After a few days here on my own, it was great that Deryn arrived for some R 'n R. It was lovely to see her and it was like Xmas as she came loaded with goodies including the all important Liquorice Allsorts that Ant and I had been searching for all through India and Sri Lanka and more sweeties and chocolate from Mum as well as further supplies of handwash – thanks Mum.
After a morning walk (needed after all the Liquorice Allsorts and chocolate we had consumed), we would settle down on the beach in front of Buddha’s Bar and while away the afternoon catching up on all the gossip from the mags that Deryn brought in. The sari clad beach lady who seems to direct the placement of beach beds as well as taking food and drink orders, selling clothes and doing manicures and massages, sat with us for a while and flicked through OK Magazine. Now I haven’t always heard of everyone in there these days, but it was odd to find, when she was asking about some pictures of Lisa Marie Presley that she had never even heard of Elvis…. obviously he left the building some time ago in Goa!
Our nightlife was predictably quiet – not that we’re ones for a late nightclub, but they weren’t on offer anyway. After a couple of nights eating in the hotel we changed venue and took ourselves off to Buddha’s Bar for something to eat as the sun went down, very civilised especially as wine was on 3 for 2 during Happy Hour… But the early evenings gave Deryn time to brush up on her scouse criminal skills – safebreaking! The in room safes were a little unpredictable and on a couple of occasions we both had to get someone up from reception to sort it out. But Deryn is obviously the more observant (or criminal…) of the two of us. She managed to see the combination they used to open it up and used that herself every time it went wrong.
We took a trip one morning out to Old Goa to the big Basilica of Bom Jesus that houses the body of St Francis Xavier. All very odd and miracles everywhere – long story but after he died away from Goa, he was buried on a beach for a while during his journey back – the reason isn’t too clear and they only managed to find him again after a single flower grew in the sand to show where he was. He was then dug up again and there were no signs of decomposition. All this happened a few hundred years ago and still he is in apparently pristine condition in a glass case about three metres up in the air over the altar in the Basilica. It’s hard to confirm how pristine he actually is as it’s hard to see, but he is brought down once every ten years and paraded around, so I guess it must be true. He is the patron Saint of Goa and much revered here, and our taxi driver is sure that he is responsible for the fact that all the religions in Goa live peaceably together and that they are kept safe and have had no terrorism. I hope he manages to keep up on this last bit – after Mumbai, Goa is on major terrorist alert as it’s a place where large groups of Westerners congregate and is easily accessed from the sea (the route the Mumbai bombers used). But they are not just relying on St Francis Xavier, the authorities are doing their bit too, for example they have stopped the Saturday night market at Anjuna because of the risk, and the helicopter surveillance along the coast was quite evident on some nights. But it was a trip that we both enjoyed, en route seeing some of the beautiful countryside and the wide Mandovi River where huge rusty barges ply up and down with their loads of manganese mined further upstream. It seems Goa has more “goang” for it (sorry….) than just its beaches!
We also had to make the obligatory stops at the local handicraft shops. As those of you who know me understand (and Deryn is known to be a collector of some points too), I do love a loyalty scheme and my various points collecting efforts have rewarded me with free flights, hotels and other goodies over time. When the driver explained that every time he took us into one of these shops he got points to collect for a gift at the end of the season, it was hard to refuse. It was a bit of a scam really – he advised us not to buy anything in any of them as they were too expensive, but he got the points just for our visit. It is nice to be doing something for the local economy and frankly cheaper than a tip!
It’s interesting that the Goan’s see themselves as Goan’s and not Indians. Several times the taxi driver made reference to the “Indians” meaning everywhere else in the country apart from Goa. And in its way it is a little different. Predominantly Catholic, with a high level of education and literacy, it is mostly cleaner than other parts of the country – although it still does have its moments in that department. The site around the Basilica (a World Heritage Site) was pristine. The religion, whilst obviously Catholic, also has a little mix of Hindu – for example the marigold flower garlands that were being sold as offerings to the Saint. Some of the Western tourists were also a little confused by this religious mix and were wearing the garlands as rather pretty flower necklaces…..
