Girlyy party-DAY 3

DAY 3 Calangute- Baga- Fort Agauda-Vagator -Chapora –Anjuna-

It was our final day and we were looking ahead eagerly…

BAGA BEACH

Baga beach is about 3km from Calangute..From the map we could say Baga beach is an extension of Calangute, you can't find out where Calangute ends and Baga begins. Baga beach’s development is tremendous from my last visit with parents..Like Calangute beach baga is also known for its water sports and cheap body massages.. There were many handicraft shops and mouth watery restaurants.. During the peak season time theres a flea market on all Saturdays that’s kicks off around 4pm that would last late nights…Music is also part of the market that one can relish on.. What fun in Goa without getting in water. We wasted no time just enjoyed to the max getting all into water playing around super excited like kids. We just couldn’t stop the fun was just unlimited..Then suddenly there popped a question about swimming and none except les knew the art and still that didn’t stop us from having any less fun…

AGAUDA FORT

It was raining  and we started off  in the rain itself didn’t stop for shelter and by the time we reached fort Agauda which about 5km from Baga beach, it stopped raining..…Fort Agauda  impressed me for the sheer fact that it’s been standing  intact for more than 3 centuries no wonder it’s been known as one of the best known landmark in Goan history. Unlike other forts there are no ditches around the fort with water rather it utilizes the natural slope to defend itself..Awesome isn’t.. The fort was built as per the design laid down by the Italian military architects employed by the Portuguese government in Lisbon… It was built  in such a way that  it acted as a good defense as in land wise and seaside against Dutch and Maratha invasions and control entry to Mandovi river. It comprises of a lower fort with bastions all around and an upper fort with a lighthouse, an underground water storage chamber, bastions, and gunpowder room. The upper fort used to serve as a Watering Station to ships (Água means water in Portuguese, and hence the name Aguada—a place for storing water). The lower fort provided a safe resting place for Portuguese ships. Part of the lower fort now houses the Central Jail of Goa, inaccessible to the visitors… The fort is in  form of a square with bastions for artillery placed at each of its three corners, while the fourth corner is occupied by a main gate. It’s said that at one time, 200 cannons were a part of this fort, oooh that’s huge isn’t!!!! The fort houses a lighthouse which was built in 1864

This light house was functional till 1976…The one which is open to visitors is located nearby the walls of the citadel..It’s a scenic view from top of it..Climbing up in itself was a kick up..We were told that a smaller lighthouse, the Aguada Beacon was also built at the foot of the slopes near the buildings on the river bank in 1890…Another interesting thing we came across was the  small chapel dedicated to ‘Our Lady of Good Voyage’, may be because of the ships were subjected to long journey.. A jetty extends out towards the sea on the northern side where the Taj Vivanta is located within the outer walls of the fort .

We had a pleasant experience wandering through the drizzling rain and occasional photo posing kept all of us active and brim with creativity..Our next destination was Vagator beach.

VAGATOR BEACH

9km from Agauda fort….We were all high because of chapora fort of Dil Chahta hein fame near the beach..The beach is supposed to be white sandy , but appeared to be grayish blackish .. Best part is it’s a relaxed beach with not many tourists…. After few clicks and running along the shore we set for Chapora fort..

CHAPORA FORT

Chapora fort is easily accessible from Vagator beach, which  is  in ruins.. It’s all about Red laterite stones built by Portugese of course.. But for now all that’s left is the entrance the side walls in bits and pieces,  few stones here and there and heads of two tunnels..Still it offers a breathtaking view of Vagator beach lined with coconut grooves..All we did was sit there and enjoy the view for a long time until mishi’s mob rang ..It was from her tour office announcing the cancel of her scheduled bus and she had to hurry up for the bus 3 hours ahead of the plan... Oh ho..we smiled started taking photos of course…..

ANJUNA BEACH

3 km from Vagator beach is known as hippies paradise…Its placed in between  the Arabian Sea and a small hillock.Its a rocky beach with low waves perfect to play in sea. We were running short of time and our tummies were all shouting to be cared for ..We dashed into a restaurant we ordered and around the shops for cheap accessories and fun bargaining…Finally came back to our seat and were all lost for words .The smiles were all transfixed on the face for a long time then started talking busily about the whole trip and the fun unlimited and ate hot steaming sea food for one last time ….The beach is also infamous for its full moon parties otherwise known as the trance parties.. The music played is usually very loud psychedelic trance, which is claimed to transport one to another world literally. These parties usually take place on full moon nights. We all dashed to our room and packed quick…Jish, Rosh and mish bid good bye. Les and I had some more time..All their bus was from Panjim and our train from Karmali..Rosh planned to Bangaluru with Jish then to Chennai…We took the same route back…

Goa in monsoon was a complete success filled with fun and laughter..Taking home great memory treasure in heart scrap book.. For now the gang split till next trip …

GIRLY PARTY!!!!!!Go ....Go....GOOOOAAAAAAA!!!! DAY -1!!!

