With my Canadian friends leaving last night, it was time to check out of my small room at the “Soul Mate Guesthouse” which at least had a hot shower (my first in many months) and head north to Arambol. I checked my Lonely Planet Goa guide and decided to take the scenic route, at least in the south of Goa, along a route I haven’t taken yet.
My first stop was Agonda Beach, the first beach north of Palolem. It’s a sleepy beach with a long expanse of sand running north south. I imagine in another 10-20 years it will become another Palolem. I walked on the beach for a few minutes, snapped a few pics and hopped back on the scooter.
Looking south at Agonda Beach:
Groovin' on Agonda:
A church in the small Agonda village:
One of many lovely coastal scenes I saw:
The road heading north was a fun one to ride with smooth pavement, sweeping turns winding up and downhill. I soon arrived at stop #2 of the day: the Cabo da Rama Fort. This Portuguese built fort has little history as it didn’t see any real action. It was briefly occupied by the British from 1797 to 1802 and again a year later until 1813 but it never really served the Portuguese in a meaningful way. It became a prison until 1955 and now just a church is the only functioning building within the fortifications.
The entrance to Cabo da Rama Fort:
One of many gorgeous views from within the fort:
I was surprised by the size of the fort, definitely the biggest Portuguese fort that I have visited in Goa. For the first half of my visit, I seemed to be the only tourist in the place. It was probably almost a kilometre walk from the entrance to the furthest point west where there was the concrete remnants of a building. Luckily it had a small one storey square tower that had a staircase running up around the outside that permitted a beautiful view of a palm tree covered spit jutting out into the ocean to the west and a view of the jagged coastline to the south and the long expanses of beach stretching to the north.
The peninsula facing west:
Looking north:
Walking back along the old main road:
Walking back toward the entrance, I followed an overgrown service road and couldn’t help but imagine the Portuguese soldiers 250 years ago plodding along the path, baking in the sun and sweating copiously in their maladapted uniforms...poor dudes.
There were dead leaves everywhere in this forest...
Not sure what killed the leaves but they looked like they were made of spiderwebs:
The overgrown fortification:
A few cannons still aiming out at non-existant foes:
The shot across the front door:
The still functioning church:
Gobsmacking vistas:
I doubt the Portuguese soldiers enjoyed the view:
I continued north and as the road started inland to skirt around the wide outflow of the Sal River, I realized that I probably should get some gas. I ended up on a two land divided road and thought that I must have missed a turn to cross the river and get back to the coast. I stopped and asked a guy walking on the side of the road for gas and the way to Varca Beach. He instructed me to head back the way I came and go about a kilometre back for gas, then backtrack from where I came and turn at the church in the town of Chichinim. As I took the fork in the road towards the gas station I was immediately waved over by a traffic cop on the side of the road. It turns out that I had accidentally turned onto the National Highway #17. By law the driver of a motorbike or scooter must wear a helmet (although any passengers don’t...figure that one out). I had my paragliding helmet with me as I was aware of this law but had it strapped to the back of the seat. I explained to the officer that I had accidentally turned onto the highway and didn’t know it (sign posting is not a forte of India). He checked my licence and in the end I had to pay a 100 rupee fine ($2)...not bad.
Rice terraces on the high plateau:
Hmm...something seems out of place here...tough to see here but the little red thing on the roof is a satellite dish!
Gassed up, helmet on, I cruised back to Chinchinim and found the right junction and really wasn’t surprised that I had missed it the first time. Just before arriving to the coast, I passed through the small town of Cavelossim with its high end shops and eccentric hotels. The Holiday Inn looks to be an old converted cathedral with an attempted modernized look while another one was shaped like a fat freighter boat with the windows of the rooms being portholes in the side of the hull. I couldn’t imagine the rooms being that nice nor why you’d want to stay there. I turned south down a 3-4 kilometre spit to Mobor Beach where even fancier hotel resorts can be found but all the general public gets to see is fancy gates, colourful flowers and stylish looking guards.
The Holiday "Cathedral" Inn:
"All aboard!"
The expanse along Mobor Beach:
Heading north I drove near the coastline for about 25 kilometres, occasionally stopping in to check out a beach. I reached the peninsula where Dabolim, the only airport in Goa, is located. The dirty port city of Vasco da Gama is at the end but I didn’t venture that far. I had enough of the incredibly polluted industrial suburb area after five minutes or so and headed inland to the highway to travel across northern Goa.
I love the air pollution sign on the left (a bit difficult to see)...good idea but perhaps we should pick up all of the garbage on the ground first! The air pollution sign wasn't on anyways.
Yup, not the prettiest part of Goa:
After passing Panjim I decided to head towards Baga Beach. Yes, this may sound a bit sad but Baga has a Subway and I had a hankering for a sub (good sandwiches are tough to find in India). As I was enjoying my sub inside the restaurant, I couldn’t help but smile as I saw an elephant pass by on the road...oh India, you do have your charm.
In Subway, watching an elephant pass by (on the right):
I arrived back in Arambol around 5pm having just driven almost the entire length of the Goan coast on my scooter...what a great day of riding!
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