First impressions were NOT so good!
The smooth running, fairly comfortable nine and a half hour flight landed us at midnight in the Indian paradise of Goa, coming from the cold air in England the warm air slapped us in the face and made the back of our throats feel like we'd just choked up a peanut.
Getting through Immigration was no trouble (we were nervous of refusal, we heard that booking a one way flight into India and having no exit route could cause problems) and we found our cab driver with no trouble. We dumped our bag in the boot and set off on the hour long drive to Canacona. On route we asked a few questions and went through the general small talk (everyone speaks very good English), driving on the dark roads with palm trees looming we saw the odd crazy moped driver; some alone, some tourists and one with a husband and wife on, in top to toe traditional clothing, there were also old 70's looking lorries delivering goods. The drive seemed longer than the flight, up the mountain roads and then taking little side street turns going through run down towns with the odd tuk tuk parked up, litter, people sleeping under tarpaulins, smashed up cars, random cows sleeping on the pavement, and dogs yapping and chasing our taxi! Eventually we pulled up to the resort around 2am, we entered through the frail looking wooden gates and were lead by a tired looking receptionist to our little hut. We sorted out our things and settled in. Feeling tired yet restless and uncertain as to whether we had made a mistake coming here, we tried to get some sleep. With coconuts falling and hitting the roof, the passing of mopeds and the howling and barking of stray dogs as our soundtrack! Arriving anywhere in the world at 2am isn't good especially one that's so culturally different to ours.
Rising weary headed around 9am, we sorted out our bags, freshened up and headed out. Feeling like pit ponies, the strong glare from the sun was blinding but a welcome sign as we ventured through those frail wooden gates. The beach was about 100 metres away, just one direct road consisting of market stalls selling all kinds of clothes, bags and trinkets, tuk tuks, taxi ranks, the odd food stall, hairdressers, other resorts and a couple of cafés. This strip was of course very busy, always having to look out and move out of the way of traffic, and everyone wanting your attention to buy something or to jump in a tuk tuk or taxi, the sight of this place in the daytime put our minds at ease. During the night we heard the ocean waves, so that was our first port of call.
The beach...
The strong hazy sunlight and the white (hot) sandy beach was even more picturesque than we imagined the natural umbrellas and the gentle motion of the ocean were the icing on the cake! As it was approaching end of the season, the beach named Patnem was uncrowded by day and peacefully tranquil by sunset! It was the obvious place to spend most of our days, there were a lot of restaurant huts, all pretty much the same with the odd serving soya milk (for Kirsty's needs), nevertheless all served amazing food and were ridiculously good value for money (most meals only coming to around £8 including drinks). It was hard to sleep with the heat and all the dogs barking, mopeds passing, insects and bugs chirping (one night we had a lizard, cockroach and a frog in our room!) and mosquitoes biting, we usually rose around 10am, then had breakfast and relaxed, after working hard to go on this adventure it was good to start it by doing nothing for a few days! To enhance the mellow feeling we decided to take out a couple of kayaks and paddle around on the giant bath that is the Arabian sea.
One morning we took our first tuk tuk ride to a local clothes and spice market, it was so busy even the tuk tuk driver refused to go in, we had to park up the road and go on foot! The things that were on sale wasn't of much interest to us, more for local restaurants and the most of the clothes were sarongs and underwear, however we did buy some bananas! It was a little eye opener and was a laugh to see how crowded it became!
There was a current of colour from the vegetables and spices.
Dudhsagar Waterfalls & Spice Plantation We took a day off our new profession of being beach bums. The hotel sorted us out a driver for the day, it was a two hour drive to these waterfalls, so the chaotic journey began, the Indians drive like maniacs! Dangerously overtaking round bends, not stopping for each other and sounding their horns every 10 seconds, it was a scenic route however on the mountain roads. Once we got there we had to take a 45 minute off road dirt track in a jeep. After eventually sorting out and paying for our life jackets in the usual hectic and unorganised fashion, us and 5 other piled into the jeep! The 10km dirt track was slow going, unbelievably bumpy and other oncoming jeeps slowed us even more so! It was fun on the rough terrain, although uncomfortable!
A short 5 minute walk through the forest and the waterfalls were there, even with it being crowded they still looked spectacular! We managed to find a spot on the rocks and had a refreshing dip! (after dealing with the self taken photograph requests)
We only had an hour before we had to head back to the jeep for the rocky and rough return journey, whilst waiting for the jeep we saw monkeys!
On route home our driver, Sandeep (A friendly little man who spoke like a machine gun and laughed a lot) suggested we take a look at a spice farm. As the entrance fee wasn't expensive and it included a free lunch we headed there. On arrival we were given a flower necklace and petals were thrown over us, followed by lemon tea and an Indian tequila shot called Fenny.
After lunch, which was a buffet of a couple of different curries served on plates made of leaves, our group of around twenty were taken into the small gardens they have to show what is grown. It was fascinating to hear the uses of all the plants (like most tours you get bombarded with facts and figures and it becomes difficult to retain the information, all we remembered is Aloe Vera is good for everything!) . Unfortunately we wasn't allowed to take pictures during the tour which was a shame. The tour only lasted around 45 minutes, but it was an interesting little detour on our journey back, and an all you eat buffet is always a bonus! It was good to do something other than the beach but we were eager to dive back in the ocean!! Our time in this paradise was over, we will miss the dogs and the cows on the beach invading everyone's personal space, we will miss eating dinner watching the sunset, with locals playing cricket on the beach and the odd middle aged women sitting with crossed legs staring out at the ocean, and we'll miss the general laid back atmosphere. Patnem truly was a little gem and was a place where time seemed to stand still, all going well we may return at the end of our trip before re-entering the rat race! Our little hut will also be missed, we got on well with the owner of resort, an Indian man with an American wife with a new born baby, they gave us some helpful tips, like eating beef in most places will give you instant diarrhoea! But, onward we must go, to our first host in Northern Goa.
The surface of India has only just been scratched!
Our accommodation! This place was pretty damn incredible, a little away from the hustle and bustle but close enough to the beach and everything else, the wooden huts inside were clean and subtly decorated with colourful paintings and vintage furniture.
