WOW!! and then WOW!! five more time. You've got to be kidding me. Is this place for real or what!!
It was a late night arrival due to an airline late departure from Mumbai, but hey seems to be a way of life here, so we had no idea what was in store for us due to our arrival in the dark. This resort is fabulous but the beach is absolutely world class and one of the BEST we have ever been to. I look down the beach in both directions and am unable to see the end, either way. No obstructions, just miles and miles of wide, expansive stretches of sand lay before you. Apparently 22 miles of uninterrupted walking, from end to end. The waters are calm, warm and greenish in colour, as there is no coral present. But hey, as a species, humans have killed off most of the coral anyways. See video below
25 years ago I spoke with a woman in Barbados who spoke in glowing terms of this area and I had always been keen to visit at some point. Why, oh why, did we wait so long? Apparently there are two Goas. The one to the north of here where the tattooed, body piercing, purple hair, druggies hang out, at all night raves and here to the south where the more affluent, geriatric and family types care to leisure away with walks, swimming or bike rides along the beach. I'll gladly hang out with the latter group as I have had the opportunity to see first hand how the first group interacts, when we visited Phi Phi in Thailand a few years back. What a bunch of losers.
There must be an air force base in the vicinity, as periodically we see pairs of F35s do flybys. Jennifer expresses that it may be the Indian air force to which I reply "If it is the Pakistan air force then you can stick your head where the sun don't shine and kiss your vacation goodbye".
The sand is of a heavy talcum like substance and my toes love it. When you walk on the baked sand which has been washed by the surf, it squeaks.Though not white, I would describe the colour as a pale honey brown or is of a Canada A, extra light, maple syrup hew. The beach itself is devoid of litter and extremely few vendors about, and the few that are, leave you alone.
There are innumerable delightful beach shacks scattered about along the shoreline. Beer is cheap and cold and the food is hot and tasty. One large bottle (650 ml) of Kingfisher, the local brew, costs about $1.75 CDN. For lunch yesterday we had three large Kingfisher beers, I had a chicken/noodle/soup thing and Jennifer had a cauliflower/potato/vegetable/curry thing. All in, it was about $13 CDN. We went back for dinner. Two vodka/tonics, two mohitos, one bottle Sauvagnon Blanc and a Sea Bass with chips which was far too much for the two of us. A little over $55 CDN. Pinch me. Too good to be true. What an idyllic setting to boot. I actually didn't have enough cash and we weren't going to order the wine but our waiter Zindel said "no problem, come back, pay tomorrow". which I did :)
I did my first run this morning at about 07:30. This was the first since we have been to India. The sun was up but there was a misty haze covering the inland jungle. Mysterious and exciting as I run the flat expansive beach. Twenty five minutes out and twenty five minutes back, high fiving other runners taking advantage of the cool temperatures before the high of 34C is expected later in the afternoon.. Enough people to keep it interesting, but not overcrowded in the slightest. Lots of Ruskies and Brits but who knows what they are talking about anyway.
I witnessed the hauling in of the catch of a large fishing boat while out on my run and subsequent repacking of the nets to go out tonight. There are many young people employed doing this. Thank Allah, for who knows what mischief these young people would be getting into if they weren't doing this.
I can't get enough of this place and Jennifer wants to walk to the next village to check it out. I will go without protest but it will be a struggle to pull myself away from this indescribable setting. We have to come back!
This will be my last post for a couple of weeks as we start the long journey home on Monday. However, we are back on the road as of February 28 and my new blog " From Zipping the Canopy to Navigating the Canal " will be posting from Costa Rica http://trekingcostarica.blogspot.in/ I hope you have enjoyed my last five weeks of posts and will look forward to the next. Namaste.
