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| Calangute beach - Fort Aguada in the distance |
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| Pine Tree Shack |
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| Coconut water and the sea |
I headed out past Pine Tree shack and looked left and right. To my right was Baga beach and to the left was Fort Aguada - both a clear 45-60 minute walk one way. I started off towards Fort Aguada which features in my great romance 'If You Love Someone...,' and decided to head back after 30 mts into the walk. That way I would get an hours walk.
The beach was full of people ahead of the long weekend. Young couples, families, kids - but mostly people who were taking reels wearing expensive clothes and walking into the water with some special angles and poses with cameramen following them around. I must have walked into a thousand reels, pictures, videos as people went on their normal life of clicking for social media. On the commercial front fishermen were busy fishing, new shacks were being built ahead of the season etc.
I returned to Pine Tree shack after an hour and Vidyuth joined me. We had a quick and solid breakfast of toast and omelette before heading out to Divar Island, one of the 17 islands in Goa apparently, which was highly recommended to me by a friend as "something I should not miss". It was an hour away from where we were and since I also realised that Old Goa which was also on my list was close by, the decision was easy. I also wanted to experience the ferry ride which was perfect because Divar Island is only reachable by ferry - they never built a bridge to preserve the serenity of the place. Ferry ride - my second out of comfort zone (I'm not much of a boat ride, water person you see!)
It was an hour away, a lovely drive until the ferry point which is right next to the Arch of Viceroys. Since ferries are almost every 5 minutes there's no timings - they are on all day and you can get into one in 5 minutes. We got on the ferry and got off, no one asked for any money though online reports said they charged 10 bucks.
Once on the island (did they shoot 'Hello Zindagi' here?) we went straight up to the Lady of Compassion Church an 18th century edifice) on the hill top. It is closed but is very beautiful. There is a small Chapel with walled graves (graves in the wall) as was the custom those days. Next we searched a bit for the Saptakoteswara temple ruins but got lost or didn't have the patience to take another ferry. Then we stopped at 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. Avinash bar had a decent kitchen - I tried a fish plate which was very nice but I think one should try the special fish plate which has King Fish. My phone ran out of charge and I forgot the charger so I now have to rely on V's phone!
We headed back and took the ferry across to the mainland (this time he asked for 7 rupees) and the plan was to see a bit of Old Goa - the Bom de Jesus church (part of my 100 wonders of India list), 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 Archaeological 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. It is one of the five gates to the fort city of Old Goa!
A little beyond that into the City of Goa is the St Cajetan Church (1661), a World Heritage Site (as are all the others), also known as the Church of Divine Providence. It was built by Italian priests after getting special 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 with a bunch of foreigners.
Next we parked towards the western end of the Archaeological Survey and walked in. On display to the left are several Archaeological finds - sculptures, pillar, hero stones - we didn't check them out closely.
Then we came across the Chapel of St Catherine (1510), a UNESCO Heritage site, which was built by Afonso 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 step well nearby. A nice place to just sit in the greenery.
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. It houses the body of Francis Xavier, who was a priest of the Jesuit order whose body is still in good condition despite his passing away 400 years ago. 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 century, 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 went back to the parking area, drank some coconut water, 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. It was constructed by friars of the St Augustine order. In the 18th century the Portuguese asked the friars to leave. The Chapel went into neglect after they left and is now in ruins but presents a dramatic sight. It's bell has been moved to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception in Panjim.
It was a hot day and V has been very patient with me and my enthusiasm for these old structures. We headed back from there to meet Vivek who took us to Panjim and a place called Cafe Nationale where we are some lovely poie 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. Day well spent.
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