Beach Bumming Cows

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We've spent the last glorious week in Goa soaking up rays and relaxing to the sound of waves crashing at our doorstep.

Benaulim

We caught an overnight train from Mumbai to Goa and arrived 13 hours later at the beach town of Benaulim. After hours on the train the sight of sand and blue ocean sprawling in front of you is quite appealing.

We checked into a simple tin framed shack about 200m from the shoreline and beelined it to the water for a refreashing swim that doubled as a shower after our long journey. Not long after we got in the water we were joined in the waves by a hesitant water buffalo being draged by a 110 pound man. Normally the water buffalo love chilling in the water, but we mostly see them in puddles of standing water not more than knee deep - not the ocean. The water buffalo slowly walked into the waves and was intently watching Jarrod and I about 50m away. Jarrod dove under a wave and out of sight and the water buffalo immediatly turned and started galloping towards shore dragging the little man behind him. Once on shore the water buffalo stopped and the little man again tried to drag it back into the water. This time they made it into chest deep water and the buffalo was submerged except for his head peaking above the water and it seemed content until a wave covered its face and the buffalo again made a mad dash to the shore. I found the whole performance quite entertaining!

We made a day trip to a local spice plantation. The plantation was a family run business going back many generations and they grew everything organically. They even had cows on the premise solely for their fertile poop. On a guided tour we learned about many spices and their medicial uses. We saw vanilla plants, banana trees (which are actully a type of grass), allspice plants, bay leaves, cashew nuts, hot chillies and a cinnamon tree to name a few. After our tour we had a buffet lunch made with the plantations spices and had a shot of feni - a Goan alcohol made from cashew nuts that's akin to rocket fuel. Around 40% alcohol.

We ate most other meals at a nice seaside restaurant between our shack and the water. Nothing beats sipping on a stiff vodka (not feni!) and watermelon juice as you watch the sun go down as a blazing orange ball over the water.

Most of the other travellers in Benaulim were long-term stayers of a few months or more and had been to India and Goa before. They come to Benaulim because it isn't as touristy and not a party town. It was definatly quiet and since the beach goes on for miles you can find a peaceful peice of sand all to your own.

We rented a scooter and explored around town and after an hour we'd seen pretty much all of it. Benaulim is beautiful, but a bit too quiet for our taste so after two days we hoped on our scooter and headed a bit farther south to Palolem.

Palolem

We originally planned to only stay one night in Palolem but once we arrived we changed plans (and our train ticket to leave) and opted to stay an extra 4 days.

Normally in Palolem the beach is lined with bamboo huts and restaurants on the sand but a few weeks ago the government took a bull dozer down the beach and tore down anything that wasn't a permant structure. So, our plans to stay in a palm frond hut were squashed but we looked around and found a idyllic cottage on a little rocky pennisula between two beaches. On one side of us we had a quiet rocky bay used only by local kids for fishing and the other side of us the sandy public beach. During the day our balcony provided good shade to stay cool and read; by evening our balcony provided a superb view of the sunset. I couldn't of asked for more. Jarrod, however, wanted to ask for a larger bed because on our first night he fell out.

On our first day we spent a few hours at the beach and I befriended a nice stray dog that came to share my blanket with me. Me and the beach dog bonded and he visited me everyday that I went to the beach. My beach dog probably liked me because I was feeding him cookies and chips.

After enjoying smoking hookah in Mumbai we decided to try another classic Indian smoke: the Beedie aka the poor man's cigarette. A beedie is a rolled tabacco leaf with just a pinch of tabacco inside and is fastened together with string. We got some beedies to try while relaxing at the beach and a mastercard moment moment ensued... $1CND=40 rps

Pack of 25 Beedies 5rps
Box of Matches 1rp
Using the whole box of matches to light one beedie... Priceless

Overall Impressions

We really enjoyed our time in Goa. The beaches are nice and the Goan people are friendly. Seafood and beer are cheap. If you're a girl thinking of coming to Goa for the sand and surf please keep in mind that India is a conservative country and if you want to go topless or with g-string bottoms at the beach - go to a different country!

Next Stop: Hampi

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