Goan beaches
We are still in India and now in the state of Goa. Getting here was a long 3 days of traveling. From Kochi it was a 6hr train trip to Calicut, where we spent the night at the Beach Hotel, built in 1890 for the British and right across the street from the beach. We took a sunset walk on the beach and were THE spectacle of the evening! It was us and all Indian families and school kids and we truly felt like celebtities as dozens of people came up wanting to talk to us, shake our hands, and take photos with us. The kids, especially, were fun and wanted to practice their english on us.
The next morning we had a 7:30am train from Calicut to Mangalore, another 6hr journey. There we stayed at a rather dumpy hotel called the Nalapad Residency. For one night, however , was just fine and it was a central location. We did have a really fantastic lunch and then I finally succumbed to Jim’s desire for me to buy a sari. I think they’re really gorgeous but just didn’t want to spend much money on something I might just wear for a halloween party or such. However, it was much too beautiful to resist. Peacock green silk with an extraordinary sequined pattern on it. Even just hanging the fabric up to view will be worth the cost!
From Mangalore we found that there were no AC trains going to Goa so we took the 7am 2nd class car. It was just fine since luckily we took that morning departure. It was, however, slow, and almost 7hrs later we finally pulled into Madgao station and then still had to go 1hr further in the taxi to get to Panjim, where we are now. Believe me, we were DONE with traveling for a few days!
We tried to book into the Alfonso Inn, a very cute small hotel that is extremely popular and doesn’t take reservations. Too bad for us, it was full. So, we moved to the more expensive Panjim Inn which is just great. It is a Heritage hotel and has fantastic tilework everywhere, the most comfortable beds and best showers we’ve had since Vientianne, Laos and a really nice staff. It’s just 1block from Alfonso Inn so still a great, central location.
For the last 4 days we’ve been doing a couple of self-guided walking tours, eating, napping, and just wandering along the waterfront, etc. Panjim was a Portugese settlement and the buildings are highly indicative of that. It’s much more like walking through small town Europe than India!
We are having yet another issue with US Customs/ DHL with the latest box we sent home. Thank goodness it appears to be all resolved now and we only have one more shipment to go (from Egypt). Everything we buy on our safari we’ll just carry home with us!!!! Very sick of US Customs to be sure- Don’t even get me started on what I think of them!
Tomorrow, we head to Palolem for a nice, relaxing beach. We’re due to be there 4nights and then move to the northern beaches of Anjuna for 4nights. Our waiter tonight, however, said we should just stay at Palolem the whole time because it’s much nicer than Anjuna so…we’ll see..maybe we’ll spend the entire 8nts there before coming back here to Panjim for 1 night before our flight.
Only 3 1/2 months to go before we go home, which is a bit of an odd thought after being gone for almost 7mths! Now that we’re on the downward slope we’re actually starting to think about (gasp) jobs and a new house, etc. yikes! But, for now, we can just enjoy this incredible experience we’re going through and enjoy having no real schedule!
Hope this finds you all happy & healthy. All our love, J&R
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