🙂 Stunning accommodation. Dolphins at breakfast.
🙁 Largely closed for the season
Goa … a place we had mixed feelings about visiting – it had been a bucket list destination in the 19990s but we did not get there during our trip … and we had heard that it had gone downhill …so were interested to see for ourselves… Verdict? Well… probably somewhat biased by our fantastic accommodation … we simply loved it there …but the other areas / beaches … not so much.
Our flight landed at 07h00 and we transferred to our wonderful boutique hotel on the beach called Ahilya By the Sea which is tucked away from the maddening crowds in the quiet Dolphin Bay. We had the Princesa Room at the Sunset Villa which overlooked the bay and was very comfortable with a large bathroom. There is a sunrise swimming pool and a sunset swimming pool. The staff are outstanding. The massages tough but rewarding. The food delicious. The cocktails smooth. Highly recommended.
We enjoyed breakfast while watching dolphins coming right into shore.
After breakfast we took the transport available to explore some of the Northern beaches – it cost £30 for the car and driver who waited for us wherever we wanted to go. We started at Anjuna Beach. It has a rich past of hippie culture. At night, Anjuna Beach becomes one of the best hubs in Goa for nightlife….however, it was almost deserted … the season was definitely over….so we walked over to the Blue Turtle Beach Bar on Morjim Beach which had come highly recommended. One can imagine that it must be a really cool vibe in the evenings as it is a lovely setting with a lovely beach. We enjoyed a delicious lunch with the local mud crabs and cheese being our favourite.
Every year, from October to April, Olive Ridley turtles head to these shores of Goa for nesting. The turtles lay hundreds of eggs, and after the incubation period of around two months, tiny turtles head back to the sea … it is a cause for concern what the impact of tourism must have but we noted that areas had been fenced off to protect the eggs.
We headed back to our little oasis at the hotel and spent the afternoon chilling by the pool.
Dinner was delicious … but somewhat ruined when our daughter Caitlyn called us to say that our gate mechanism at home had failed as our weeping willow had a branch fall on it so the gate did not close after she arrived and went to the loo … in that time our dogs had got out and Shumba had launched himself at one of our Villagers dogs… aaargh – so much for our peace and quiet… the poor girl was quite hysterical as the husband had been really aggressive towards her and had reported the incident to the police and the Council …according to our house sitter the whole incident had lasted less than 5 minutes and the woman led Shumba back by his collar with Thandi following. Caitlyn, who is a vet nurse examined their dog which was unharmed with no sign of injury but she had told them to take their dog to vet anyway for a check up and that we would cover the bill – the vet confirmed there were no injuries so all. The police took no action as no harm was done and the council thanked us for our version of events as it provided ‘a valuable and balanced insight into the incident’ along with the vet bill as they had claimed that our dogs were ‘dangerous, out of control and had injured their dog’ … ho, hum. This ruined my appetite and Paul was annoyed because I did not enjoy the meal as much as we should have done… but it was lovely a lovely evening… when we got back paul to explain how the dogs had got out and apologised for any stress caused and we have now fenced off the entire driveway in case the gate fails again. Dogs! Children!
The next morning at 08h00 I enjoyed a (vigorous!) massage in a beautiful setting – LOTS of coconut oil!
I met Paul at breakfast which we enjoyed while watching dolphins… We then chilled by the pool until lunchtime.
We met the founders of a cool Australian brand called NAGNATA, which is a Byron Bay based organic fashion…when I checked them out on Instagram I discovered that Lucy Whitehead followed them – so I asked her about this and she had actually included their ethos in her uni dissertation – small world! Anyhow, the lady called Hana gave us a top tip of how to spend our afternoon …. so we got our car and headed out for some sight seeing. Unfortunately the forts were closed but we snapped some pics.
Next stop was Fontainhas, the capital of Panjim’s Latin quarter, and which is known for narrow lanes full of colourful Portuguese villas with balconies and red-tiled roofs. The 1800s St. Sebastian’s Chapel is a whitewashed, 3-tiered church, and the chic Gallery Gitanjali shows contemporary art and hosts cultural events. Small boutiques sell Portuguese azulejo tiles, while traditional Goan eateries and quaint bakeries serve local dishes. Very pretty and quite unexpected!
We headed to dinner at the Lazy Goose which is on the river and where they have live music. The food was so-so but the music good – we enjoyed the evening. The sunset was divine.
The next morning I had booked another massage – this time a yoga massage – it was POWERFUL! I did not know my body could contort like that! 🙂
After yoga it was breakfast and dolphin watching time…then more relaxing by the pool followed by lunch and more relaxing by the pool!
As sunset approached we boarded a fishing vessel out to sea…it was stunning and we had the dolphins around our boat – a fitting final evening in India!
Our final dinner was also delicious!
Thank You India!
Go to: India
