle enough to promise some fun. Caesar also joined us, this time without his sun hat, which made him more slight than last night, like a frail, oriental flower that needs care in handling.
After a huge breakfast (from the perpetual hotel buffet), Dennis suggested a walk around a part of New Delhi that the hotel recommended for a jogging route. It took us down tree-lined streets with lots of traffic and around many round-abouts until we arrived at the India Gate, a huge monument to the Indians who died in India’s wars. A top-heavy Arc de Triomph, it was surrounded by carefully manicured gardens, fenced in and carefully protected by Army guards. In the background was another monument that once housed a statue of the King George V that has since been moved to another location. Of course David and I took many photographs.
Dennis insisted that we continue our walk as he had planned, which took us further and further away from out hotel. My feet began to hurt until we came to a festival of Indian crafts, a little like ArtScape, with many booths with incredibly colored wares. The opportunity for photographs helped give me new energy. I bought a few trinkets and we captured a lot of color with our cameras.
By the time we got back to our hotel, I’m sure we had walked at least five miles. I was hot and tired and my feet hurt. No matter Nancy Sinatra, my Crocs are not made for that kind of walking! After lunch, I went right to bed and have only awakened now, about 4 PM, to post this to my blog.
Tomorrow we fly to Varanasi, the oldest city in India (and certainly one of the oldest in the world). I have to go now and rearrange my luggage so I only have one carry-on for the trip. We’ll be back here in four days. Stay tuned.