Goa diary Day one
Arrival Jan 14 Day One
Bobsey twins from Kerala
Josh touches down at 7 am and secures transport, a Bajaj Avenger that refuses to climb higher than 60 kmph. We found out later how difficult it would be to put the side lock on this bike. Actually, everything on this bike is placed funny starting from the ignition switch to finding Neutral. Josh comes to Paulo’s at noon to pick me up and when we meet...shock , surprise, astonishment...both have buzz cuts and french beards!! The Bobsey twins we were to be for the following days.
The Bobsey twins with Phillipe , Stone House
Upper ground floor, Lunch at Britto’s
We then got back to the flat which was conveniently tucked behind Hotel Orion, Porvorim (so incase I got lost I had a landmark to follow). Interestingly the flat is on the third floor but one has to press 4 on the lift to get there. Why? because some ingenious construction engineer decided to put in a floor above the ground floor called UPPER GROUND FLOOR! Hence first floor is actually the second and the rest follows upwards. The flat was covered with one year’s dust which we decided to clean up the following morning so after a shower we headed out to Britto’s (a landmark of Goa) on Baga Beach. Lunch was a seafood platter washed down with rum and beer. Britto’s offers a panoramic view to Baga Beach and its vagaries. In the corner of your eye you can see some semi nude sun bathing, Russians? and the offers made by eager Goan youth to obviously stoned foreigners. Saw one of them pick up an athletic looking goan guy and head off...to the shacks
Meeting Phillipe, Morjim Beach
At 2 PM Phillipe met us at Britto’s and after introductions we found that he is INDIAN. Born in India and traveled with his father (ex-army) across the length and breadth of India, Phillipe Dartnell knew Goa from the 70’s. He spent his youth in the defence quarters at Porvorim before moving to England. His accent was a mix of British, South African and he knew all the swear words in Hindi, much to the astonishment of some local youth’s he happened to have a run in with the previous day. Avid windsurfer turned Kite surfer, Phillipe even represented India at the Asian Games in the 80’s. We followed him to our schooling grounds for the next 4 days, Morjim Beach. The 20 minute drive took us through the winding roads past Anjuna, over a breathtaking river and finally to the beach. Morjim is in North Goa and unknown to many locals. It is said to be controlled by a Russian Mafia but we did not have any unruly incidents. Further down from Morjim you have Asvem and Arambol. Morjim is a protected beach as the Olive Ridley Turtles use it as a nesting ground. Phillipe took us through the introduction to Kite surfing Safety and we practised on the trainer kite. Since I had prior practice, I moved on to the 6m LEI (Leading edge inflatable) Kite and got my first taste of scudding. As we left that evening at sundown, Phillipe was warning us about finding used hypodermic needles in the sand suggesting obvious drug abuse by the many semi clad foreigners of various ethnicity. We even got to overhear a rather rude conversation between a junkie and a pusher. “Stay way from me or I will destroy you”, the pusher said to the young girl who was in desperate need of a fix.
Microwave espresso, Sorpotel at Corrina’s
On our return we picked up provisions from Simon’s (He must have overcharged us but his smile put us off completely). We then decided to taste espresso at Coffee Kicks, Porvorim - ‘something to brew about’. Well, when we saw the coffee being made in the microwave we knew that technology had exacted its toll on a traditional artform. Disappointment at Coffee Kicks turned quickly into a fantastic high thanks to a small, establishment hidden from the glare of public tourism. Corrina’s is a small restaurant patroned by only ‘those in the know’. Luckily for me, Josh was the connoisseur of small establishments dishing out lip smacking fare. Pork Sorpotel is definitely a ‘must-taste’ at those visiting Corrina’s for the first time. Along with Goan Sausage, Goan Pao and generous rounds of Josh’s own Old Monk/Fresh Lime Antioxidant elixir of life, dinner turned out to be a gastronomic high. Two better tasting higher priced espresso’ later (from Cafe coffee day) and we decided to swing on to another favourite hangout...Martin’s. Alas things had changed since Josh’s last visit and Martin’s as well as the rest of Goa was now subjected to a curfew shut down at midnight. and so the revelry on day one ended with the midnight gong and we trooped back to the flat for a night’s rest.
