Goaing to Goa

A slightly blurred photo of the Secretariat building by night.

Actually, I'm back from Goa, but that doesn't make for as catchy a title.

With Canadian thanksgiving, my team had a long weekend this past weekend, and I decided to make the most of it by going somewhere that required a plane ride. Goa seemed like a natural choice - I mean, I couldn't imagine how anyone could mix Portuguese and Indian culture (The answer? They don't mix; they just sort of . . . run parallel) and it was only an hour away by plane plus a long bus ride into Panjim, the city where I was staying, and my . . . hostel?

The question mark is there because really, I have never seen a hostel like this:

That was my room. Honest to god, it's $12 a night. 

Breakfast area

Pretty incredible! I chose Panjim Inn because it was supposed to have amazing Portuguese period furniture, and it did not disappoint. From what I heard about the other guest houses in town, this is definitely the place to stay.

I really only had one full day in Goa, so I picked some highlights out of the book, got up early and went to the spice plantation. This is, first off, an amazing ride through the country with a couple stops at temples and markets along the way. The plantation is an organic farm where they take you on a 45 minute walk and explain what all the spices are, and how they are harvested, and what healing properties they may have.

Of course, this isn't a farm, the way we might normally think of a farm. There are no neatly planted rows. It's more of a forest, and the walk is along little deer-trail-sized paths. Here are some of the spices:

This is a vanilla bean vine - vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world (saffron being the first). The bean pods aren't ready to be picked until nine months after they grow on the vine --"This is the same as it takes to grow a baby," our guide informs us -- and they have to be picked as soon as they start to split, so they are checked daily.

Apparently black, red and white pepper all comes from the same plant. They're picked at different stages of ripening, and if you can find organic ones, apparently you can boil three peppercorns for several minutes and sweeten with honey for a soothing stomach tonic.

This one's Nutmeg, you might have to make the photo bigger to get a good look at the little seed pod. When they split they are ripe and are harvested. Apparently it's a bit of a dangerous spice in large quantities (? - this was never quite explained) but in small amounts can help to reduce high blood pressure. Cinnamon does the same.

This is a cocoa pod. They, um. Make chocolate with it. You know. Also . . . hot chocolate powder. It's a very pretty tree. (Frankly I was kind of distracted by a bird during this part of the walk.)

Coffee beans!! The red ones are almost, but not quite, red enough to be harvested.











After the walk through the 'forest farm', I had water and lemongrass poured down my back to cool me down. This is traditional, and believe me, it works! Pro tip, kids.

In between the spice farm, which was in Ponda (south Goa) and returning to Panjim, I saw a few giant churches, a temple (beautiful) and a few markets, mostly selling necklaces made of flowers for people to bring into the temples:



For the most part, photography is not allowed in these churches. Here is 'Our Lady of Immaculate Conception,' a beautiful church and a central feature of Panjim:



At night I went on a 'sunset cruise' which should really be called a night cruise, because the sun doesn't mess around with setting here. It's light, and then at the predetermined time, it becomes dark. None of this twilight foolishness.

The ship provided three quick shows of Goan folk dancing, in between which there was a mad rush to the stage of everyone under the age of 15 to participate in a disco and show off the best moves of the 70's. It was awesome. On the boat I met two other travelers from Australia and New Zealand, and joined them for dinner after the trip. I love this part of traveling; trading stories and tips, meeting new people that you get along with. I'm always amazed how many people I meet and want to stay in contact with when we part ways.

That's about it for now, I think. Hope everyone is safe and happy at home, and Happy Thanksgiving!