Day 16 in India
Another Ayurvedic massage today. That’ll be the last one for me while here in India. Peter is going to Kerala for Patchakarma, Ayurvedic detox retreat. I’ll hear all about it when he gets back.
After the massage I had a rest and late in the afternoon we went for a walk along the beach to Colva for dinner and hot corn cooked over glowing hot coals. They were so delicious the other night, we had to do it again. Then we hired a tuk tuk back to the resort. Our first tuk tuk ride in India. The phone was unable to take pics in the dark. Electricity had gone off again in the community.
Day 17 in India
Trip to Agonda Beach. Voted the best beach in India and 4th best in Asia according to some travel agency. Either the info is outdated or very heavily biased to Indian standards. There’s a lot of rubbish on the sand (as on all Indian beaches), however there is a distinct lack of tourists on the beach which makes it more serene. The tourists will flock to Agonda Beach over the next month. It’ll be like a tourist tsunami. Now is the off-season and the best time to go there.
First a bus to Margao, then to Agonda, via a bus change at Canacuna.
The area we go through is like a forest, cool and green as we climb over a smallish mountain in the trundling bus. I could easily imagine I was in the Tweed Valley, except for the coconut palms everywhere. I smell the wetness of the forest and the cool, oxygen-enhanced air…bliss!!! The sound of the birds could be heard above the rumbling roar of the bus engine.
At the moment Agonda is quiet, with minimal tourists about. The resorts and honeymoon huts are built on the beach, and look like a great place to stay.
The beach is the best we’ve experienced so far. And we went for a swim this time as the water was clean. There was something in the water stinging us, so we didn’t stay long in the tepid water, as nice as it was.
We found a lovely restaurant on the beach, Agonda Cottages (accommodation was on the roadway). Food was delicious and the spices in the food were in great combinations, not being made according to the typical flavour, they’d developed their own style. The view was very impressive. And the gentle breeze washing in on the waves of the ocean was perfectly cooling.
We walked quite a distance to catch the bus back, as the one we’d come on only goes in and out. It’s only a shuttle. The local bus was miles away. We discovered that Indians have no idea of time. 10mins walk up the road, is actually 30-45mins up the road. We were glad to sit on the bus after the walk up the hill.
As tomorrow is my last day in India, and Peter’s for shopping, we’ll need to finalise all our purchases then. Saying goodbye to the lovely people we’ve become friends with over the last couple of weeks will be sad. Hopefully, with some of them anyway, we can stay in contact via FB or other social media.