We’d planned a holiday for over three months. And on D-day, the elements (read: traffic, cabbie, East Bengal-Mohun Bagan football match) conspired to make us miss our flight.
That’s how our trip to Goa took off — without us.
But we weren’t about to lose a single day of our meticulously planned — yes, we even used ExcelSheet — vacation! In fact we’d chosen September (end of the monsoons) so it would be different from the same old sun-and-sand experience. Even if we were heading to a familiar tourist spot it was an unfamiliar time of year. We reached our destination smarting from the pinch of the extra 10 grand each of us shelled out to catch the very next flight out of Calcutta.
Goa, however, can take away the pain of any pinch and the air out of any ‘plan’! “Relax no, bug***!” they like to say there. And that’s what our vacation punch line became.
It was the brightest Monday — in our minds. By evening it would begin to rain. But now the sun was mellow and day one at Baga, where we’d put up, began with a walk to the beach.
Baga is around 10km west of Mapusa and extends out of Calangute beach and is less crowded. Baga is also more scenic with a hillock on one end and a quaint retreat house atop it. Being off-season, the shacks were relatively empty, the owners eager to please and except for the sea, everything was heartwarmingly lazy.
So naturally, brunch was a four-hour affair. By the end of it, we decided that only the most frenzied partying could help us shed the kilos we’d put on from all the beer and batter-fried sea food.
Baga is known for popular nightspots in Goa like Mambo’s, Tito’s, Fiesta, and Cavala. But we’d almost forgotten that this was September. Fiesta was closed, and the scene at Mambo’s and Tito’s was boring. So we headed for Cavala, and thank god!
The relaxed buzz of guests, live music and great food and wine at this ivy-clad hotel was just what we needed. Designed by Goan architect, Lucio Miranda, Cavala, is a refreshing Portuguese-Goan style building — with its red laterite façade, tiled roof and wrought iron balconies.
After the first day of chilling out Goa style, we were ready for action on the next. We hired two bikes — the best way to experience Goa this time of the year — and set out for Anjuna beach.
Eight kilometres west of Mapusa, Anjuna is a rocky beach with a stunning view of the horizon. The little bazaar at the approach is as endearing for the trinkets on sale as the women selling them. “Buy something. Make my day,” they call in a rustic tone and the most amusing European accent, picked up from foreign tourists.
Our next stop was Vagator, a 20-minute ride from Anjuna. Vagator has dramatic red cliffs plunging down towards the shore and is split into two by a seaside headland that holds the parking lot. As you face the sea, on your right is North Vagator Beach (Big Vagator) and on your left Ozram beach or Little Vagator.
The other view on our right as we faced the sea got us so excited that we decided to undertake a trek — laziness be damned — early next morning. It was the Chapora Fort.
The ride to Chapora felt like straight out of a movie. Verdant hills, lush fields, clouds turning from white to grey as we raced them, and even a double rainbow — we decided we were in The Motorcycle Diaries.
Located 10km from Mapusa, Chapora Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1617. The view of the sea and nearby beaches during the uphill trek is worth every breath you expend going up. The fort is in ruins but you can still see the heads of the two tunnels that were the supply and, probably also escape, routes for besieged defenders.
As we walked past the gate, it felt like stepping back in time. It gave us goose-bumps. Part of which, of course, was the result of me recalling that Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna sang paeans to their friendship in Dil Chahta Hai at this very spot!
While we explored the hill on the other side of the fort, a storm broke out. We were at the edge of a cliff that extends out for from the fort and ends over the sea. With nowhere to take shelter, we simply watched in awe. The clouds blew in, gathered right over us and burst open in a 15-minute shower leaving us drenched and thrilled to the bone. On our way back, we hit Curly’s, a little shack on Anjuna. Another lazy four-hour lunch, we were back in Goa mode.
And that’s how we remained the next day too. We swam and chilled out in front of the NV Beach Resort at Calangute beach. The most delectable golden fried squids, lazy deck chairs, and a playful family of three German Shepherds, made our day.
And like anyone who holidays there, we woke up the next day — our last in Goa — rattled by nightmares of getting back to work.
Our only consolation was the promise of an awesome lunch at Panjim. A friend had suggested Viva Panjim, run by the charming Linda D’Souza on the ground floor of her house. The place, also recommended by The Lonely Planet, is perfect for Goan staples like sausage rice, fish curry, xacuti, vindaloo and cafreal. The city also made for the most beautiful architectural eye candy.
And as we finally drove out of Panjim, our hearts and stomachs sated, all’s well that ends well we thought — and happily braced ourselves for our credit card bills.
No comments:
Post a Comment