It started with a shack

Following two heavy nights we were both bushed but had to go out for a while after spraying the room; the stuff here is lethal so don’t leave your dog in after spraying. We popped into Williams as we are starting to get a few Brits in there now so we can find out where to go. We got talking to a nice man called Mike who lives out here for the last few years in a house that he bought. This is unusual as it is only possible for Indians to buy property over here but he had a good lawyer and won in court. However, he still only gets a 6 month visa just like everyone else. We were only in Fish Land for the time it took so serve and eat fish and chips and then home to bed and I think Claire was asleep before the HBO film started. I liked the look of some of the paintings in Williams’s restaurant so have copied them at the front of this blog for you. The paintings over here have almost an Egyptian feel about them but a very strong Indian feel as well. I think it’s probably the flatness that gives them their Egyptian feel.

Up bright and early we were off to have our favourite breakfast at Dinhar’s in Benaulim. We had a large pot of fresh ground coffee with enough for three and a half mugs full, half a pint of fresh orange juice, a large bowl of fresh fruit, a massala omelette and a fresh fruit pancake; the whole lot Rs215, about £3 the lot. Claire had some internet duties and we found that the internet in Benaulim is just as fast as the one in Colva. It seems to us that Colva and Majorda are changing for the worst while Benaulim and Cavelossim for the better. Still early, we had a ride to the other side of Benaulim to get prices for the Taj Exotica, one of the best hotels in the world. We had a gin and tonic and glass of wine in there one New Years Eve; a bargain at £18 about 6 years ago. To our surprise, there was a new hotel called Joecons. We saw them building there 2 years ago but had no idea it was for Joecons. Following our drink at the Taj on New Years Eve we saw the New year in at Joecons restaurant just outside. He had started years ago with a beach shack outside on the beach to support the Taj customers. As the average person staying in the Taj is wealthier than us, they could afford higher than normal shack prices as long as the food was top quality, which they provide. Business was so good for them that they built a great restaurant out the front of the Taj which has been there years and grown in reputation over these years. This must have given them more income than I had imagined as they have now built this lovely huge hotel in the grounds of their restaurant. They have a nice pool, a huge round dance floor and of course their original restaurant at the bottom of the garden. We got a brochure and they charge a pretty penny too, starting at around RS6666 a night for a standard room. Take a look at www.joeconsgarden.com . We didn’t bother getting the prices for the Taj but it should be easy to find out online. We had a little drive around and found many new hotels, all looking splendid; confirming our suspicions about this area is on the up. This spot has almost everything, great beaches, great food, great accommodation, you don’t really need to leave the area ands there is even the odd bottle shop within walking distance. Maybe a good one to try Steve and Jan. I guess that it may be possible to get a deal for Joecons with flights included as he is a smart businessman that has worked hard for many years and deserves everything he has worked for; well done mate!

We ended up driving back to one of our favourite shacks this year Coco’s in Benaulim. Yesterday and today have been very hot and maybe at last the weather has changed for the season. We had to take frequent dips in the sea to cool down and dispense with the copious amounts of water that you have to consume. A light lunch, another quick dip and home early by about 3pm as it really does get too hot to be out in it. Back here writing this blog and again the damned electric has gone again; not sure how long this pc will last without a charge so I think that I will go and have a dip in our pool with Claire. Maybe no blog tomorrow as we will be going back on Chris’s boat trip and staying in Cavelossim at Saajan’s and won’t be taking our laptop. See you all again on Wednesday, enjoy the snow, lucky you, it's so hot over here.

North South Goa

As we have now booked and paid to stay for the remainder of our holiday in Star Beach now I start with a few pictures around the place. The first one is a garden block which all has aircon and I think they charge about Rs1500 a night for them. The second one is looking along the front of the building and the next is another of the pool which we have yet to visit. I have also put a photo of one of the restaurants in Colva where they have only vegetarian food upstairs and meat downstairs. The last one is of the very colourful apartments on the way down to the beach in Benaulim. We have stopped there several times before but not this year it’s called Cost’s Montage and the best contact is the girl that works in reception called Fay at faybobmik@hotmail.com if you want prices as they vary throughout the year. I think they were around Rs2000 a night and they wouldn’t come down on the price either but they are fine and they also have a pool and you can walk directly to the beach from a back gate but beware of the large pigs.

Last night we started with a quick drink in Williams and watched a bit of the Aston Villa and Arsenal match before going up to Viva Goa at the top end of Colva. Hilda’s adopted son Sebastian works in there and on a Saturday they have live music and they said that they may come over. Claire wasted no time in dancing with all the waiters and most of the clientele. There are few white tourists in this bar mainly local and Indians but we had a ball. You can’t miss the large palm tree growing out of the gent’s urinal and I couldn’t help myself from sniffing around a little, barking a couple of times before cocking my leg up. I wonder if it was a full moon last night. Anyway, unexpectedly we had a ball but drank rather too much and woke up this morning with a bad head.

