Goa – Day Three:
We decided to spend the third day visiting the beaches in the southern Goa. The southern part of the Goan coastline boasts of two very famous beaches – Palolem and Agonda. This was what we wanted to see in South; we could utilize the rest of the time in exploring the North Goa.
So, once again, we headed towards NH-17, which passes very close to Palolem. Just before we hit the highway, we noticed this quaint little village church, school children playing all around.
As we passed through Margao, we decided to go to the Monte Church (which we were not able to visit when we had come to Margao earlier, due to the heavy rains). Monte Church is located atop a small hill, called Monte Hill. The directions we received from the local people were rather confusing, and the climb was a little too steep for the bike. But when we reached the top, we were rewarded by a breathtaking sight. On one side, the one from which we approached, stood the church, in a majestic splendor. The rest of the view was open to the vision – we could see the entire city, landscape with a dense growth of coconut trees, the sea in the far away distance to the front and mountains on the sides.
View from the Monte Hill
The church was closed as it was almost noon, and school students were playing cricket in the open area. (I do think that a passion for cricket is the only thing uniform across the diversity of our country!)
Monte Church
We drove on towards Palolem; the road was narrow and uneven, but offered a scenic view. The region is vast and open, and quite sparsely populated. Palolem is undeniably the most beautiful beach in Goa. It is shaped like a cove, and lined with a thick growth of coconut and other trees. Since it is sheltered from three sides, the sea is quite calm, and safe for swimming. Because of these reasons, it is very popular amongst tourists, especially the foreign visitors. There are many shacks (I cannot call the tiny, crowded huts as hotels! And beauty of the location not withstanding, I would not have liked to stay in such a place.) right on the coast, available as cheap as for Rs 500 per day.
The Palolem Beach
Fishermen pulling out the net from the sea
Lodgings at the beach front
Right next to Palolem, in fact, just separated by a rock stretching out into the sea, is the Agonda beach. However, as opposed to Palolem the sea here was very rough, and not safe for swimming – and therefore it wore a deserted look.
We asked the local people for the directions to get back; they showed us a different way than the highway we had come through – we were told that this road was better, shorter and would also take us to the Cabo-de-Rama fort, in case we wanted to visit it. We took this way quite readily, but for quite a while we were anxious because there seemed to be no traffic on the road, and no sign of population nearby! It was a beautiful route thorough the hills, and we found the road to be better as well. A particular stretch included a steep climb; I happened to look back, and found a sight amazing beyond words – down the slope, the sea surrounded the hill we were on, on the front and the sides; and we could see the entire stretches of Palolem and Agonda beaches, which looked tiny from the height. The only regret we had was we could not stop the bike then and there, due to the steep slope.
Above the Palolem and Agonda beaches
We chose not to visit the fort, as we would it would have required another two hours, and we had a long way to go to the hotel. By late afternoon, we reached a picturesque village by the mouth of the Betul river. We spent some time by the river side, enjoying the beautiful sights, and taking a lot of pictures.
At the mouth of the Betul
The village had Holy Cross Chapel situated atop a small hill, which offered wonderful views – of the village, the countryside, the river with thick growth of coconut trees on one bank, as it vanished into the vast expanse of the sea, and a magnificent sunset.
View from the Holy Cross Chapel
The Setting Sun
