I weaved my way past all these people through Candolim beach, Sinquerim and on and on till I reached the Fort Aguada wall. It took me a whole hour one way. Then the slow trek back. After a two hour walk, settled down at Pine Tree and got Satya (he is Gopal's nephew) to bring me a nice coconut. Read a bit, wrote a bit, ate breakfast and waited for Vidyuth to arrive.
For a while the pendulum swung towards Anjuna beach but Vidyuth finally decided that we will 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 content creators and the streets were full of tourists like us posing and taking pics and videos. 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 managed to irritate the locals and there are many boards saying photography is prohibited. One board even explained that it was due to the rude and argumentative behavior of the photo takers who seemed to be believe that it is their right to take pics and videos that has forced them to put up these notices. I would have too if I was living there. Or at least I would have charged a tax to enter that Quarter which would go to the owners living there for the trouble they go through.
I read somewhere that there was a residence of Vasco da Gama somewhere there. That man seems to be everywhere - did I not see a tomb of his at Fort Kochi last year, a statue of his on the Arch of Viceroys. It definitely needs a half day walk, with frequent stops at various bars and cafes.
From there we headed to Dona Paula where I wanted a couple of pictures related to my great romantic novel 'If You Love Someone...'. Much of the story is set around Dona Paula. We parked near Sandalwood hotel and I walked down to the beach behind the hotel 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 listening to some great 80s music. 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 at just the right moment. I think I must have had 3-4 beers extra only because of him.
And then Vidyuth joined me up and we sat and chatted. A nice evening under the stars. Towards the end we saw Gopal heading back with a half used hookah and Vidyuth asked him if I could try it since I had expressed a desire to puff at one because I never had. Gopal got me a filter and I smoked in a bit of some apple flavoured stuff. Another out of comfort zone stuff.
At an appropriate time when the world seemed to have retired we headed back to our nest and crashed out.
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