Monsoon stifles beach plans

Haven't had much opportunity to get on line during the past few days. In Mysore we called someone on the coast to find out about the weather. It seemed to be OK so we decided to get over there. In the first day we reached Muthanga National Park in Wayanad. We went inside in the evening and spotted some animals like wild elephants, bison, spotted dear and some monkeys. We stayed in a traditional house converted into a guest house in Tholpetty (Pachyderm Palace). As the only guest we were well taken care of by the manager/cook/guide Venu. Then it strated to pour. It's the monsoon after all. Still we pushed on to the Keralan coast where we stayed in an old weaving mill (Costa Malabari). When the raining ceased for a while in the afternoon we got some time on the beach. But the sea was too wild to even get close to. It must be a wonderful place to be in January. No signs of better weather so after only one night there we drove all the way back to Bylakuppe in Karnataka where my work is. It took seven hours with rain mostof the time. The children took it well, although they were disappointed to miss out on the swimming. After we arrived to the guest house in Sear monastery Esbjorn ate some noodles and was sick all night. Probably egg allergies. But he recovered the next day. The choice of food at the restaurants is really limited so we need to find cooking facilities pretty soon. I have looked at a place but it is probably to noisy. It looks like we will stay in my friend Thubten's house but we have not yet had an opportunity to check it out. There have been many other things to sort out such as police registration. I have been at the police office twice without managing to finish it off. Everytime they ask for another document. Bribes don't help. At least the SP signed, stamped and registered our permit today. All they need now seems to be passport size photographs. The two rooms we rent at the guest house are large and airy but a bit dirty. Anna and the children sleep in one room with the mosquito net and I have to sleep alone in the other and fight them off. Topay we did half of the laundry but it takes a long time to dry it in the humid climate. Subramanya, my research associate, has not been able to get me a SIM card yet so today I got my own. I will post the number later. When we read the email today Alice was happy to find emails from her friends Ellen and Linnea (and a photo of the former). I wanted to post some images but I think the connection s too crowded for upload right now. Maybe tomorrow...