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Published: February 24th 2007
Just a brief blog entry this time....
Jemma, Claire's best mate, her brother Joe and his girlfriend Lorraine came for a couple of weeks, so we spent much of the time showing them round Goa. A couple of highlights were staying at Dunes in Mandrem, where we stayed with Sean back in November, and a visit to the spice plantation where they washed an elephant.
Dunes is built on the side of the most unspoilt beach we have found in Goa. Wanting to arrive in style, we hired a speedboat from Baga, and the journey took about 45 minutes, including a few minutes spent watching dolphins which swam up to about ten yards from us. Our elation at watching them and of arriving at Mandrem beach was short lived though - despite booking the accomodation and reserving a coconut hut, then reconfirming a few days before we arrived, our hut had been let out to someone else and we had been relocated to a house next door which was nowhere near the quality of the accomodation we had when we visited previously. A discount and a free round of beer later, we decided that things weren't so bad after
all. There is absolutely nothing to do at Mandrem apart from swim and relax, and it was just what we needed for a couple of days.
Then we hired a taxi for a day to visit a spice plantation near Ponda, taking in Old Goa and a Hindu Temple on the way. The main purpose of our visit was to spent time with the elephant there. For 600 Rs each, the reluctant elephant was prodded into the river, and we could climb on its back to wash it, or actually more like get a shower from it. Food was included in the entry fee for the spice plantation. The meal was livened up by a snake which appeared in the roof eating a frog, prompting one tourist from Essex to loudly shout "Look! There's a frog with a snake in its mouth!"
The two weeks with Jem, Joe and Lorraine passed far too quickly, and we were gutted to see them go. We weren't alone for long though, the day after they went, Jennifer who we met in Ghana arrived for a few days. Pics to follow in our next blog.
So, we're here in Baga until
Monday, then train to Mumbai and fly to Jodhpur for a couple of weeks travelling round Rajasthan. Then we fly back to the UK to renew our visas before returning to Goa.
Spent most of the day yasterday trying to book train tickets for when we go up to Kashmir at the end of April, it took an hour to go to Panjim where the booking office is at the bus station, then three hours queuing up to find out that you can only buy tickets 60 days in advance, so we were too early. Doh.
Joseph - Ghana - Update Joseph, the nine year old that we met in Ahotokurom, Ghana, is back from hospital. To recap, he lost his leg three years ago, when a coconut tree fell on him, and his leg was hit with a machete in an attempt to release him. We arranged to raise some money to send him to a orthopaedic centre to have a prosthesis fitted. He's been there for nearly 4 months, away from his family, learning to walk again. Sister Pat called us the other day and put Joseph on the phone, who breathlessly shouted "Me running,
two legs, playing football!" We're going back to Ghana, probably in September, can't wait to see him!
Jackie Jackie, been trying to contact you... Hope you ok, get in touch!
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Rachel White
non-member comment
Hello from Putnoe!
WE are trying so hard not to be envious! Glad you are having a great time xx