For a long time my son had been wanting to take us to Goa. Finally we set the date. After that it was endless searching on line for a place to stay. After much comparing my son chose Alba Rooms.
The train got delayed but finally it came and we reached Goa next morning and took a vehicle to Palolem. It was a nice ride with very charming scenery all around. We were quite hungry by then and asked the driver to stop where we could get some small snack. He did so at some snack shop he knew and we all munched some very tasty samosas.
Soon we were at Palolem and delighted to find that Alba Rooms was right next to the beach. We loved the rooms and quickly used the bathroom and changed and went to the beach. My son had been constantly telling me how heavenly it would be to lie in the sand and let the water wash over our legs.
My son and I spent a very long time in the sea. I had lived in Pondicherry from the age of 10 till I was 21 but had not learned to swim and had always merely gone into the sea till my calves. Even when we lived in Malaysia I was not lucky as when we went to Port Dickson it was low tide and I just sat in the wet sand with my friend’s little daughter. When we visited Bali, our hotel was next to the sea but I only lounged on the beach and swam in the pool as I was alone. The latest was Kashid and there too my daughter-in-law and son went and played in the sea but hubby and I relaxed under a thatched hut.
So you can imagine the delight I felt to really go far into the beautiful waters of the ocean at Palolem. I bobbed up and down delighted. Little fishes swam past. On one side were green hills and the faraway other side was also verdant. Our side led to monkey island. You can reach it through the shallow water at low tide, and, during high tide, boat rides are possible.
The following day, my daughter-in-law and son waded there as on the first day we were already hungry and it was hot.
So after we had wallowed to heart’s content, my son and I joined hubby and DIL who were in a thatch restaurant run by Nepalis -I think it is called ROCKIT CAFE but I’m not sure. The other people there were mostly foreigners. Hubby had puri sabzi and the youngsters had some Western style food. Then we walked to the other side of the entrance to the beach and had some beer.
After a nice wash at our rooms, we had lunch at Dropadi. It was nice to face the sea but the food was just ok.
After a rest I went back to the sea.
That evening we went to dine at Fisherman’s on Main Road. It was a short walk and enjoyable as there are many shops on either side. It reminded me of Bali.
The restaurant had cartoons on the walls which reminded us of Mario’s work. In fact, Mario’s work decorated a wall at the bus stop, I think.
As we came home we visited one shop. The shop lady had classical beauty with her hair in a bun. Many shops are run by people from Karnataka.
The next day also we spent a lot of time in the sea. This time hubby was free so he and I had a lot of fun. We went by taxi to a very local place and had a nice meal.
After a rest we went to the sea again and then at night we walked along the beach to Ourem 88 that my son had wanted to visit but the White people running it were not at all hospitable and it made me angry.
So we finally ate at a Pizza place near our hotel which is run by some Italian lady. The pizzas were so very salty.
Early next morning we rode by taxi to Madgaon to catch the bus to Pune.
For hubby and I it was the first holiday after years.