We met our friends Doug and Becky in Goa when they finished their tour of south India. Doug found a lovely villa for us to share in Rajbag near Palolem in southern Goa province. The villa came with its own friendly pi dogs to guard us, cleaning staff and passes to the nearby Intercontinental (five star) Resort’s pristine beach and swimming pool.

Anne in front of the Villa Viegas

Fierce yet friendly pi guard dog

Our room at the villa

Becky and Doug at the Intercontinental Grand Goa Resort

Pool at the Intercontinental

Parasailing lessons at the Intercontinental's Beach
One day, we took the long scenic drive north to Anjuna Beach to see where Doug lived for a short while in the 1970's. We met several of his old friends who still live there, including a local celebrity, Eight-finger Eddie, an 84-year-old American who has lived in Goa since 1973.

Lunch with Eight-finger Eddie

Doug with sadhu in front of the German Bakery

Fort Aguada view

Touring Fort Aguada Hotel

Girl doing homework at a restaurant

Bull on the beach, Palolem
The biggest town near our villa was the small “picture-perfect” beach-side town of Palolem. It is geared for tourists, young travelers and backpackers, with many funky shops and restaurants.

Palolem shops at night

Shopkeeper in full tribal regalia
Doug and Becky reached the end of their two-week stay in India and left Goa to return to the US. We moved north to Panaji (Panjim), the capital of the state of Goa, for a few days. Goa is a former Portugese colony and the Portugese influence is evident everywhere. Catholicism remains a major religion and churches abound. The atmosphere in Goa is said to be more laid-back and indulgent than in most of India.

Crowd watching finale of India vs Australia cricket match

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

Ferry about to dock near Old Goa

Muslim woman on scooter
We went in search of some of the Portugese influence in the form of Fado singing. Fado is a form of Portugese folk music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics. We had been cautioned not to miss having a Fado evening in Goa. So we diligently asked the concierge at our hotel, taxi drivers and waiters for Fado venues. We got blank stares, no one had even heard of Fado. In desperation, we did a web search and found one restaurant in one of the beach towns north of Panaji where the owner occasionally played and sang Fado. Ted called to make a dinner reservation and to make sure that there would be some Fado to listen to. The owner told Ted that he had just cut his finger, but that maybe he would try to play his guitar and sing anyway since we were interested.
That night we took a taxi to Baga Beach and found the restaurant, very chic and ‘old Goa’. The taxi driver said he would only wait for two hours. We ordered dinner and saw the owner come in. We ate dinner and watched him taking care of business. We finished dinner and the owner, Francisco Sousa, came over to chat with us about Fado, Goan politics and the state of pollution and trash management in India. We got a complimentary porto and watched Francisco talking to other customers. Giving up on Goan Fado, we paid the bill and went to find our waiting taxi. Francisco rushed out and called us back in and had the waiting taxi wait some more for free, and then he pulled out his guitar. We got another complimentary porto and Francisco played a few traditional Fado songs. It was well worth the wait.

Francisco performs Fado
We toured Old Goa and the Basilica of Bom Jesus, where St Francis Xavier’s ‘incorrupt’ body is kept in a glass coffin, and the Mangeshi Shiva temple with its tall white tower.

Basilica of Bom Jesus

Detail of a door in the Basilica

Incorrupt body of St Francis Xavier

Painted relief at Mangeshi temple

Mangeshi Temple

Newlywed at the temple

Ceremonial chariot
We wanted to dive in India and in the Arabian Sea. We knew from our research that diving in Goa would not be like diving in the Caribbean in terms of visibility or underwater life, so we did not have great expectations. The day we went diving was beautiful with little current or chop so we went to two dive sites that the dive operation does not go to very frequently. It was very murky but we were pleasantly surprised by the schools of fish that we did see, especially a group of five or six large cobia that were very interested in our dive group.