maverickbirdOver the years of my repeated Goa sojourns, I made quite a few good friends there. Apart from Rama and his family, Uttam and his lovely wife Sandy were my closest local buddies there. A fun loving elderly couple, they were both retired, had some money and lived near the quaint Ospy’s Shelter home stay near Baga.
Their house was beautiful and typically Goan with Mediterranean colours, big bay windows and sloping tiled roof. Surrounded by a lush hibiscus filled garden, it was their little world of love and happiness and they welcomed me (their pseudo adopted daughter) every time with open arms.
I always avoided the crazy rush of Baga and Calangute, except for my brief stays or visits to their place. I have celebrated one birthday and many marriage anniversaries there and all our little parties ended with expensive bottle of Ballantines or a cashew Feni. Three of us had once done a Mandovi river cruise together and all of us agreed that it was a disaster. Crowded with pre teen and/or drunk Indian tourists, these fancy boats played loud music for super energetic dancers, served bad food and their expensive beer ran out fast. Moreover the tedious process of queuing with pushing, elbowing crowd just to get on board one of those dumps made those cruises absolutely annoying.
Mandovi is the main river and lifeline of Goa. It is prettiest in the evenings or nights and supports a healthy mangrove forest. In fact bird watching is a must do activity for nature lovers in Goa and the wide estuaries of Mandovi and Zuari rivers are the best places for to check out some feathered beauties. Apart from the estuaries, the state has many salt pans, fresh water lakes, mud flats, creeks and marshy land which attract plenty of hornbills, flycatchers, bee eaters, orioles, drongos, kingfishers etc.
Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary on the Chorao Island on Mandovi River is an ornithologist’s haven and can be accessed by a boat from the Ribandar ferry wharf. The area is also famous for crocodiles, flying foxes and many beautiful butterflies. The best time for wildlife watching is in the morning and even though I had been on one trip to the sanctuary, being a grumpy early riser, never saw one animal, reptile or bird. It was disappointing but the mangrove forests of Mandovi river was so beautifully serene that the grouchiness did not stay for long. I like Mandovi river at sunset and enjoy watching the returning fishing boats crowd at its mouth. Nights reflect city lights on its calm inky surface and floating barge casinos dazzle like a horde of sparkling diamonds.Â
Uttam and Sandy were adorable and truly loved company (and hosting). But being hooked on to solo traveling, a few days of constant companionship were enough to give me jitters and eventually I used to escape to Cafe Lilliput at Anjuna for beautiful lonesome dinners. I loved the beach restaurant’s candlelit wicker tables, psychedelic lights, moonlight and trance music. Their seafood was always fresh and the sea slowly lapped near my feet as I ate.
It was absolutely magical and I loved spending hours there trying to distinguish the stars from the distant twinkling fishing trawler lights. A huge restless inky black extended before me and these glittering lights merged with the brightly shining stars in the darkness. My solo wanderings worried my loving traditional hosts and they often urged me to go for small excursions to nearby attractions with the hope of getting me hitched. Although their sweet naggings were mostly ignored, they however were successful in sending me to a spice farm and Dudhsagar Falls trip.
The minuscule state of Goa had been prominent throughout history for its spices, cotton and indigo production. Coupled with excellent harbours, Goa was strategically and financially important to all its rulers. From the 4th century onward, the coastal state had been coveted and ruled by many Indian dynasties until 1510 when the Portuguese finally captured it. A great trading center which specialized in import of Arabian horses, it was pepper which drew the Portuguese to its shores. When King Dom Manuel I ordered his noblemen Alfonso de Albuquerque and his cousin to head a powerful fleet for defending their cargo of pepper from Arab Muslim raiders, the wily pirate Timoja persuaded them to acquire Goa.
