Why is it so difficult to think of Goa beyond its beaches? Even when I were to close my eyes a month back and think of Goa I too would think of beaches - pristine blue with golden sand and perhaps a bottle of Goa's favourite chilled beer King's. However, my last trip to the land changed it all. Here is my Travel blog story on Goa beyond the beaches.
Goa is home to some extremely old Heritage Portuguese Houses and many of these have existed for there for the last four centuries. These houses started getting built soon after the conquest of Goa by the Portuguese in the early 16th Century and continued almost till the time they left in 1961.
Once you walk around a little in old Goa, it's easy to get addicted to its houses, especially the ones from Portuguese era. These houses have the most beautiful colors and textures, and are very inviting as photography subjects
ARRIVING IN NORTH GOA
We rented an Airbnb for our stay in northern Goa. We were just a few minutes walk from Candolim beach. We have been so antsy for quality beach time. The apartment was beautiful and impeccably clean. The owner greeted us and was super professional and organized. He even provided written instructions for how to use the water filtration system and washing machine (a washing machine-how exciting!). The owner showed us around the apartment and said though he tried to provide everything we would need that "it's India and you can't always count on things like the gas, electricity, or WiFi working consistently." We definitely take these things for granted in the states- we expect them to work and they do. The owner was accompanied by his grounds keeper who was on-call for anything we needed during our stay, wow.
Having our own kitchen and fridge while traveling is one of our biggest pleasures. We stocked it with the essentials-veggies, ice cream, and beer to enjoy during our hours of relaxing.
Candolim turned out to be a fun town with many shops, restaurants and bars lining the main road. Everything was very accessible and within walking distance. We were really impressed by the food at all of the restaurants we visited. We tried some local Goan cuisine including prawn xacuti and pork vindaloo. Xacuti is a curry sauce flavored with coconut and it is delicious! Before coming to Goa we did not know that vindaloo derives from here. Vindaloo is actually influenced by a Portuguese dish called Carne de Vinha d'alhos which is traditionally made with pork. The Portuguese occupied the region of Goa before the East India Trading company. The Portuguese influence can still be felt in some regards, with a small catholic population and the presence of churches.
We explored several of the Goan beaches along the coast during our stay. We were able to walk north to Baga and Calangute Beach, and then south to Sinquerium beach for the most spectacular sunset. Baga beach and Calangute are supposed to be more of the "party" beaches and they were lined with little beach shacks selling food and alcohol. There is definitely a drinking culture in Goa which is very different than anywhere else we've been in India. All of the restaurants here advertise and sell alcohol.