4 days of fun !!

Working for past many days, we felt something had to be hit upon for some chilling out !!
Nothing cud work on par with a trip to GOA ...
So, we planned & executed , a 4 day venture to the beach-land of India - GOA :)
It was to be Sep 28-Oct 3, 2006 !

7 of us left Bangalore on eve, Sep28 in a bus, the journey literally dragged us over till noon, the next day ! Had some scenic views while on move, while entering Goa, along the Western Ghats &
of the sea that comes into view just a few mts away ! One can also see the "Sea-bird", a costal patrol along the Arabian Sea from the roadside, terrific to view .

It was midday when v reached Panaji, we hired few bikes to help us explore GOA as we were told that was the most comfortable means !!
We then started for our Charlston-Resort @ Calangute (17 kms frm Panaji), the course of travel was fantastic with bridges, river (@ Panaji), & then the roads plunging into deeper interiors, it was the Panaji-Mumbai highway NH17, we were on .
Reached Calangute in 45 mins or so, headed for our Charlston Beach Resort that was just in front of the Calangute-Beach, the resort was sheer satisfaction for us - swimming pool, comfortable rooms, Restaurant exposing the Beach !!
That eve, we strolled along Calangute Beach, spent time wandering along the shops nearby the beach..

Nextday, 30 Sep, we set out to the famous Aguada Fort, 10 kms from Calangute.
Captured numerous snaps en-route, the fort was at an appreciable altitude, along the sea !
The view of the sea alongside, with a watchtower was mindblowing ! We could see ships anchored deep into the sea..
Spent few hrs there & then rode to a Prison located near the sea, climbed down to the rocks alongside water.. the findings there were noteable - lots of crabs clinging to the algaed rocks !! Waves washing them over & over again, but not being able to stir these creatues an inch !
Our next spot was the Sinquirem Beach few kms frm the Prison, which offered yet another
glorious view of the sea ! Near this beach was also the famous Taj Beach Resort ..

We then set out to the Candolim Beach, another 5-6 kms drive ! It was dusk by then, but this couldn't prevent us from plunging into the sea for some time !! Had nice fun amongst the waves & after an hour there, returned to our Resort @ Calangute.. We had plans to join the Boat-Cruise @ Panaji that night, so we speeded up..

By 8 or so, we departed for Panjim(Panaji), had to get there real fast ere we would miss the last Boat-Cruise of that evening .. So, had a thrill-of-ride on the route ! Got there just in time to join the 8:30 Boat-Cruise on "Santa-Monica" ! They took us along the Panjim River into the Arabian Sea amidst music & dance on the boat. Their traditional Portuguese Dance made us burst into laughter! Their was dance on the desk for all age-groups - kids, men, women, couples !!
After an hour, we were back ..
After brief enquiry, we learned that Miramar Beach & Donapaula were interesting places nearby, just 5 & 10 kms respectively !
The road to Miramar Beach was spectacular, alongside the Panjim River with old Portuguese Buildings & important offices on the other side, the road neat & well lit with lamps all way !! The entire stretch looked amazing ..

We sped along, reaching Miramar in few mins, had a brief stopover at a CCD just opp to the Beach, then got into the beach, it was 9pm by then .. The beach was partly desolate with only few ppl sitting there .. We sat down on the sand & gazed at the water that shone in the moonlight with few ships,lights visible far at the horizon .. It was a moment we couldn't imagine to miss ..
Returned from the Beach after some time & went to Dona Paula still 5 kms from Miramar.
Dona Paula was a grand place with prospects of boating available, (bt it was too late for us to arrive there), a raised platform from which the view of the sea & the numerous lights twinking (probably the other part of Goa) were enhanting. We climbed onto an old bulding & spent some time there - "Water, Wind, Waves & the bright lights afar" intoxicating us to the extremum.
Time passed by & we found it was 12:30 midnight, time to leave !

We left Dona Paula, heading for our Resort (27 kms of traveltime), the Panjim road offered exciting ride on bikes, roads empty ,wide & bright !! After crossing Panjim, we succumbed to lashing rain that made travelling difficult but thrilling ! We reached our Resort @ Calangute by 2 or so, tremendously drenched .. Thus ended the day!

Oct 1 - we had planned to cover as many remaining beaches as possible. But could manage to wake up pretty late ! Had to rush up with the BreakFast & make a move ..
We were told of few beaches - Anjuna, Vagator, Kolva that were near to Calangute.
Headed for Anjuna Beach & reached there by noon, it was the first beach that we found really crowded, with tourists pouring over .. Had lots of little typical-tourist shops selling petty items.
The beach was a one with numerous sharp rocks & offered a magnificent opportunity to relish the powerplay by the waves ! We descended into the water & tried to get to few rocks few mts into the sea, but had tough time with the uneven depth, sharp cutting rocks & algae everywhere!
When I came out of the water, I had half-a-dozen bruises & cuts on the feet & hands..
Had some photography there & moved immediately to Vagator Beach just a few kms drive from Anjuna..
And, Vagator promised to be the most exciting of all beaches we had visited ! It was windy & raining by the time we hit there, the place where we stood offered a paradise-view of the beach that was down in front of us .. This beach was less-in-rocks, more sandy..
Few of us, decided to have a plunge into the waves & enjoy the waves .. The water was surprisingly warm & we drenched ourselves fully in it !! An hour or two went by & only then did we think of coming out of the beach.. Were extremely hungry by now & needed to freshen ourselves as well .. Consequently, had to rush to the resort & then had a satisfying lunch(it was 7pm or so by then), we had plans to visit Panjim after that but scraped the plan !
We Visited a Temple nearby, @ Calangute market, "Shanta-Durga Mandir" ..

Oct 2, our last day in Goa, summed up the areas left out unexplored - St Xaviers Church & other churches in Old Goa, Ponda which offered some spots worth visit !
Packed up, checked out Charlston Resort by 10am, & reached Panjim by noon ( as we had to stop midway due to heavy rain right from the morning). We returned the bikes hired & took a bus to OldGoa where we spent an hour & half visiting the Churches .. Captured glimpses of all those old monuments !!

It was 4:30 pm when we came out, & we got back to Panjim to have a satisfactory food before we departed from Goa by our bus @ 6pm..
The travel back was really tiresome with the bus dragging over @ snail's speed ..
Our destination, Bangalore finally arrived the next day Oct 3, by 1:30 pm.

The Trip indeed left into us a trail of thoughts & immemorable incidents :-)