The overnight train arrived at a place called Palolem in the south of Goa. Once again our taxi journey took us through some amazing scenery - this time it was bright green fields, trees, rivers and hills and every now and again I would get excited because we'd catch a glimpse of the sea. When we eventually arrived we were met by a powdery, white stretch of beach lined with coconut palms and a calm, clear sea dotted with rocks that were covered in greenery; it was a paradise and I couldn't quite believe I was still in India until I spotted a load of cows on the beach!
The season doesn't properly start on Palolem beach until November so it was reasonably quiet and many of the beach hut hotels weren't built yet as the council insists they are taken down during the quiet season. We had booked three nights online in a permanent beachside 'cottage' but when we arrived they had no recollection of any booking and showed us to a dark, sweaty room miles from the beach. When we protested they put us on the phone to their manager who was very rude and put the phone down on me; we were then led to a building site by the beach and shown to a dull room amongst a load of rubble. Half the time we were there we didn't have any water running out of the taps (that means no shower and no toilet flush!!) and on our way back at night we had to navigate our way past angry, wild dogs! When it rained the ceiling leaked on our faces as we slept. One night there was a tropical storm and we'd watched the lightening crackle over the sea as we ate dinner; when we tried to go to sleep the tide came in and sounded like it was coming closer and closer to our room! We were convinced that the room would be flooded so, half asleep, we got all our stuff up off the floor and I went outside to see how far the water had come but there was a crazed dog in my way so I had to go back. We didn't get much sleep that night as the sound of waves crashed around us; when we woke up we went to investigate and, embarrassingly enough, we discovered that the sea had actually been nowhere near our room and we'd created a load of drama all night for no reason!
Despite our accommodation problems (and our over active imaginations) we had a brilliant three days in Palolem - the weather was glorious every day and I've managed to get the best tan I've ever had. We spent our time walking on the beach, watching the fishermen, paddle boarding, swimming in the sea, lazily sitting in beach-side restaurants eating far too much and we also went on a little boat ride into the forests where massive eagles were swooping above us.
One day we hired kayaks and paddled out to the sea. Ben spotted a rock just beneath the water surface and wanted a photo on it (Jesus style, so it looked like he was walking on water) so I took his kayak in one hand and took the photo with the other. The current was very strong so far out and I was carried further and further away from him. I tried to paddle back but it was impossible whilst holding an extra kayak on one side so I tried to loop my foot through a tiny bit of string on his kayak but my foot almost came off as the tide swept the other kayak from side to side. I had adrenaline pumping through me at this point as I executed this rescue mission! I tied the boats together and started paddling like crazy but Ben's came loose and I had to chase after it. The only option was to leave his kayak amongst a pile of rocks sticking out of the sea and go back and get him. As he climbed on my kayak it capsized and we both fell into the rocks he'd been standing on and split both of our backs open! He got back on, I held on to the side and we went to collect his kayak whilst blood was streaming out of the little cuts on our backs; we saw hundreds of creatures lurking amongst the rocks which looked like massive tarantulas but it turned out they were slimy, black crabs. For fifteen minutes we tried to retrieve his kayak and once we did we scrambled out of the rocks and made our way back - adventure hurts!
Yep, definitely India!
Palolem beach.
A completely unedited photo of the sunset at Palolem beach.
The season doesn't properly start on Palolem beach until November so it was reasonably quiet and many of the beach hut hotels weren't built yet as the council insists they are taken down during the quiet season. We had booked three nights online in a permanent beachside 'cottage' but when we arrived they had no recollection of any booking and showed us to a dark, sweaty room miles from the beach. When we protested they put us on the phone to their manager who was very rude and put the phone down on me; we were then led to a building site by the beach and shown to a dull room amongst a load of rubble. Half the time we were there we didn't have any water running out of the taps (that means no shower and no toilet flush!!) and on our way back at night we had to navigate our way past angry, wild dogs! When it rained the ceiling leaked on our faces as we slept. One night there was a tropical storm and we'd watched the lightening crackle over the sea as we ate dinner; when we tried to go to sleep the tide came in and sounded like it was coming closer and closer to our room! We were convinced that the room would be flooded so, half asleep, we got all our stuff up off the floor and I went outside to see how far the water had come but there was a crazed dog in my way so I had to go back. We didn't get much sleep that night as the sound of waves crashed around us; when we woke up we went to investigate and, embarrassingly enough, we discovered that the sea had actually been nowhere near our room and we'd created a load of drama all night for no reason!
My first proper beach visit in Asia!
Despite our accommodation problems (and our over active imaginations) we had a brilliant three days in Palolem - the weather was glorious every day and I've managed to get the best tan I've ever had. We spent our time walking on the beach, watching the fishermen, paddle boarding, swimming in the sea, lazily sitting in beach-side restaurants eating far too much and we also went on a little boat ride into the forests where massive eagles were swooping above us.
The green island is called Monkey Island which is apparently home to vicious, thieving monkeys.
Paddle boarding.
This beach front restaurant provided brilliant views of the lightening on the horizon at night.
One day we hired kayaks and paddled out to the sea. Ben spotted a rock just beneath the water surface and wanted a photo on it (Jesus style, so it looked like he was walking on water) so I took his kayak in one hand and took the photo with the other. The current was very strong so far out and I was carried further and further away from him. I tried to paddle back but it was impossible whilst holding an extra kayak on one side so I tried to loop my foot through a tiny bit of string on his kayak but my foot almost came off as the tide swept the other kayak from side to side. I had adrenaline pumping through me at this point as I executed this rescue mission! I tied the boats together and started paddling like crazy but Ben's came loose and I had to chase after it. The only option was to leave his kayak amongst a pile of rocks sticking out of the sea and go back and get him. As he climbed on my kayak it capsized and we both fell into the rocks he'd been standing on and split both of our backs open! He got back on, I held on to the side and we went to collect his kayak whilst blood was streaming out of the little cuts on our backs; we saw hundreds of creatures lurking amongst the rocks which looked like massive tarantulas but it turned out they were slimy, black crabs. For fifteen minutes we tried to retrieve his kayak and once we did we scrambled out of the rocks and made our way back - adventure hurts!
Kayaking.
Rescue mission!
Domestic tourists absolutely love the beach and the sea and they spend their days taking photos of each other in various poses.
They also love to have photos with fair haired, fair skinned people so we were constantly getting stopped on the beach and asked if we would pose in their photos.
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