Exploring the unexplored Goa

 

Goa: Holidays to Goa have often been such that I feel the need to go on another vacation as soon as I get home from there. From shack hopping to going from one beach to another, it usually leaves one more tired than refreshed. But this time was very different. When a work opportunity came up and required my going there for a three-day-weekend, I’d expected it to be disappointing, considering how it was off season, but I returned pleasantly surprised. 

 

In high season, Goa is all about the beaches, shacks and the beer. Also, one always feels like a tourist, an outsider. But during the monsoon, along with the closed shacks, empty streets and the rains, we get to see a Goa from a resident’s point of view. A visit during this period will have the place get you engrossed in silent conversations when traversing its charming lanes. 

 

I was staying at a place in Porvorim, about 16 km away from the beaches, but with no traffic, it would take only 10 minutes to get there. With the sun making the rare guest appearance, it was a delight to even stare out of the window to see people ride their bikes in the rain, shirtless, and without a care in the world. It’s a toast to the free spirit of the people there and how fun and happiness precede everything else for them. 

 

I’d rented a bike, and on the trips I took on it, I would run to the Infentaria Café in Calangute, a personal favourite, for their yummy prawn patties, pork sausages and the Goan prawn curry. Even the usually busy Tito’s Lane radiated very laid back vibes with a few live jazz performances. What was a discovery in itself was a newly opened place called the Baga Deck, serving a sumptuous fish curry-rice combo. Another place I found this time was one called Monicker’s in Candolim beach with its delightful crab lollipops. It just goes to show how Goa remains a foodie’s delight, even off-season. Soon after a busy series of photo shoots, this trip was quite refreshing and a much needed re-charge of my batteries. Creativity in any profession calls for a break from hectic routine, for some introspection, and a break like this one had me raring to go. 

 

The writer is a professional photographer and DC reader.