The Goa Diaries - Day 4

Started the day with another barefoot walk, this time towards Fort Aguada. The crowd had really picked up being a long weekend and the beaches were full of brightly coloured clothes, reel makers, bathers etc. I walked past Candolim beach, Sinquerim and on and on till I reached the Fort Aguada wall. It took me a whole hour one way. 

Then then slow trek back. After a two hour walk, settled down at Pine Tree and got Satya to bring me a nice coconut. Read a bit, wrote a bit, ate breakfast and waited for Vidyuth to arrive. 

We decided to go to Panjim and check out the Latin Quarter or Fontainhas, which is the oldest Latin Quarter in India. It's in good shape and brightly coloured thanks to a law that says all houses must be painted every year after monsoon. 

Any bright coloured background attracts reel makers and the streets were full of tourists. It looked like a set out of Ramoji Studio. 

The place has beautiful Portuguese houses, little cafes, bars, and is just a pleasure to walk around. The number of tourists and their photographs have irritated the locals and there are many boards saying photography is prohibited. 

I read somewhere that there was a residence of Vasco da Gama somewhere there. It definitely needs a half day walk, stops at various bars and cafes. 

From there we headed to Dona Paula where I wanted a couple of pictures related to my novel 'If You Love Someone...'. Much of the story is set around Dona Paula. We parked near Sandalwood hotel and then I walked down to the beach behind it where I got some pictures - pure nostalgia. Great memories. It's a novel close to my heart and if I write a sequel I need better research than I did the first time.

Then a long drive back to Pine Tree shack. I headed out to the beach to catch the sunset and just about did. Was a lovely sight.  I sat looking out at the sea when Satya came and asked if I wanted a beer - he has this knack of asking need at just the right moment. I think I must have had 3-4 beers only because of him. 

And then Vidyuth came and we sat and chatted. A nice evening under the stars. Towards the end we saw Gopal heading back with a hookah and asked if we could try it. Gopal got me a filter and I smoked in a bit of some apple galleries flavoured stuff. Another out of comfort zone stuff.

The Goa Diaries - Day 3

I got up early and went for a walk, this time choosing to go right towards Baga. I somehow thought it would be shorter but it was not. Today's also Anjali's birthday so I kept her in my mind as I walked.

 The holiday crowd had started coming in because of the long weekend and I could see a lot of garbage. Worse, I saw many broken bottles, glass pieces and started picking them up. It became a palm sized bunch soon. Luckily there were garbage bins every here and there so I could dispose of them safely. Why do people have this need to break beer bottles I wonder. 

I walked for 50 mts and almost reached Baga and the sun was sharp so I headed back. It took me close to two hours and I sat back at our good old Pine Tree shack and ordered a nice fat coconut served in a jiffy by Gopal. Enjoyed the sweet refreshing drink and waited for Vidyuth to call. He came over for breakfast and after a nice breakfast we decided to head to the northern most beach of Goa, Keri or Querim. It was a beautiful 75 minute drive, especially towards the north. 

We passed a really quiet Qwerim village and found the beach. Small, new shacks coming up, tall casuarina trees, very few people. 

On one side there were jagged rocks from where people were coming and I went to explore it. I was told that there was this famous Querim cave there and I hoped over some dangerous looking rocks to the cave. There were a bunch of youngsters making reels, all queued up for their turn. Since I didn't have the time or patience i just clicked a picture and came away. The beach front has a long walkway which is unusual in Goa. Very nice. 

From Querim we headed to Arambol beach which I've never been to. The entry to the village, the crowd, the flea shops, all reminded me of Baga of the olden days. There's a pay and park facility, and then a walk down to the beach. Vidyuth told me there was a sweet water lake on the other side of the hill and we decided to check it out. 

We had to climb on to the side of the hill which was lined with flea shops, restaurants, etc. I was amazed at the number of people flocking to that place - seemed like a pilgrimage. At the end of the path, it just dropped on to some rocks which are not the easiest to navigate. I went across, Vidyuth decided to hang back. The lake was there behind a small beach, made exclusive by the climb and walk. Maybe that's why everyone, mostly youngsters, were heading there. I clicked a picture and headed back. 

Vidyuth was sitting in a lovely little restaurant overlooking the sea. We sat there for a bit, ate some snacks, lime juice etc before heading back.

 I was hoping to catch the sunset at Calangute but heavy traffic delayed us and we got there only by 740. We freshened up and headed to good old Pine Tree and spent the rest of the evening there. 

Rather hectic but completely worth it.