This is a post that i was supposed to do in August last but..but  couldn't... work you know (Yawwwnnnn!!!!!)..So here it is..
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Another girly party seemed to be an alluring idea..and there were three choices Goa , Kumarakom, err I don’t remember the third one..Kumarakom and Goa passed the first screening … Somehow Goa stroked a chord in all of us (Jish, Les, Rosh, Mishi, Vb (me))…with three in the gang with an experience around the place we finally settled on for Goa. But Goa in monsoon?????? Les and I had been there for about ten months and that included the monsoon we knew for sure that monsoons

Entrance to our room

peps up the whole mood of Goa making it vibrant and stunning against the rain fed earth... But Goa is known for its beaches; thankfully none of us were a big fan of the beaches…Big sigh!!!!! Visiting Goa in monsoon meant every activity would be at the mercy of rain..And somehow that part just overwhelmed us.. In short we were all looking ahead for a completely different experience. Deserted beaches, go green seemed to rhyme, another attractive part was the off season discounts which implied upon other options to spend.. .. Les arranged for the stay through a friend of hers..It was a home stay at Calangute (Off season you know).. Les and I work in Kerala so we started in the same train (Netravathi exp) together les from Thrissur; I joined her from Kasargod…. Karmali station was our preferred destination over Margoa We reached there about 6:45 am.. Jish and Mishi from Bangaluru and Hyderabad respectively opted for bus, they would reach Panjim directly then to Calangute. Rosh’s trip was the longest from Chennai by train to Margoa From there she would get to Panjim then to Calangute..

We got ourselves two portions of the house... Each had a double bed with bath attached  hot and cold shower and balco .We opted for non-ac rooms .It was a comfortable stay with television refrigerator for 500 per night (off season) and we were told these were given only to foreigner, we didn’t know why though.. From Karmali we took an auto to Old goa… Bom Basilica   kindled fond memories in both so without wasting time went in and promised to come back soon…Boarded bus to Panjim travelling through the narrow road to Panjim is a treat in itself.. Goa which was a colony of Portugal up until 1961 has the strong portugese influence all around in terms of architecture and lifestyle. From Panjim again took Kadamba bus to Calangute. It took about 45 minutes from Panjim in bus .  The queue was organized and we opted for bus, to get it the Goan way..At about 8:45 am we reached our home for three days with the direction from Jacqueline (our host…Jish and Mishi joined us soon from Panjim. Then we were just gals catching up after a long time need I say more??? Rosh’s train was a late..Getting from Margoa to Calangute was a journey by itself. We got her straight to the restaurant and started enjoying sea food at a restaurant that was named best by lonely planet.

The menu included Soup, Prawn balchao, Crab curry, Chicken gizad, rice.. The waiter even explained to us how they were prepared..….and here starts our Day1..

DAY 1 Calangute-Panjim –Dona Paula- Mandovi cruise- Calangute

Panjim church

We hired three bikes for three days. It costs about Rs 250 per day + petrol charges. I teamed up with les .Mishi with Ros and Jish had bike all for herself. Roads were in good shape in spite of Monsoon.. There are sign boards all through to guide you. Panjim is about 15km from Calangute.. Exploring the Panjim street and getting lost was fun part of it. Panjim church was such a treat to eyes and spirit…Don’t miss out the church bell..The busy Panjim city looks good from the church..Without lingering on for a long time we took off to Dona Paula 7km from Panjim with a stopover at Miramar beach to enjoy the sea breeze…Miramar beach is a less attractive calm and quiet beach..Dona Paula is the place where the river Zuari and Mandovi meet the Arabian Sea. Dona Paula has loads of seaside shops, food shacks throughout..But water sports was missing.. There are a number of legends behind Dona Paula, one of them states that Dona committed suicide by jumping off the cliff because she was not allowed to marry a local fisherman, another says that Dona was married to lower class fisherman who went into deep seas for fishing and one day did not return, Dona his loving wife waited for him at the jetty for many years and finally turned into stone!!!  This place fascinates tourists by its mysticism and beauty... The statute on the rock is dedicated to them and their love…But I guess all this is just a folklore though tragic one. Okay here goes another one Dona Paula was the daughter of the Portuguese Viceroy of Jaffnapatnam, in Sri Lanka. She and her family arrived in Goa and she married..  They were an extremely affluent family. Dona Paula was a kind-hearted and worked hard for the upliftment of the villagers and that’s why after her death the villagers decided to re-name the village as Dona Paula. Initially the village was called Oddavell. The alleged statue of ‘Dona Paula’ at the jetty is actually the sculpture of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Knox. A Dutch sculptress, Baroness Yrse Von Leistner etched the sculpture as she was in awe of the philosopher Robert Knox.

Sun was setting, spreading golden glisten all around…Mandovi cruise was all dressed up waiting for us..This was one of the best experience we had for the evening..There were traditional dance in the cruise food and drinks were also available…After relishing the traditional dance and music we went up the deck to enjoy the breeze we also got to watch other luxury cruise… Panjim shore that was

  all lighted up by now….the cruise was for an hour and as expected we had our share of fun@mandovi river…Driving back home we raced and got home pleasantly exhausted …For dinner we had Goan prawn caldine, traditional fish curry, pepper calamari roll and rice ..mmmm yummy…In Goa there are so many options that you’ll lose track of them and most of them serve authentic Goan cuisine too…After a hot shower we all jumped into bed around 10pm cos we had to wake up early for the next day’s trip..After the alarm was set in all our mobiles we slept like babies…SWEET DREAMSSSS..