After a morning walk (needed after all the Liquorice Allsorts and chocolate we had consumed), we would settle down on the beach in front of Buddha’s Bar and while away the afternoon catching up on all the gossip from the mags that Deryn brought in. The sari clad beach lady who seems to direct the placement of beach beds as well as taking food and drink orders, selling clothes and doing manicures and massages, sat with us for a while and flicked through OK Magazine. Now I haven’t always heard of everyone in there these days, but it was odd to find, when she was asking about some pictures of Lisa Marie Presley that she had never even heard of Elvis…. obviously he left the building some time ago in Goa!
Our nightlife was predictably quiet – not that we’re ones for a late nightclub, but they weren’t on offer anyway. After a couple of nights eating in the hotel we changed venue and took ourselves off to Buddha’s Bar for something to eat as the sun went down, very civilised especially as wine was on 3 for 2 during Happy Hour… But the early evenings gave Deryn time to brush up on her scouse criminal skills – safebreaking! The in room safes were a little unpredictable and on a couple of occasions we both had to get someone up from reception to sort it out. But Deryn is obviously the more observant (or criminal…) of the two of us. She managed to see the combination they used to open it up and used that herself every time it went wrong.
We took a trip one morning out to Old Goa to the big Basilica of Bom Jesus that houses the body of St Francis Xavier. All very odd and miracles everywhere – long story but after he died away from Goa, he was buried on a beach for a while during his journey back – the reason isn’t too clear and they only managed to find him again after a single flower grew in the sand to show where he was. He was then dug up again and there were no signs of decomposition. All this happened a few hundred years ago and still he is in apparently pristine condition in a glass case about three metres up in the air over the altar in the Basilica. It’s hard to confirm how pristine he actually is as it’s hard to see, but he is brought down once every ten years and paraded around, so I guess it must be true. He is the patron Saint of Goa and much revered here, and our taxi driver is sure that he is responsible for the fact that all the religions in Goa live peaceably together and that they are kept safe and have had no terrorism. I hope he manages to keep up on this last bit – after Mumbai, Goa is on major terrorist alert as it’s a place where large groups of Westerners congregate and is easily accessed from the sea (the route the Mumbai bombers used). But they are not just relying on St Francis Xavier, the authorities are doing their bit too, for example they have stopped the Saturday night market at Anjuna because of the risk, and the helicopter surveillance along the coast was quite evident on some nights. But it was a trip that we both enjoyed, en route seeing some of the beautiful countryside and the wide Mandovi River where huge rusty barges ply up and down with their loads of manganese mined further upstream. It seems Goa has more “goang” for it (sorry….) than just its beaches!
We also had to make the obligatory stops at the local handicraft shops. As those of you who know me understand (and Deryn is known to be a collector of some points too), I do love a loyalty scheme and my various points collecting efforts have rewarded me with free flights, hotels and other goodies over time. When the driver explained that every time he took us into one of these shops he got points to collect for a gift at the end of the season, it was hard to refuse. It was a bit of a scam really – he advised us not to buy anything in any of them as they were too expensive, but he got the points just for our visit. It is nice to be doing something for the local economy and frankly cheaper than a tip!
It’s interesting that the Goan’s see themselves as Goan’s and not Indians. Several times the taxi driver made reference to the “Indians” meaning everywhere else in the country apart from Goa. And in its way it is a little different. Predominantly Catholic, with a high level of education and literacy, it is mostly cleaner than other parts of the country – although it still does have its moments in that department. The site around the Basilica (a World Heritage Site) was pristine. The religion, whilst obviously Catholic, also has a little mix of Hindu – for example the marigold flower garlands that were being sold as offerings to the Saint. Some of the Western tourists were also a little confused by this religious mix and were wearing the garlands as rather pretty flower necklaces…..
