Goa - Day one : Orientation

We woke up early in the morning, eager to go to the beach, and find what it looked like – crowded, like Bombay, or pristine, as we had seen in pictures of Goa, or something entirely different. We walked down the garden and the sandy trail. Red flags along the way warned that the sea was turbulent, and it was not safe to swim. When we reached the end of the trail, all we could see in front of us, was sand – the ground sloped upwards – and met the sky. We walked up the slope and were greeted with a sight which left us speechless – we stood facing the sea, which stretched till the horizon; on both sides the beach lined with coconut and palm trees stretched for miles and miles. Towards the right, at a great distance we could see Zuari industries as a hazy shape outlined against the sky; towards the left, nothing but sand and sea.

The first picture of the trip

We did not venture into water, but walked along the beach, the waves just wetting our feet. We spent an hour or so, just feeling the thrill.

The view on the right ...

And the left …

Afterwards, we had a lavish breakfast – this place offered the best food we have ever had in a hotel (and this was proven by the fact that both of us gained a visible amount of weight in the week – quite a few people ribbed us on our return :-) )
Then, we contemplated the next course of action – how to go about exploring Goa. Although it is one of the smallest states in India with only about 150 kms of coastline, Goa has a lot to offer – apart from the beaches it is best known for, there are spice plantations, sanctuaries, temples, and of course, churches. Since it was not possible to explore everything in the limited amount of time we had, we decided to go to the beaches, and visit the churches as we saw them. Next came the question of transport. We had been advised that the best way of sight-seeing in Goa is on a two-wheeler. Now we understood why. Local transport is just not meant for tourists – the buses are way too crowded, have irregular frequency, do not go to most of the places one may like to visit, and most important, would hardly take a route near to the location of hotels. The cabs are rather on the expensive side, and do not give too much freedom to explore. So, over to the two-wheelers.
We had been informed that it is extremely easy to rent a bike or a scooter in Goa. We enquired at the hotel’s reception desk about the nearest place we could rent one from. They denied having any such knowledge (probably intending to make much more profit by renting a cab to us), and directed us to the cabbies waiting outside the hotel gate. The cabbies, too, denied having any information; when we persisted they indicated a low possibility of getting a bike on rent in Colva, which was about 4 kms away. I am glad to say that we were not deterred by any of this. We decided to walk towards Colva, through Uttorda and Majorda villages – the region is known for its picturesque beauty, and Outlook traveler recommends a walk through Uttorda. We thought we might ask some of the local people, or later on take a transport, if we indeed needed to go to Colva. As it turned out, we needed to walk much less – only about a kilometer. A kind lady operating a grocery store, directed us to garage-owner named Francis in Majorda who rented out bikes to tourists.
We found Francis’s shop quite easily. He was quite a friendly guy. He asked our requirements, noted our hotel address, took an advance, and lent us a Splendour, along with a helmet, the necessary papers (which were not fully in order, as we learnt later), and a (customary) warning to tell any policeman who may happen to detain us that we had borrowed the bike from our friend, and not rented it. For Rs 150/- a day, we had found our wings! :-)
Our Outlook traveler guide (which we found to be very good with local info, especially maps) listed Margao as the nearest major hub, and the second largest city of Goa. It was about 10 kms south from Majorda, along NH17. We started for Margao, enjoying the scenery of palm trees against distant hills. We were also quite cautious as Nitin was driving a bike after a quite a long while, and we did not know the way, and the roads were narrow and curved very sharply. Even the highway was only two lanes at most places, and did not have a divider.

On our way

Margao did not give us an impression of being a big city – it is more of a quaint small town. Once there, we headed for the Grace Church, which is considered as a major church in the area, and is in the city centre. We tried all three entrances, but found them closed, to our dismay. Perhaps we chose a wrong time, being unaware of the way churches function. There is nothing to see in the city, apart from a few churches, which we deferred for the time. We just roamed around, soaking in and enjoying the feeling of just being there. We also tried to shop for some beach attire, with little success.

Municipal building in Margao

Administrative headquarter of Salcete

By late afternoon, clouds started forming, and within half an hour the sky became overcast. We decided to start back, abandoning the idea of visiting Monte Church and Grace church. Within minutes, it started raining heavily, and we were soaked to the skin. Since there was no shelter, and no sign of rain stopping anytime soon, and we were drenched anyway, we just kept going.
By the time we reached back, soaked and tired, it was starting to get dark. Rain continued to pour down, eliminating the possibility of a walk on the beach, and a view of sun setting on the sea. In fact, this sight eluded us for the entire trip. By late evening, the rain subsided to a light drizzle, and we concluded our day with dinner and a walk in the garden which looked beautiful in dim lights.