Exploring Goa

22nd February 2018 – Exploring Goa

Chilling out doing nothing is not easy for any of us, so we decided to ask the concierge what there was to do round here.  Several suggestions were made so we opted for a tour of the spice plantation, which included lunch, and then some shopping.

We ordered a taxi for 11.30am as the drive to the plantation would take just an hour.  Our driver was called João Gonçales – a legacy from the 500 year Portuguese occupation of Goa.  He was an interesting chap and he was willing to answer any questions we had for him.  We learned about the car registration plates; we got a recipe for making tinned sardines; most of the population is Catholic; the biggest industry is tourism – it used to be mining but has been shut down due to corruption; most homes have running water; the electricity supply is dodgy as is bought in from other states and big hotels like ours have to run on generators between 7-11pm so that there is enough electricity for the locals; Goans feel pretty different from the rest of India and are resistant to having names changed to reflect Hindi culture e.g. they still call Mumbai by its old name – Bombay.  The other very interesting thing we learned is that anyone born prior to 1961, was eligible for a Portuguese passport, which then meant their children could also get them.  Our driver hadn’t done so yet, but was planning to so that his kids could move to Europe if they wanted to in the future.  He said that most Goans who had done that, moved to the UK, so he was very interested in Brexit and what that might mean for Portuguese citizens in the future.

We enjoyed the drive to the spice plantation as we passed verdant green rice paddies, huge storage areas of standing water full of blooming white and purple lotus flowers and water buffalos, lots of swaying tall coconut palms, Portuguese style churches, brightly coloured houses (they don’t need repainting so often after the monsoon and hide the black mould better) and some old Portuguese style houses in various states of disrepair with big verandahs surrounding them.  Our impression is that Goa is not as poor as the rest of India and generally, the standard of living looked to be much better.

The spice plantation was crowded as everyone flocks there for lunch.  After buying our tickets and immediately having them checked again, we were ushered to a holding area and given a cup of lemon grass tea with ginger and something else in it, which was actually pretty tasteless, where we could read about various herbal remedies.  They had something for everyone – various powders and potions to cure sexual dysfunction for both men and women, firming up droopy boobs, sorting out wrinkles, high/low blood pressure, halitosis, diabetes, aiding weight loss and stopping premature greying of hair.  Sadly, most of it is too late for me.......the damage is already done!!

How to climb a betel palm

Just as we finished oue tea, our tour guide arrived and a small group of us followed her around the plantation, which Mum recognised from a programme that Kate Humble had done on spices.  It was actually very interesting and we were shown how coffee, cloves, cardamons, cinnamon, vanilla and betel nut were grown.  I had no idea that coffee flowers smelt like jasmine.  We even got a demonstration of a man shimmying up a betel palm and then swinging from one tree to another, which looked both hazardous and extremely technical.  A few brave people had a go afterwards and managed to get about a foot up the tree.  We were then shown how they made the cashew nut firewater, which Chris and I had tried the previous evening and decided it wasn’t for us.  We also came across an Indian elephant being pushed and shoved along a path towards us and being slapped with a big stick and screamed at by 2 men as they tried to get it to go into a small stream.  The poor thing clearly didn’t want to go but eventually was forced in and made to lie down in it and submit to a bath.  I asked our guide what she was there for and was told it was for tourists and did I want a ride on her which I firmly declined.

After the tour we had our lunch, which was fine, and did a bit of shopping.  I bought some fresh spices and will be intrigued to see if they taste better than the ones I’ve had in my kitchen cupboards for years!

Half of the old Portuguese mansion

We then started our drive back to the hotel but decided to add a diversion and go back via a typical old Portuguese house.  We duly arrived at our destination which was a huge place that stretched to the left and right of what must have been a very grand entrance.  Part of one side of the house was open to visitors for a small fee so we had a guided tour around it which consisted of “this is a mirror”, “this is a family photograph”, this is a Chinese vase”....you get the picture?!  The rooms in this place were amazing – huge with big vaulted ceilings and they stretched away into the distance. The ballroom had gorgeous chandeliers and we were also shown the original windows that had tiny mother of pearl panels instead of glass.  It was furnished in typical Portuguese style, but the whole place had an air of neglect and decay and seemed rather damp.  It was very interesting but sad, and we declined the offer of a tour of the other side of the house.

The decaying splendour inside

We continued our drive back to the hotel and had one more stop in the Paradise shopping emporium.   We declined sandalwood elephants and camel bone boxes, but did buy 2 large elephant themed bed covers that we hope we can turn into duvet covers.

We got back to our hotel and noticed that a large black 7 series BMW which had wilting flowers on its bonnet and had been parked up by the main entrance had disappeared.  João told us that it had been a wedding present to the happy couple, who had obviously left – wow, what a present!

View from our room

After a short break, we reconvened at 6pm and decided to go to the hotel beach bar and have a cocktail.  We passed various people setting up for another event in the grounds, which looked gorgeous – they certainly know how to create magical spaces in the gardens for parties.  Chris and I had Mai Tais and Mum had a mimosa.

We then walked down the beach and asked the other 2 beach shacks besides Betsy’s Shade if they would organise transport to get us back to the hotel.  Neither of them would, so we went back to Betsy’s, where we got a warm welcome.  Chris and I started with garlic squid, and then Mum had the crab again, I had tandoori tiger prawns and Chris has a Goan pomfret curry.  It was all delicious and we agreed a perfect end to a perfect holiday.