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Published: November 23rd 2006
Some things always seem to run like clock work over here, trains for the most part are on time, given the sheer volume of people this is no small achievement. Another regularity are the constant power cuts and blackouts which place most, in fact all places we have been so far, outside Mumbai, in a perpetual wave of power on, power off. Panjim the capital of Goa is one of these places. It’s funny what becomes familiar when you are so far from home, both Mel and I have become very attached to the constant whir of the Air Conditioners (AC), so when our familiar friend decided to stop whirring, we knew it must be close to nine in the morning. Awake now, we decided to order breakfast. One of the great things about traveling is communicating with those who don’t have a full grasp of what it is you are on about. You wouldn’t think that ordering toast and jam would be difficult, but sometimes even the most simple of requests can only be humorous after the fact. But every morning we persevered, until finally we got it. We now know that what we want is “toast butter jam” any
my head hurts
it amazing what you can see by just looking out a windowdeviation from this can cause much frustration, numerous phone calls and a lengthy wait until the front office manager can confirm.
Breakfast out of the way, its time to continue with the days excursion, John had suggested we visit Dudhsagar (dude sa ga) falls, Indias second largest water fall in height, only to be eclipsed by Jog fall, which aren’t really falls anymore as the river has been dammed. So after an hour and half drive deep into the state of Goa we arrive in a tiny village, which for the most part is solely there to serve the requirements of the constant flow of tourist coming to see Dudhsagar. You pull up in a taxi and promptly a middle aged Indian man with a clipboard strolls to the car, counts the number of passenger’s, and if there are less than six you’re asked to take a seat and wait in the shade at the nearest vendors shop for the next 4wd drive that has a spot for you. In our case it was a long wait, over an hour, watching droves of 4wd’s laden with wet tourist’s pouring out of their vehicles, most with rather large smiles, some
not impressed with the whole thing and others with just a sense of serenity and calm.
This is a 242 square km National Park, home to tiger, of which you would be extremely lucky to see, wild buffalo which are everywhere, hundreds of birds, numerous species of monkey’s the usual assortment of snakes, spiders and all things creepy crawly and it’s own village complete with 300yr old temple. The drive in 15kms and an hour in duration would have any 4wd fan champing at the bit, complete with 4 river crossings wet feet included, a whole heap of bouncing around and some amazing scenery. And of course nowhere in India is complete without the traffic. It’s a one lane dirt track, which in busy periods sustains over 80 4wd trips per day. We were fortunate to arrive late in the day, missing most of the honking of horns and jostling for best position around the blind corners. Deep on the middle of this rainforest, we find ourselves with two Russian tourists in toe, disembarking in a small car park with a glimpse of the top of these impressive falls. Already we can hear the constant gushing of water from
the summit over some 200 meters high. Before we could gain our bearings it became apparent that apart from the two Russians, our guide and driver and ourselves, that were not alone. This place is teeming with monkey’s little ones, but hundreds, they’re everywhere. Well educated in the human need to be a part of everything, the monkeys look for the white paper cone’s (filled with cashew nuts) and the little plastic bags which house their other free meal - bananas. If you have any of these, you are assured to be approached and followed. We did have and were.
I’m running out of words to describe this country, and to coin a classic Australian, the serenity was breath taking. It has to be one of the most peaceful parts of the country to date. Totally immersed in the humidity of a sub tropical jungle rainforest, yet being protected by the harsh sun by the towering canopy, it is an uneasy balance between stickiness and heat. Another 15 minute walk across many clear, ice cold fresh water streams and we reach the base of the falls. The thunderous roar of the water crashing into the pool below is all
Our Driver
We can't remember his name, there have been so many memorable face tho... consuming. One can only image what it would be like in monsoon time, when no visitors are allowed. There is an even mix between local holiday makers and foreign tourists, some swimming, others just in admiration of what is before them, yet all knowing that this place is special. We decided to take it all in, having lunch on a rock and just taking some time out to chill. It’s been a long drive so far and this was a well deserved rest. Thanks to John we had stopped previously and picked up some lunch.
I don’t know how to put this into words, when you have an experience with an animal that is so much like ourselves, has intelligence and knows what it is doing, just blows me away. I thought my encounter with these little moneys would be nothing more than the ripping of bags and paper in the hope that the bounty would spill to the floor upon which all could feed in a frenzy of monkey madness. How wrong I was. These monkeys are actually quite clever, if you hold the banana in your hand in a closed fist, they will peel each one of
your fingers away to expose the banana. Then it becomes primitive as hey rip the banana out of your hand, peel off the skin with their teeth and proceed to stuff as much food as they possible can into pockets in their cheeks for storage. They will then eat this later. At fisrt Mel was a little apprehensive, but after a little encouragement and the look of total disbelief and amazement, she too also partook in the feeding. A beautiful experience for us both.
Back to the 4wd, through the jungle and we had disappeared just as quickly as we had arrived. There was one more sight for us today and John was on a mission that we made it before dark. Our customary chats and fact finding diminished to the hum of the motor and a deep sense of concentration from our trusted driver. We were on the way to the Church of St Francis Xavier, a Spanish monk you arrived in Goa in the mid 1500’s. St Francis’s story is well known to many Christians around the world as his fate has been proclaimed as a miracle by the Catholic Church. Call me a doubting Thomas, but
I found it hard to believe that any body(not mummified) could be placed in a glass casket for over 450 years, not decompose and still remain remotely intact was an impossible. How wrong was I…..
You just know when you enter a very special, holy, protected site. The energy is different, all is at peace and it consumes all of you. Well it did both of us. St Francis’s basilica in Panjim Old Goa is one of these places, like many places of worship it is an imposing old world structure in the landscape of Goa. A red stone building set amongst towering palm trees with ranges of jungle covered mountains as a backdrop you know that its been here a while. As you enter the church one is struck immediately by the immense sense of space, for apart from the ground floor there are no other floors in the church which makes the wooden roof seem so much higher than it is. The altar and surrounds are old world and equally impressive and it’s the sort place that only a very few of the so many pics you take actually turn out with much clarity. This has certainly
been one day in my life that will never leave either of us; we are so blessed to be a part of so many experiences here together. I hope that you are well and enjoying this trip with us. Sometimes it is just so difficult to give justice to the experiences one has. I hope that you will take some of what we have experienced today with you.
Lots more Goa to come.
**We've just realised there is no broadband here, we'll send the rest of these pics Friday..
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Michelle Ponderella
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Birthday Wishes and all that jazz
Happy Birthday Mel!!! May the universe work with you and your dreams continue into your reality... Love you heaps sista. Mishka xx