Leaving Colva Beach for the twin cities of Hyderabad+Secunderabad

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After finishing my blog yesterday I changed into my swimsuit under my skirt and headed beachward. I was almost immediately offered a dolphin tour, but wandered around a little more, checking things out. On return, I initially agreed, but when I saw the small boat I changed my mind. Plus, I wanted to go with a group and not by myself. Siteseeing alone on the ocean sounds like a recipe for disaster in my mind!!

So I switched to a larger 12 pax boat and we pushed off. Travelling out onto the Arabian Sea it was more than 20 minutes before we saw the first dolphins - just hints of fins above the ocean. We never did see much more than glimpses, so I was a little bit disappointed. Then I started thinking about how harrased the poor dolphins must feel, chased all day by these boats full of people and their cameras. It was a beautiful day, and cooler out on the water, so I ended up enjoying myself anyways.

I picked up some more postcards and read a little in the afternoon, still a little worried about eating. The crappy thing (pardon the expression!!) is that you feel yucky if you don't eat and yucky if you do! Plus, you can never tell if its just gas...... haa haa.

So I headed down to the beach again around five, and found a resteraunt that my guidebook described as having a spotless kitchen. I ordered the fish and chips, expecting deep fried and battered, but instead got two thin pieces of perfectly grilled fresh fish! Seasoned with lemon, I ate well for what seemed like the first time in days!! Sitting there as the sun lowered, I watched the masses of people who had come to the beach to see the sunset. I'd estimate that the beach easily had 10,000 people out to see the sunset. Its the holiday season here now, and Goa is a popular destination.

A whole huge group of girls in school uniforms swarmed the beach, schreeched at the crabs in the lagoon, and ran around in the sand. Several people went up in a parasail and the sail itself looked like stained glass as the sky darkened and the sun reddened.

Finished dinner, I ordered a chocolate pancake (testing my food luck, I know!!), which turned out to be a very good crepe with semisweet chocolate. The dinner and desert, plus a banana lassi, cost about 200 rupees - $5.

I then strolled down the beach, wading in the warm water of the Arabian Sea and watching the sun dip lower. There doesn't really seem to be a sunset here - the sun just lowers and then fades slowly to a rosy grey, like the sky. Then it is gone, and everyone drifts up the beach to head home.

I was drowsy by 9pm last night, and read for a bit before falling into a great sleep. Up this morning around 7:30, I packed up and headed out for some breakfast. I stayed with safe food, and I hope all will be well on the bus this afternoon.

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Photos

Dolphin Tour Boat
The dolphin tour boat struggles through the surf to head out to sea.

Dolphin sighting
In this, my only picture of a dolphin, you can barely make out a dolphin fin in the middle-left of the picture!

Parasailing at Sunset
I watched for awhile, but after reading some horror stories about this kind of beach sport, wasn't tempted to try it myself.

Comments

[Jen]

Sounds fabulous!
Sunset on the beach sounds fantastic! Hope you're feeling better again! To bad about the dolphins...but I don't think a day on the water is every totally wasted! Keep safe!