Viva Goa! Adventures In Goa & Beyond

The lotus lake

As a collective sigh of relief is heard throughout Blogland, after a fortnight spent exploring Karnataka, we returned to our beloved Goa for the final leg of our trip.

Main road, Benaulim. 

There's a lot of negativity towards Goa and, I'll admit, that there are places we aren't keen on, over-developed, touristy, brash & dirty; but Goa is a state, not a city, and if you do your homework you'll find a spot perfect for you. Chatting to a Canadian at Delhi airport, about to tour India for the first time, she told me that Goa was the place she was least excited about but, as visiting India was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, felt she had to experience it. Wait and see, I told her, Goa, will get under your skin, don't write it off just yet. 

Dressing up in my friend, Laxmi's traditional Lamani clothing.

After the 13.5 hour journey back up the coast we reached Margao railway station late in the evening, jumped in an auto rickshaw to nearby Benaulim and found ourselves a basic room for a night just so we could shower, dump our bags and go for dinner. Early the following morning we strolled through the village eventually finding ourselves a £5-a-night room in a private house in one of Benaulim's outlying fishing vaddos. From our balcony, village housewives cooked on open fires while their husbands chopped wood or repaired their nets. Parakeets, drongos, bee eaters, kingfishers, bubuls and, at dusk, tiny Indian owls & bats flitted between the trees whilst mongooses and squirrels shimmied up the coco palms.

Firmly on the tourist map, Benaulim is popular with Westerners and Indians alike, but still manages to retain its old-world village charm and the pace of life is relaxed and wonderfully laid back. You'll find all the familiar comforts if you need them but its possible to avoid the trappings altogether if, like us, fancy hotels, swimming pools and continental breakfasts aren't your thing.

Jon leads the way to our place, the butter-coloured house in the distance.

Our lavish balcony

Benaulim bird life - a pond egret

We walk past the shacks and the rows of sunbeds thronging the main entrance to the beach and have the powdery, white sands virtually to ourselves. With our usual picnic of samosas or sweet buns, finger bananas and juicy oranges, we'll laze around on our beach blanket until sunset, undisturbed.

A short walk away from the Kashmiri tourist emporiums, cycle hire shops, cafes & market stalls thronging the main street you'll find shady lanes dotted with exquisite Portuguese-era villas and lush gardens.

Peeping through the windows of this grand house we saw rooms untouched by time, black and white family photographs lining the walls, ornate carved doorways, dusty crystal chandeliers and fine, antique colonial furniture.

The lady owner of this gorgeous 150 year old ancestral house overheard us admiring her home and invited us in to take a look around. She told her that her passion in life was gardening. Can you tell?

That's her maid helping out with the watering.

While tourists gather in cafes to use WiFi, just yards away are acres of emerald green paddy fields, still ploughed by ox carts.

Wandering around the wonderfully tranquil lotus lake is a great way to walk off our pav bhaji breakfast.

Remember me mentioning a chance meeting in a bar in Coorg which led to us visiting a coffee plantation? Not only were they the only Westerners we'd seen in days but one of them used to date a woman from Walsall & was a regular at a pub we know well. To further add to the freaky coincidence, just after we'd taken these photos we bumped into him again, 305 miles away from where we'd first met. Although we'd swapped emails none of us and discussed where we were heading next.

And the Canadian? Walking along the beach on our last day in Benaulim, I felt a tap on my shoulder and yes, it was her. You were right, she said, I loved India especially Goa, it really is magical. I'm coming back for a month next winter, I've already booked my accommodation. I'll see you next year.

You certainly will, love!

Aboard the epic Goa-Bombay-Delhi-Birmingham flight home

That's the end of our travels for another year. Its back to business as usual, we'll be selling our wares at Moseley tomorrow and have already ransacked the Black Country chazzas...see you soon!

If you can stand it, you'll find all our Goa photos HERE.