The Portuguese by then had already settled down in southern fortified cities of Cochin and Cannanore and had Calicut as the spice trading hub. However with the acquisition of Goa in 1510, Portugal established their 1st territorial conquest in Asia. Today India leads in world spice production and Goa and Kerala are its spice bowls. As a part of a government encouraged agro tourism industry, spice farms are plentiful in Goa and some of them also offer elephant rides along with spice tour.Â
To escape my hosts’ constant prodding, I went to the Sahakari Spice Farm once and came back disappointed. The plantation was lush, with a great introduction to various grown spices and an awesome vegetarian meal, but the in house chained elephants looked badly treated and abused. I avoided the elephant ride, counted age of coconut trees from the tree trunk rings, checked out the white, black and red peppers and smelled fragrant vanilla pods.
The swinging betel nut collectors were fun to watch too and the single male pineapple tasted awfully bitter (sweet female ones grow in cluster). The in house production of cashew feni from the fruit pulp churned furiously and hurak (vapour of foot crushed fermented fruit mash) got mixed with juice in gallons before getting heated again. Made from both coconut and cashew pulp, feni is the unofficial state drink and is as heady as the Goan sunshine.Â
The Dudhsagar falls safari was much nicer and for once I did not regret coming out of my cozy room. The literal meaning of Dudhsagar is “sea of milk” and the 4 tiered waterfall has clouds of milky white foam rising up from its bottom. It got its name from a local legends which tells the story of a very powerful and rich king who ruled a kingdom in Western Ghats. His opulent hill palace was surrounded by vast gardens which were full of deer and gazelles. He had a beautiful daughter who in summers loved bathing in a lake at the edge of the palace gardens.
Post bathing she always had sugared milk from a jug of gold. One day, while having her post bath jug of milk, she noticed a handsome prince hiding among the trees and watching her. Embarrassed by her state of undress, she quickly poured the sugared milk in front of her to form a curtain while her maids hurried to cover her with garments. Thus the legend of Dudhsagar was born and the milky white curtain continue to pour down the mountains as a tribute to the virtuous modesty of the Princess of the Ghats.
Dudhsagar is especially beautiful in monsoon when the heavy cascades thunder powerfully down the rugged peaks of Western Ghats. A heavily forested valley lies at its bottom and this is the home of the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary has quite a few animals like bisons, elephants, leopards, spotted deer, jungle cats, giant squirrels, pythons and cobras. It also offers quite a few excellent treks including the stunning Dudhsagar trek in monsoon and the dangerous when wet Devil’s Canyon (its whirlpools and endless pits have claimed quite a few lives). I always longed for my own trainspotting at Dudhsagar falls photo and eagerly looked forward to the trip.
Rama dropped me off to the waterfall entrance where sturdy shared jeeps transported visitors to the interiors of the sanctuary. The drive was bone rattling and we crouched on our seats, hugging our knees tightly to our chest every time the jeep crossed over a river. The heavy forests continued for more than an hour before the snowy cascades of Dudhsagar peeked at us from behind the thick foliage. It was a spectacularly beautiful sea of milk and the powerful fall thundered into a lovely green pool at the bottom.
We eagerly tumbled out of our jeeps, crossed over several fast flowing streams, ignored pesky monkeys and finally reached the slippery rocky shores of Dudhsagar Falls. It was a short, sweaty hike and I immediately stripped into my swimsuit to jump into the cool, refreshing pool. One of the biggest joy of solo traveling is the anonymity it brings. So while the rest of the Indian ladies splashed about nearly fully dressed, I ignored all stares, floated on my back and dreamed away of my Goan past.
RESPONSIBLE TRAVELING-BECAUSE I CARE.
Rainy rides
Loving friends
Occasional banter
And good food
Made up my
Lazy Goan days
A disappointing
River cruise
Were part of mt friends efforts
To stop my solo wanderings
The spice farm also happened
The same way
And I struggled to stay solo
Dudhsagar however
Was a great experience
And I loved its hurdles
Its treacherous route
And its pristine beauty
It was mostly all good
In Goa
In monsoons
With friends
Colours
Beauty
And sometimes painful
Blast from reckless past