After wrapping up our first work day, Reverend David took us to Chennai's city beach. Marina Beach is the second longest beach in the world. It also seems to be the widest, as we walked nearly a half mile across the sand before we were close to the water's edge. We visited the beach last year, at Mahabalipuram, but Marina beach was like Mahabalipuram multiplied by a factor of 100. There was the long line of vendors we walked past, forming a narrow corridor stretching the entire distance to the sea, lined with carnival barkers hollering about their wares. Men led horses along a crude boardwalk, trying to solicit rides. And as always, there were the women in their beautiful sarees, refusing to remove them even to dip their toes in the water.

Near the beach are large monuments to Chennai city founders. Veteran team members are used to stares from the locals, but Gary and Dana got a kick out of the attention. We took pictures of and with locals, while others stood at the periphery and watched the whole spectacle.

After the beach, Reverend David took us to a hip restaurant in town for dinner. "Barbecue Nation" features tables with built in removable grills. Throughout the evening, servers brought out skewers racked with various meats and vegetables. There was spicy prawns and not-so-spicy jerk chicken. There was scorching pineapple and "Texas Barbecue Potatoes" that were the size of olives. Still, a great time was had be everyone.