When you wake up one morning feeling rather empty in the head, a faint ache in your foot and a weird happy feeling- you are probably in Goa. It's in the air composition maybe!
It was a Saturday morning and we had barely slept for a couple of hours; But energized as we were, we headed out to the beach again.
Thankfully it was not raining, and the sand was dry enough for this little girl to make sand castles! I had my precious DSLR to cradle, otherwise would have joined hands for sure.
We roamed about a while, walking the length of the Baga beach. Again it hardly had people and was very calm and peaceful. The fishing boats perched quietly, far far away from the menacing rolls of the waves.
Walking through the length of the shoreline, I was humming a song in my head ( too bad a voice for out-loud) "Mausam k sargam ko sunn" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcvAL64oG1o) Its from a very very old movie, Khamoshi - which beautifully exudes the charm of a rustic, innocent old world Goa!
Afterwards, we headed back - took shower and were hungry enough to wolf down a village. The young bones in the group have enthusiastically searched entire Zomato and the research actually resulted in a wonderful find - Cafe Continga. Its a straight-out-of-picture-book pretty place, with a cute bird theme.
The predominant decor color was teal, with the entire garden area done up in fairy light , bird cages, fresh cut flowers and what not!
Food was decent, and special mention goes to a dish which was criticized a lot while being ordered - but the grumpy slightly hung over patron stood stubborn, and withstanding the allures of the other usual choices of english breakfast options. The pretty looking, fulfilling smoothie bowl which arrived was loved by all!
Another experiment which went well was the order of Shakshuka -A pan based egg preparation made on the base of tangy tomato sause. Again, apart from filling tummies,it made Instragam very proud :)
Once done, we headed out. The rain gods were finally back into action and a steady drizzle was causing the temperatures to ride down. We had plans to hit Casino that night, so half of the group wanted to sneak back into the coziness of the Airbnb pool and the other half was "wanderlusty".
No points in guessing who won! Plan was to visit Anjuna,Vagator and Chapora fort before our fuel ran off!
Even before we started off properly, right where the road curved - I saw a pretty church and was shutter happy!
Our next stop, a very nice 30 mins drive later was Anjuna Beach.Please be careful of local goons, donning the area who is going to heckle you for parking. Using the designated parking lots for Curlies or some other resort might be smarter. We were being asked 100 bucks for Parking right near the beach and 100 bucks for DSLR! We decided to duck and drive off to Vagator, and Chapora Fort.
The view from Chapora is one of my most favorite part of visiting Goa. The small cottages of W Goa, the innumerous Coconut trees and the vast expanse of sea mingling into sky somewhere far. The salty wind in your hair, and panoramic shots. How much better life can be?
I feel the most beautiful thing about travelling, not by the clock is the ability to appreciate whatever catches your fancy. And Goa, around this time of the year gave us a lot opportunity to "stand and stare" like that in "Leisure", a beautiful poem of William Henry Davies which has always struck a chord with me.
A quaint little house, which looked a slightly haunted though.
Getting lost, at the right place, can be a really great thing!