Round the World 2015: Goa (India Lite)

We are staying in a resort near the village of Colva in the tiny state of Goa about 250 miles south of Mumbai on the Arabian Sea. We are south of the Tropic of Cancer and back in the tropics. The temperature when we got here was 40C (104F) with 90+% humidity. It cooled down to 35C (95F) the next day.

Goa is the smallest, but richest (GDP per capita) state in India. Tourism is its biggest industry. Goa was Portuguese India (a province of Portugal) prior to 1961. The Portuguese first settled in Goa in 1510. It still has a European flavor. Goans are still eligible for Portuguese passports. Goa has a coastal plain full of rice fields, palm, and coconut and mango trees. It kind of reminds me of the Pacific coast of Mexico.

I am told school is compulsory in Goa starting at age 3. There are 5 engineering schools and a medical college (and many more) according to our driver.

The resort we are staying in is very nice. The grounds are well kept by a man named Ignacio Fernandez (he says he has no Portuguese blood, but he is Catholic). There are plumeria, hibiscus and cashews everywhere. There can’t be more than twelve units filled, mostly Indians, but also Russian and French speakers and a couple from Washington DC. Wifi here is almost non-existent. The power goes out about once an hour. Jack measures outages by whether the ceiling fans come to a stop or not. They usually don’t.

The ocean temperature is 31C (88F). The pool is a similar temperature. It’s like a bath, but we’re enjoying it. The beach has the kind of fine sand that squeaks under your feet when you walk. The waves are good for body surfing and there is no rip. At lower tides you can ride waves up onto the beach. The wave sets are strange, about half a kilometer apart with relative calm in between. Many of the waves are over my head. I can only imagine how they seem to Jack. It’s a fight to get Jack to go to the beach and then it’s a fight to get him out of the water. There have only been two other groups of people from the resort at the beach, but there are dogs that hang out in the surf with us.

The food and service is excellent. I have been eating local Goan food, mostly fresh fish from the hundreds of wooden fishing boats pulled up on the beach. They also have good hot sausage a lot like chorizo. Zoe has been eating any kind of chicken and naan cooked in a tandoor oven. I haven’t found anything but pasta that Jack remotely agrees he likes. My stomach is still on the mend.

Zoe got a pedicure. When I approached the lady in my flip flops to ask about a pedicure, she looked terrified. When I told her it was for my daughter, she broke into a huge smile and was more than happy to be of service.

Both mangoes and cashews are in peak season here. Pineapples and mangoes are for sale all along the side of the road. We try to eat mangoes with every meal. They are delicious. Cashews are all over the ground like in Thailand, but not easy to come by in an edible form.

The air is much clearer in Goa, enough so that you can see the stars. I didn’t realize how my lungs hurt until having breathed the fresher air.

We ventured into the foothills to visit a spice plantation that has operated for over 300 years. We saw all spice, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, peppercorns, and vanilla. We also saw banana, betel nuts, coffee, cacao, coconuts, star fruit, papaya, pineapples, mangoes, and cashews. I didn’t know peppercorns and vanilla grew on vines. I also did not know nutmeg fruit is the source of mace. Nor did I know cardamom grew from tendrils at the base of a grass. Our guide provided all kinds of home remedies including laxatives, wrinkle creams and aphrodisiacs. They had a still for making liquor from the cashew fruits (Caju Fenny). It smelled pretty bad, but it had a kick.

Goa was a center for Catholic missionaries in Asia. Old Goa is full of cathedrals and monasteries. We visited Bom Jesus Basilica, built in 1590 and resting place of the remains of Saint Francis Xavier (in a glass casket).

All of our favorite beverages (watermelon, chocolate and beer)