The best thing to do is to go off on the bike and blow away your hangover so we decided to have a drive up to the extreme north of South Goa. For those of you that followed our very first blog you may remember a place we used to walk to that we called “The restaurant at the end of the universe” but was really called “Wow 619”. It is miles from anywhere except the beach and we found it by walking from The Horizon Beach Resort along the beach but there is another way that you can drive there but it’s only a little dirt track that goes through a shanty town. We always wondered how they survived being so remote but alas they are no more; another one bites the dust. We rode back to the Horizon but we weren’t sure if that was open because they have took the sign down and there wasn’t a single beach shack along the beach any more. The lack of tourists is really sorting the men out from the boys over here. We had already decided to drive past another place that we have stayed at in the past Called Casa Ligorio which has lovely rooms and is really clean by Utorda beach. The lady owner does the best breakfast ever, see www.casaligorio.com or email on casaligorio@rediffmail.com and she said that she intended to build on a restaurant during the close season. This is called “J the Top” and is already up and running; we really must try that just on the strength of her breakfasts. They have a huge fridge freezer in your room and satellite tv which you need as it’s a long walk to anywhere. You really do need your own transport to stay there otherwise you will be constantly using taxis but we highly recommend this place. Their normal price is Rs2000 a night and they only charge Rs3000 over the Christmas period but you will have to book up early as they only have 9 rooms which are always full up with returning customers. She spotted us and came out to greet us, then took us in for a glass of fruit juice and a chat. The lack of tourists doesn’t seem to affect her as she has been full up most of every year; I wish we hadn’t paid for Star Beach now as she did have one room left.

By this time we were starving and had not even had breakfast yet because all the beach shacks in this area have gone so we headed back to Colva and walked north stopping at Anthony’s first base because their sun beds looked the most comfortable. We did the German thing and left our towels down before going to the shack for an early lunch. The sun beds were really comfy and we both fell to sleep after our lunch. Of course, today’s Sunday and that’s when Colva beach fills up with Indian day trippers all along the coast. We didn’t have much lunch as we intend to try a new restaurant tonight called “Fish World” which has been recommended to us. I must say I don’t feel much like it tonight, I would rather have another HBO night but Claire wants to because she is a real Goa girl.

Better than Betty’s boat trip

What a great day we had on Chris’s boat trip yesterday; in fact it was the second best boat trip that we have ever been on. We set of early so we could have breakfast at Saajan before taking the short walk to the river where Chris’s boat is moored up. Hilda had our table reserved on the lower deck at the front of the boat so we had some sun most of the day. It’s also a good spot to watch the dolphins. As soon as we set off the entertainment started which was great. Other than that the format was very similar to Betty’s boat trip; out to sea to spot the dolphins, back up the river Sal and start serving beers for the rest of the day, moor up and serve garlic king prawns followed by King fish rice and curry and finish with a fruit salad, all washed down with copious amounts of alcohol and all for Rs800 each. Once we had eaten we were too full up for more beers so we all switched to VAT with ice and a slice; how civilised. The boat is a bit wider than Betty’s which makes it a bit more luxurious and they also have nice clean toilets, essential for such a trip. What amazed me most was how much difference that the entertainment makes, especially once you have got going with the drinks; it almost turned into a party with dancing at the front of the boat. Although we still love Betty’s I have to say that it was much better as the boat is nicer and the entertainment makes so much difference. They even let us stay on the boat once we had got back and served us even more drinks; that doesn’t happen on Betty’s. We strolled back to Saajan and carried on where we had finished and didn’t stop until midnight, therefore today was a bit of a write off. We headed back to Colva with our bags quite early on, dropped them off and then to Benaulim for breakfast at Dinha’s. They do the best coffee in town and probably the best breakfast for very reasonable prices. We always have fresh fruit salad but today I treated myself to a fresh fruit pancake; mmmnn lovely! We did then have a drive around to look for alternative accommodation for the last part of our stay but everything was much more than Star Beach and not as good so we have decided to stay there until we come home. Although we will be staying one more night at Saajan as we have booked the Tuesday boat trip with Chris again. Chris is the Father but his son Steve runs the boat trip and his other son Mike runs the hotel where you buy the tickets for the boat. I think he might have another son who runs another hotel across the road. Anyway we headed down to the beach for a lazy sunbed day. The first shack is Pedro’s that is usually quite popular and the second our old favourite Johncy’s but there was hardly a soul there this year, in fact they only seemed to have 5 sun beds now. Then you have Rogers which we haven’t tried but is supposed to be good food and then where we settled Coco’s. Claire read her book while I tried to catch up with the Nature podcasts. It was another overcast day today but still hot and humid and the sun came out for a while but it made me feel a little sick so we went inside out of the sun for some lunch. They were doing a bit of electrical repair work to the shack. A good workman never blames his tools. I don’t think there is any such thing as health and safety over here. Just a short blog today as I have to go and have a lie down in a darkened room. If you are even in South Goa you just have to go on Chris’s boat trip; it’s the second best trip you could do; only beaten by our trip on the Queen Mary 2.