It was a late night arrival due to an airline late departure from Mumbai, but hey seems to be a way of life here, so we had no idea what was in store for us due to our arrival in the dark. This resort is fabulous but the beach is absolutely world class and one of the BEST we have ever been to. I look down the beach in both directions and am unable to see the end, either way. No obstructions, just miles and miles of wide, expansive stretches of sand lay before you. Apparently 22 miles of uninterrupted walking, from end to end. The waters are calm, warm and greenish in colour, as there is no coral present. But hey, as a species, humans have killed off most of the coral anyways. See video below
25 years ago I spoke with a woman in Barbados who spoke in glowing terms of this area and I had always been keen to visit at some point. Why, oh why, did we wait so long? Apparently there are two Goas. The one to the north of here where the tattooed, body piercing, purple hair, druggies hang out, at all night raves and here to the south where the more affluent, geriatric and family types care to leisure away with walks, swimming or bike rides along the beach. I'll gladly hang out with the latter group as I have had the opportunity to see first hand how the first group interacts, when we visited Phi Phi in Thailand a few years back. What a bunch of losers.
There must be an air force base in the vicinity, as periodically we see pairs of F35s do flybys. Jennifer expresses that it may be the Indian air force to which I reply "If it is the Pakistan air force then you can stick your head where the sun don't shine and kiss your vacation goodbye".
The sand is of a heavy talcum like substance and my toes love it. When you walk on the baked sand which has been washed by the surf, it squeaks.Though not white, I would describe the colour as a pale honey brown or is of a Canada A, extra light, maple syrup hew. The beach itself is devoid of litter and extremely few vendors about, and the few that are, leave you alone.
There are innumerable delightful beach shacks scattered about along the shoreline. Beer is cheap and cold and the food is hot and tasty. One large bottle (650 ml) of Kingfisher, the local brew, costs about $1.75 CDN. For lunch yesterday we had three large Kingfisher beers, I had a chicken/noodle/soup thing and Jennifer had a cauliflower/potato/vegetable/curry thing. All in, it was about $13 CDN. We went back for dinner. Two vodka/tonics, two mohitos, one bottle Sauvagnon Blanc and a Sea Bass with chips which was far too much for the two of us. A little over $55 CDN. Pinch me. Too good to be true. What an idyllic setting to boot. I actually didn't have enough cash and we weren't going to order the wine but our waiter Zindel said "no problem, come back, pay tomorrow". which I did :)
I did my first run this morning at about 07:30. This was the first since we have been to India. The sun was up but there was a misty haze covering the inland jungle. Mysterious and exciting as I run the flat expansive beach. Twenty five minutes out and twenty five minutes back, high fiving other runners taking advantage of the cool temperatures before the high of 34C is expected later in the afternoon.. Enough people to keep it interesting, but not overcrowded in the slightest. Lots of Ruskies and Brits but who knows what they are talking about anyway.
I witnessed the hauling in of the catch of a large fishing boat while out on my run and subsequent repacking of the nets to go out tonight. There are many young people employed doing this. Thank Allah, for who knows what mischief these young people would be getting into if they weren't doing this.
I can't get enough of this place and Jennifer wants to walk to the next village to check it out. I will go without protest but it will be a struggle to pull myself away from this indescribable setting. We have to come back!
This will be my last post for a couple of weeks as we start the long journey home on Monday. However, we are back on the road as of February 28 and my new blog " From Zipping the Canopy to Navigating the Canal " will be posting from Costa Rica http://trekingcostarica.blogspot.in/ I hope you have enjoyed my last five weeks of posts and will look forward to the next. Namaste.
This has to be to Benaulim Beach in Goa!! We spent 3 weeks there. Loved it.You might even bump into our fiend Annie and Peter from England. They go every winter. Wouldn't that be amazing! When we go back to India we will definitely be stopping there. By the way am I right, is it Benaulim or near it?
ReplyDeleteWinner,winner!!Right on Daniele!! We are staying at he Taj Exotica just down the road from Benaulim. We have met lots of Brits, but no Annie and Peter. I wish we were staying three weeks but alas the trip home begins on Monday, arriving home on Tuesday. See you soon :)
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