After three nights spent moving to the south of India, we were too exhausted to take the two hour trip to Palolem yesterday. Instead we took an auto-rickshaw to the nearby resort town of Colva to shower, relax, and spend the night. We took a walk along the beach. The sky was grey and the waters murky. The waves were crashing and touts were out and about trying to sell us sarongs and henna tattoos.
Feeling uninspired, we retired to the hotel room after a dinner of spaghetti Indian-style (a little weird) and watched Dirty Rotten Scoundrels on television. It was a nice diversion for a few hours. This morning we woke up and decided to skip Goa all together figuring the weather was not going to be any better a little more south in Palolem.
We took an auto into the Margao bus station and sat on a bench sipping orange Mirindas waiting for the bus to Gokarna, Karnataka which was to arrive an hour later. Then, a bus pulled up that read "Palolem Beach" and we looked at each other and said, "You wanna just go there instead?" We decided to just go and check it out. The bus ride took an hour and a half and stopped every few hundred metres to pick up and drop off hordes of smiling, giggling, pre-pubescent schoolchildren in uniforms. It made me feel like the children here in the south are more promising than those in the larger cities who are not schooled but instead grope at your legs for some change while you're riding in an auto-rickshaw or call out to you the only words they know in English, "Hello chocolate", "Hello rupees", and "Hello chappati". I'm sure there are many city children who are in school during the day so we just didn't see them. Here though, instead of having the schoolchildren and the begging children, there are no children begging. There are also no men gawking, and relatively few people trying to sell things to you aggressively.
Palolem is a small village that sits behind a one kilometer long crescent shaped beach. The beach is lined with palm trees and would be your picture of a perfect island paradise if you were to imagine one.
Sadly, the monsoon has not yet ended and the skies are overcast, the waters murky. We were told that the sun was out this morning and can only hope that the monsoon has moved north, away from here. Hopefully we'll see more and more sun the further south we go.
The beach huts are closed because of the monsoon so we walked through the village and looked at a few places to stay. Most were dark and dank but we finally came to one whose freshly painted powder pink walls, balcony, and attached bathroom caught our attention. Magi bargained the owner down and we are now staying at Maria's Guesthouses for a mere Rs. 150 ($3 US) a night.
We're not sure how long we will stay here. Hopefully the sun will come out someday soon and we will really be able to enjoy this beautiful tropical landscape in all its glory.
This is a big week for birthdays in my family and I just wanted to send lots of love and kisses to Mom, Jeremy, Jennifer, and Kenya who are celebrating this week. I love you all and miss you!
So long for now. Don't be shy to email us, we have plenty of time to write back and internet here is real cheap and plentiful.
tothesea,
k&m