Alive and still kicking!

The holiday so far has not been without its challenges but would you expect anything else from me and Phil???? The journey here was great until we arrived in Goa, then it all will went pants up. Graffinos Guesthouse was even worse than Phil had anticipated and 1 nights stay was one night too many. The boat trip on the Monday was fantastic, bit choppy and made even better because we met Chris and Linda. We had a great party at their hotel after the boat trip and I was glad they’d invited us back because it meant that Phil booked us a 2 night stay at The Leela. Thanks Linda!!!

Our second guesthouse was much better than Graffinos, it had air con but of course we were only there for 1 night before heading off to The Leela on Tuesday so it didn’t much matter. I had a fantastic 2 day stay at The Leela even though on our first day, after check-in we literally got showered and then went to bed and watched TV; we were so hung-over from the shenanigans from the day before. Old birdies now and just can’t take the pace! Phil negotiated a fantastic deal, around £90 a night including breakfast. Fabulous and just a shame we couldn’t afford to buy a single drink or any food! On Wednesday we lazed by the pool for most of the day, well I did and we met up with Linda & Chris for dinner at Betty’s. Again, another fun evening and we were sad to say goodbye to them the following day.

We packed up after breakfast and were going to spend a last hour by the pool but it was hot and we thought we may as well get to our next hotel. Phil paid the bill and we went to see the concierge to arrange a taxi for me and the bags. The plan was that Phil was going to ride back on the scooter and meet me at Palm View but when we were told that it was going to cost us 1,400 ruppees to Majorda we said “no way jose” and decided to carry the bags and drive back together on the scooter. This was no easy feat though and the Leela taxi drivers looked on with much amusement as we tried all different combinations of loading the bike with 2 back-packs, 2 ruck-sacks and a Tesco finest bag full of dirty washing. It wasn’t easy but eventually we found a way of loading that allowed Phil to drive out of The Leela, albeit at a slow pace without falling off! We often used to giggle at seeing whole Indian families complete with kids and dogs on one scooter and now we know what it feels like. We made it to our destination with lots of sweat and wobbles, but in one piece, thank god!

Palm View is a quite nice by Goan standards but it has taken me a while to relax and feel comfortable here. Especially after a 2 day stay at the 5* Leela! One minute I am having freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh fruit compote and smoked salmon with scrambled eggs and the next minute its Tetley tea and a cheese and tomato toastie sandwich. Oh well, at least we have a fridge as big as our bed and there don’t appear to be any humungus nasty, dirty cockroaches lurking in the corners.

Phil’s love affair with India doesn’t appear to have waned in any way; indeed its intensity grows at an alarming rate but for me, I’m not so sure. The 2 days at The Leela did me a power of good, and I have at last, managed to relax and leave the UK behind. That isn’t to say that there haven’t been problems at home, there have, but they are too few to mention. I am not so sure I would come again so late in the season; I know Easter is late this year but if I were to come again I would fly out around the beginning of April as long as it didn’t coincide with Easter. I am told the last charter flights leaves on the 28th of April and the whole of south Goa has a ‘closing down’ feeling. The humidity is high and some days the winds have been up and the sea has been choppy. Every day at some point the skies are overcast. I can imagine that the locals can’t wait for the rains to come at the end of May.

On Thursday just before midday, when we made it back safely from Cavelossim to Majorda, we unpacked our bags at Palm View (first time in 6 days) and headed for Mish Mash beach shack. No surprises, they remembered us from our last visit. I had fish and chips for lunch washed down with a couple of Kingfisher beers but Phil didn’t have anything because he wasn’t hungry, most unusual! Unfortunately it was choppy out at sea and the winds were quite strong and we managed an hour on the sun-beds. It wasn’t pleasant though, the sand whipped you every-which-way you turned and the sun-bed mattress wanted to take off by itself every time you so much as lifted a limb.

On Thursday night we went to The Fusion for a lovely meal of Brazillian salad to start followed by rare steak, potatoes French style and a salad garnish. As usual, excellent and if you are ever staying in this part of Goa, you simply must try for yourselves; not cheap by Goan standards but a pure culinary indulgence!

Yesterday we had a quiet day. We had breakfast at the beach shack then took a trip to Colva for a paper, laundry and general supplies. We spent the rest of the day around the pool and had lunch under the umbrella. Nice and quiet and without event I am pleased to report. Nothing exciting planned for the next couple of days. Phil wants to watch the qualifying of the Chinese Grand Prix and the race live over the weekend and the plan is to see these at the beach shack where they have a TV. That’s okay, a few beers on the beach, some lunch and I really can’t complain.