The Goa Diaries - Day 2

I woke up early enough to decide to go for a walk on the beach - my normal beach activity. I decided to go barefoot instead of my usual wear slippers and carry them around routine. It was surprisingly nice and way more comfortable than I expected. One of the new out of comfort zone things I have done in the recent past.

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I headed out past Pine Tree shack. To my right was Baga beach and to the left was Fort Aguada - both a clear 45-60 mts walk one way. I started off towards Fort Aguada, and decided to head back after 30 mts into the walk.

The beach was full of people ahead of the long weekend. I must have walked into a thousand reels, pictures, videos as people went on their normal life. Fishermen were busy fishing, new shacks were being built ahead of the season etc. 

I returned after an hour and Vidyuth and I had a quick breakfast before heading out to Divar Island, one of the 17 islands in Goa,  which was suggested to me by a friend as something I should not miss. Since I also wanted to experience the ferry, this suited both because Divar Island is only reachable by ferry. Ferry ride - my second out of comfort zone (I'm not much of a boat ride, water person)

It was an hour away, a lovely drive until the ferry point. Since ferries are almost every 5 minutes there's no timings - they are on all day. We got on the ferry and got off, no one asked for any money. 

On the island we went straight up to the Lady of Compassion Church 18th century) on the hill top. It is closed but is very beautiful. There is a small Chapel with walled graves as was the custom those days. We searched a bit for the Saptakoteswara temple ruins but got lost or didn't have the patience to take another ferry. Then the St Matias Church, which is 400 years old, saw some beautiful Portuguese houses, a lovely school. Stopped for lunch at Avinash Bar and Restaurant mainly because Rock Inn didn't seem to have any parking. 

Took the ferry across to the mainland and the plan to was see a bit of Old Goa - Bom de Jesus church, Se Cathedral, Church of St Assisi, Chapel of St Catherine, ruins of St Augustine. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were all in the same area - the first four in the same complex as the Archealogical Survey.

We first passed the Arch of the Viceroys (1599) which was constructed to commemorate the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama - his statue sits atop the keystone of the gate (one of the five gates to the fort city of Old Goa). 

A little beyond that into the City of Goa is the St Catejan Church (1661), a World Heritage Site as are all the others , also known as the Church of Divine Providence built by Italian priests after getting permission from the ruler of Portugal. It seems to also have something related to the gate of the Adil Shahi kingdom. The Sultan of Bijapur ruled over this territory and the Portuguese seemed to have taken over his palaces and built churches. There was a heritage walk in progress. 

Next we parked towards the western end of the Archeological Survey and walked in. On display to the left are several Archeological finds - sculptures, pillar, hero stones - we didn't check them out. Then we came across the Chapel of St Catherine (1510), a UNESCO Heritage site, which was built by Afobdo de Albuquerque to mark his entry into the city of Goa, on the day of the feast of St Catherine. It's a beautiful, old structure with a stepwell nearby. 

Next we visited the Church of St Assisi (1661) which is an Italian Church built by eight Portuguese Francisian friars. It stands on the site of a mosque of the Adil Shahis apparently.

To our right we could see the Basilica of Bom de Jesus and went there. We hired a guide, Jude, who gave us a good idea about the Basilica which he explained was where some thing unusual happened, like a miracle. Francis Xavier, who was a priest of the Jesuit order. Known to have performed miracles  in his lifetime, he passed away in China in the 16th century but his body remained without decaying. It was brought to Goa where he spent considerable time. His body is kept in the church and once every year shown to the people. It is considered one of the seven wonders of Portuguese origin.

Having missed the Se Cathedral or the Se Cathedral de Santa Cantarima (18th ce, we went there and looked around. It was built in 1510 to mark the victory of Afonso de Albuquerque over the Bijapur Sultans. It has the Golden Bell, the largest in India.

We then took the car and quickly looked at the ruins of St Augustine Chapel situated on the Holy Hill just 500 metres away from the churches complex. This was constructed by friars. In the 18th century the Portuguese asked the friars to go. The Chapel went into neglect and is now in ruins but presents a dramatic sight. It's bell has been moved to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception in Panjim. 

We headed back from there to meet Vivek who took us to Panjim and a place called Cafe Nationale where we are some lovely poi and snacks. Next we headed to MTW which stands for Monday Tuesday Wednesday and is apparently an office during the day and a pub by night. They offer great cocktails and toasties, has a very small and lively crowd. Entry only if you ring the bell. Very unique indeed. 

We tried to check out a few places in Fountainhas but they were packed to the gills so we called it a night.