After our lovely sojourn in the Kerala State, we were flying to Panjim (Panaji), located in southwest India on the Mandovi River by the coast of the Arabian Sea. Panjim is the capital of Goa State, and we were keen to experience its cobbled streets, colourful villas, and beautiful beaches. But first, we had to catch our plane.
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| Our huge airport dosas |
As it was mid-afternoon, we ended up at the airport for lunch. We chose a dosa each and crikey, they were huge – but oh so delicious. Good airport food.....who knew?
Our flight was due to arrive in Goa very late at night, so we had pre-purchased a taxi to our accommodation. But the taxi driver was manic. It was dark, with lots of roadworks, yet he seemed to think he had to pass everything else on the road at a frantic speed, and with much violent braking.
Leigh had to tell him we didn’t need to go so fast!
Eventually we made it safely to our accommodation, Hosperdaria Abrigo de Botelo, a gorgeous guest house in the Fontainhas or Latin Quarter of Panjim, a 20-minute walk from Panjim centre.
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| Hosperdaria Abrigo de Botelo |
It was midnight by the time we arrived, so we were let in quietly, and quickly retired to bed. We were delighted to find that our room had very high ceilings and so was cool, and it was quaint and clean.
The next morning, we met our charming hosts Sharon and Roy. They were so helpful over the following few days, and we shared some great conversation. Their guest house was a delight to stay in as they have such a beautiful old building with lovely rooms, and it is so well cared for.
We soon set out to explore the local Fontainhas neighbourhood.
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| Portuguese architecture in Fontainhas, Goa |
The Portuguese came to India in the 15th and 16th centuries and established themselves in the Goa area. Fontainhas still reflect the Portuguese style, with bright, colourful buildings on narrow streets and lanes, without footpaths, and occasionally cobbled.
After walking around for ages, we found a restaurant in a tiny lane serving typical Goan cuisine, and stopped there for lunch. The menu highlighted seafood, as Goa is well known for it. So we chose Chungdi Jhola, a saucy and spicy prawn curry dish. It was delicious.
Goa’s Portuguese occupation also brought about the introduction of Christianity in India and a plethora of churches and convents were built. Many are still standing and are now collectively, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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| Bom Jesus Basilica - Old Goa (UNESCO) |
So to see this collection of UNESCO churches, we took a taxi to Old Goa, about 30-minutes out of Panjim. The collection is impressive, but we particularly enjoyed the Baroque style Bom Jesus Basilica.
There was a funeral going on there so we couldn't take photos of the church interior. But the adjoining buildings are stunning. We also visited St Catherine's Chapel, Igreja de Sao Francisco de Assisi, the Church of Cajetan and the Church of St Augustine - all wonderful.
After that, we wound our way through the mountains and small villages, and visited two particularly beautiful and large Hindu temples.
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| Shri Mangeshi Temple, Mangeshi village, Goa |
One was the 450-year-old Mangeshi Temple in Mangeshi village, one of the largest and most frequently visited temples in Goa. The other was the Shri Shantadurga Temple, built in 1738.
Leaving the churches and temples, we headed deep into the hinterlands of India toward the Western Ghats, a series of hills that are UNESCO protected due to their diverse biosphere.
We went there to visit a spice plantation.
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| Marg at the spice plantation |
We had a very interesting tour and explanation of many different spices and their uses, followed by a nice lunch.
While there, we got chatting to a young Indian couple who live in Delhi. They were in Goa as it’s a holiday destination for Indian people, and they said that they like to get into its cleaner air. They also liked Panjim's casinos floating in the Mandovi River.
We had a long and interesting chat with that young couple, and it was enlightening to hear their views about life in India.
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| Salt collection near Panjim, Goa |
Returning from the spice plantation, we passed an area alongside the motorway where salt was being collected. The tide comes in and floods the man-made pans, then the heat causes the water to evaporate leaving the salt behind. It is then harvested.
We saw a number of small salt heaps in the fields, and one or two very large heaps sitting alongside the road. The salt from those was being bagged for local consumption. Bags were 10 kg and cost around 100 Rupees (approx NZ$2).
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| Portuguese architecture in Panjim city, Goa |
Later, we took one of our many walks into the centre of Panjim, admiring the bright coloured architecture and vibrant streets.
That night back in Fontainhas, we dined at the Verandah Restaurant set in a beautifully restored Portuguese-style house. We sat on the first-floor veranda in a delightful temperature with our G&Ts and another fantastic Goan seafood dish.
It was a convivial night, as the people at the other four tables on the verandah began to chat with us. We met a woman from Bombay (now Mumbai), a couple from Chennai, and another couple from Germany. We had a lovely evening.
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| Leigh at Sinquerim beach, Goa |
The following day, we grabbed a taxi to see some of Goa’s world-famous beaches.
We went to Sinquerim beach, the first in a string of beaches stretching up the coast. It was a beautiful golden sandy beach full of sun-loungers and umbrellas.
We paddled in the water which is the Arabian Sea, and found it very warm. Then we visited a string of old forts along the coast.
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| The lovely rotund tower at Fort Aguada, Goa |
Goa has over a dozen historic forts left over from the Portuguese and British Colonial periods. We visited three of them, enjoying clambering around these amazing fortified structures. We particularly liked Fort Aguada, with its very rotund white painted stone tower, and great views out over the Arabian Sea.
The weather was wonderful and we'd had another great day in beautiful Goa.
Afterwards, we found Café Vanite, a lovely dinner place that had wee balconies overlooking the street, and great food.
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| Marg on a balcony at Café Vanite, Panjim, Goa |
It’s been lovely here, but the time came to move on. The next morning, we caught a taxi at 5am to get us to the station for an early train. As we had no time for breakfast, our taxi driver kindly stopped at a local house that had a bakery underneath it.
He introduced us to the baker, who had just taken his first batch of bread rolls out of the oven. We readily bought some, and munched away in the back of the taxi very happily – lovely hot bread rolls – yuuumm!
Ninety minutes later, we arrived at the train station to catch the train to Hosapete, our next stop.
The above blog is part of our 2-month tour of India. The first blog on this tour is called “Off to Delhi".