Bobsey twins from Kerala
Josh touches down at 7 am and secures transport, a Bajaj Avenger that refuses to climb higher than 60 kmph. We found out later how difficult it would be to put the side lock on this bike. Actually, everything on this bike is placed funny starting from the ignition switch to finding Neutral. Josh comes to Paulo’s at noon to pick me up and when we meet...shock , surprise, astonishment...both have buzz cuts and french beards!! The Bobsey twins we were to be for the following days.
The Bobsey twins with Phillipe , Stone House
Upper ground floor, Lunch at Britto’s
We then got back to the flat which was conveniently tucked behind Hotel Orion, Porvorim (so incase I got lost I had a landmark to follow). Interestingly the flat is on the third floor but one has to press 4 on the lift to get there. Why? because some ingenious construction engineer decided to put in a floor above the ground floor called UPPER GROUND FLOOR! Hence first floor is actually the second and the rest follows upwards. The flat was covered with one year’s dust which we decided to clean up the following morning so after a shower we headed out to Britto’s (a landmark of Goa) on Baga Beach. Lunch was a seafood platter washed down with rum and beer. Britto’s offers a panoramic view to Baga Beach and its vagaries. In the corner of your eye you can see some semi nude sun bathing, Russians? and the offers made by eager Goan youth to obviously stoned foreigners. Saw one of them pick up an athletic looking goan guy and head off...to the shacks
Meeting Phillipe, Morjim Beach
At 2 PM Phillipe met us at Britto’s and after introductions we found that he is INDIAN. Born in India and traveled with his father (ex-army) across the length and breadth of India, Phillipe Dartnell knew Goa from the 70’s. He spent his youth in the defence quarters at Porvorim before moving to England. His accent was a mix of British, South African and he knew all the swear words in Hindi, much to the astonishment of some local youth’s he happened to have a run in with the previous day. Avid windsurfer turned Kite surfer, Phillipe even represented India at the Asian Games in the 80’s. We followed him to our schooling grounds for the next 4 days, Morjim Beach. The 20 minute drive took us through the winding roads past Anjuna, over a breathtaking river and finally to the beach. Morjim is in North Goa and unknown to many locals. It is said to be controlled by a Russian Mafia but we did not have any unruly incidents. Further down from Morjim you have Asvem and Arambol. Morjim is a protected beach as the Olive Ridley Turtles use it as a nesting ground. Phillipe took us through the introduction to Kite surfing Safety and we practised on the trainer kite. Since I had prior practice, I moved on to the 6m LEI (Leading edge inflatable) Kite and got my first taste of scudding. As we left that evening at sundown, Phillipe was warning us about finding used hypodermic needles in the sand suggesting obvious drug abuse by the many semi clad foreigners of various ethnicity. We even got to overhear a rather rude conversation between a junkie and a pusher. “Stay way from me or I will destroy you”, the pusher said to the young girl who was in desperate need of a fix.
Microwave espresso, Sorpotel at Corrina’s
On our return we picked up provisions from Simon’s (He must have overcharged us but his smile put us off completely). We then decided to taste espresso at Coffee Kicks, Porvorim - ‘something to brew about’. Well, when we saw the coffee being made in the microwave we knew that technology had exacted its toll on a traditional artform. Disappointment at Coffee Kicks turned quickly into a fantastic high thanks to a small, establishment hidden from the glare of public tourism. Corrina’s is a small restaurant patroned by only ‘those in the know’. Luckily for me, Josh was the connoisseur of small establishments dishing out lip smacking fare. Pork Sorpotel is definitely a ‘must-taste’ at those visiting Corrina’s for the first time. Along with Goan Sausage, Goan Pao and generous rounds of Josh’s own Old Monk/Fresh Lime Antioxidant elixir of life, dinner turned out to be a gastronomic high. Two better tasting higher priced espresso’ later (from Cafe coffee day) and we decided to swing on to another favourite hangout...Martin’s. Alas things had changed since Josh’s last visit and Martin’s as well as the rest of Goa was now subjected to a curfew shut down at midnight. and so the revelry on day one ended with the midnight gong and we trooped back to the flat for a night’s rest.
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