Search and you will find

The last couple of days seem to be of searching, more searching and eventually finding. Claire went in for her beauty treatment Monday morning whilst I posted the last blog then went on a hunt for a new hotel that we had seen a sign for in Colva called “The Retreat”. I eventually found out why this was a very apt name for it. I followed the signs which started at 11km until the 5km mark then never saw another one. I travelled on for far more than the advertised 5km right back to Cavelosim again. Turned around and drove very slowly back stopping at every junction to look for a sign which I eventually found in Varca. Followed the sign down the road, well lane, behind a bus and came to a T junction and the signs disappeared again so decided to follow the bus as it looked quite modern, unlike the local buses which were on their last legs when the local authorities bought them and use them for another decade. I travelled through a couple of villages that I hadn’t seen before in the middle of nowhere until eventually there it was, literally in the middle of nowhere (The Retreat by Zuri. www.thezurihotels.com ) It looked very nice but was difficult to get past the security guards and I had to pretend that I wanted to stay there for them to let me past. It looked very nice on the inside but was very expensive at 15000 Rupees for a double room rising to 17500 for the top one. At 73 Rupees to the £ this is very expensive for this area and I think your money would be better spent staying at the Taj Exotica or the Leela if you like that sort of thing. It wouldn’t suit us being stuck right in the middle of nowhere but what will eventually happen is that local shops and restaurants will spring up to support it if it is successful.

I shot back to pick up the laundry and do the other jobs that I had been tasked but managed none of them. The laundry wasn’t ready, the jeweller was nowhere to be seen and it looked to me like his shop has closed. Anyway I managed to get some orange juice, Red Bull and diet Coke along with a bottle of Vodka and put them in the fridge before setting off to collect Claire. I was still a little early and spotted a new sign to what they had called “Lovers Beach” so shot down there to investigate. It turned out to be one we had looked at before that is full of rubbish so was a wasted trip.

We managed to get to Martins Corner for our Sunday evening treat but Claire seems to like it less each time we go there and I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t want to go back if we ever come here again. It’s beginning to feel like we have “done” this place now and when we were at the Mish Mar for lunch on Monday I told them that we wanted to go somewhere different and had them all discussing where we could go and what we could see but between them they didn’t manage anywhere we had never been. We set off Tuesday morning on our bike day out with nowhere to go so decided on Margao which we both hate with a passion and so avoid it like the plague. Margao is the capitol of South Goa just as Panjim is the capitol of North Goa. We are not good at cities, especially the ones in India. I could hardly imagine driving around Deli or Mumbia in a car never mind a motor bike like we were on. I thought I could buy myself a cheap watch there but had terrible trouble parking because the town was completely full up. Of course, there was a precession going through town as soon as we got there, something to do with these blasted elections. We have not been able to buy a bottle of wine in a shop since we got here as they are all closed for 2 weeks while the elections are on. Also every bar and restaurant is running out of everything so its really difficult to get any alcohol here at the moment. Good job our friend at a local bar managed to slip us a couple of bottles of Vodka otherwise we would have been out too. Now you see why I had to buy the Red Bulls Coke and orange juice, we haven’t turned funny, you know.

We eventually found a parking space and headed off on foot in search of jewellers, but none of them seemed to sell watches but we did find one in the end. Having tried about 3 on and not being able to even get in on the last hole we decided to give up. The seller hadn’t though and got one out that he thought would be a bit bigger than the others. Unfortunately it looked pre war but to be polite I tried it on without success. He couldn’t believe it and had a go at putting it on himself, which he did manage, however, my blood supply had been cut off and when he tried to get it off again the strap broke. It was almost as bad around town on foot as it was on the bike but you are more vulnerable to the street sellers. When one spots you his eyes light up like he has hit the jackpot. Obviously white people are far more likely that the locals to buy from them. It must be an awful life for a street seller being constantly rejected.

Off we set on the bike again in no particular direction, just taking the easiest turn to avoid the traffic whenever faced with a decision. I thought where ever we are we should be able to find our way home again even if we have to come back through town, but first we would try on our own, after all I did have a map. I followed my nose in the direction I thought we ought to be going until we were faced with a cross roads so I stopped to make sure with the map. The map I had bought from the beach seller was not a conventional one that folds up but one like a scroll but it unwound into A2 size which is not practical on a bike. Much to the amusement of onlookers, we stopped right on the junction and inscrolled out this huge map so as to better decide on our next turn. I couldn’t seem to get far enough away from it to read it as it was so big. If I only had some scissors, I could cut these 2 scrolly ends off and fold it up. I couldn’t believe it, a huge map like this and none of the choices given on the signs were mentioned on the map; back in Claire’s bag again and follow my nose (big mistake).

We followed the names of places that sounded nice like Hawii ( I couldn’t see how even I could get us that far adrift in such a short time). Damn! Why didn’t we look for an Indian Sat Nav whilst in Margao. The road seemed to get nicer and nicer with tarmac and white lines (a novelty over here); we were even faced with a decision at a junction where both ways looked equally nice. We tried one which eventually came to a dead end with a massive villa there. Now we know how it was funded. We went back and tried the other with a similar result; now we had to drive all the way back to the original sign. In need of water we decided to head back and stop at the little shop we had seen on the way and ask him if he knew how we could get to the coast. “Which coast” he said. “Any” I said, “at least we only have a choice of two directions”. “You have to go back into Margao” he said. “Bugger” Claire said. Anyway he said that there was a complicated way where we had to find Chinchimeri. “We have been through there before” I said, “I know my way back from there”. Claire remembered it also as I sang the “Chimchimeri” song all the way through it last time.

Having followed his instructions to the letter, turn left at the church, go straight until next church then turn right, go straight until next church, then ask inside. Claire has never been so happy as to hear me sing the “Chimchimeri” song. We did have to cross the ferry so as to get to Cavelosim but it is free. One lady couldn’t wait the 15 minutes it takes each way so paddled her way across herself.

One place that has alluded us since we have been here is Zeebop. Claire had first mentioned it from a website of an English couple that only recommended 2 places to eat, Fusion and Zeebop at Majorda. Well, we love Fusion so saw no reason why we shouldn’t like Zeebop and I had seen a sign towards the beach to it in our first taxi ride here. We had already driven down there and not managed to find it, but as they were packing all beach shacks away but one we thought we had missed it. Having mentioned it to the guy that got us the Vodka, he said it wasn’t a shack but a permanent place that stayed open all year around so we set off again thinking if we drive to the sign place and walk back the few miles to Majorda we couldn’t miss it. We did, we walked all the way back to Majorda with Claire cursing me in the hot sun and had to turn around and walk all the way back. “At least it’s into the sun on the way back and you will be getting a tan” I told her but it didn’t work. Just as we got back to the bike thinking we had missed it somewhere I spotted a sign in the distance (the other way) that looked like “bop” but some trees were in the way. Worth an investigation and of course we did find it. By this time we were hot, thirsty and starving so wasted no more time in ordering the largest fish on the “catch of the day” tray; a large snapper.

To be honest neither of us would recommend Zeebop from this first meal but it might be worth a try again. We both thought the fish was undercooked and tasteless, full of bones and not much with it. Never mind the beer was ok and the whole lot only cost 690 rupees and I had a sweet as well.