Goa

Portuguese Flavor

Jan. 18, 2013-Out of the Frying Pan

If you're ever in Bangalore DO NOT stay at the Park Hotel. We had quite the time of it last night. When we came back after dinner we heard loud disco music coming from the pool area two floors down right below us. We showered, got ready for bed & called Wendy & Daniel using the Skype phone-to-phone feature. It was a marvelous connection. At around 10:00pm I called the desk to ask when the music would end & was told 12:30am. I told them we would not be able to sleep with all that noise. The woman said she'd check with her manager & call back. She didn't call so I called the desk again. The same woman said she'd check while I held & after some back & forth she said the music would end at 11:30pm. I told her that wouldn't work & she said she would seek another solution & call back. I began to pack. It was my intention to appear at the desk with luggage & ask for another room. I called the desk again before trekking downstairs & was told they would move us. At least they were on the same wavelength. They were sending someone up to help with the bags. Ten minutes later he hadn't arrived. I was on my way to the elevator to get the key myself & move our own bags when I met him in the hall. We were moved up a floor to a room on the opposite side of the building. It was 10:45pm. Sleep was slow coming & the minor traffic noises were actually comforting. Just in case, I used my ear plugs & managed to sleep.

Local sign humor: Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects

Into the Fire

We flew to Goa with the halt & the lame of our group. Five have colds/bronchitis, one has Delhi Belly, & one back is iffy.  Oh, & one of our number came out as gay. We miss Charles' mothering & attention to detail. Our guide here, Sahid, is getting the brunt of our exhaustion. He even had a hard time identifying us at the airport. He knew we numbered seven but only counted six. Then Nam piped up saying he was part of the group & kidded that the guide was probably looking for another white guy.

The approach to Goa was pretty from the air until we flew over tin shacks & trash. The area is hilly & beach rimmed. Goa, the smallest state in India,  means "land of cows" in their language which of course isn't spoken anywhere else in India. The Portuguese ran the place from 1510-1961 & their mark is clearly visible in the pastel & white buildings & churches. It's also evident in the faces of the people. When they settled here the Portuguese encouraged their soldiers to marry Goan women.

Sahid's family is from Pakistan & immigrated here when Pakistan was still part of India. Sixty per cent of Goans are Hindu & he's part of the 3% Muslim minority. He promised that the call to prayer at 5 AM would be short & that all parties & discos close at 11pm by law. But that's not our problem. The van is. it's a fifteen seater with hardly any leg room. Even the shorter people have to sit sideways. I don't have enough room to get the IPad on my lap & write. Peace loving David rebelled at the thought of having to use that van all day  tomorrow when we go on the optional tour. When the guide said we'd see a 250 year old house if we went on the trip tomorrow David told him we have older houses in Akron. The one good thing about the van is the A/C works. Sahid promised a larger van tomorrow. There's no more legroom between the seats but there are six single seats so we can stretch into the aisle. One person will have a double seat to himself.

Sahid kept talking about all the churches we'd be seeing. I told him this is probably the first group he's led that has no Christians in it. We just found out that Dan & Judy are

not a part of any religious group. When Henry asked if there were any synagogues here Sahid didn't know what that was. When it was explained, he told us there were no Jew churches in Goa.

We visited the Basilica of Bom Jesus first.  Bom means "good" in Portuguese. A World Heritage Site, built in 1605 by Jesuits on the site of a mosque built on the site of a Hindu Temple. In fact the two churches we saw & Old Goa are World Heritage sites.  At Bom Jesus there were interned relics of St. Francis Xavier. As I understand it, parts of one arm have gone international & rest in China, Rome, & other lucky locales. Believe it or not, the Basilica has resorted to the ultimate organ fundraiser. Xavier's organs have been auctioned off to raise money for the facility. There was a plaque honoring a former archbishop that made me ask myself, "Who did he have to offend to be appointed archbishop of Goa?"

The building is pleasant inside & the gold plated altar is lovely, but as we went from painting to relic to chapel to chapel to chapel, I realized that when there is little to show, you show it in detail.

Across the street from the Basilica is the Cathedral, the largest in South Asia. Since the Inquisition began & ended in Portugal, it came to Goa. Moslems were persecuted & there's a whipping post that people try to forget about. It's been turned into a water feature now. Once again we scrutinized the details of the church. We were standing in front of the portrait of a saint when Sahid asked if we knew who he was. I saw he was holding a key so said it was Peter. I was right. I remarked that it wasn't a bad guess for a little Jewish girl. It went right over Sahid's head.

I have to say one thing for Sahid. He's a one man trash patrol. He picked up litter as we walked the grounds of the churches & was careful to put it in trash receptacles. Good for him. Goa is notably cleaner than where we've been. Maybe the message is getting through here.

We did a drive through of Old Goa & figured out we couldn't see most of the buildings because the van is lower than a bus. When we stopped for pictures, Sahid didn't ask if we wanted to get out to take them & we were so tired we didn't care. Only the near side of the van could get a shot so we passed our cameras over to them.

Our hotel is charming & in the newer part of North Goa called Banjim City.  It became the capital when Old Goa was consumed by Plague & almost abandoned. It's a fifteen minute walk to the beach & in the center of a bustling district of shops & stands. We'll be able to use the word that Sahid taught us "makanaka." It means "I'm not interested." If you say it with wide bulging eyes they take you more seriously. There's a huge Russian tourism business here (60%) which Sahid attributed to cheap booze (lots of bars) & beaches, but Dan figured it was the casino & money laundering they were into.

We had a buffet dinner at the hotel & David was pleased to learn that Goan cuisine is even spicier than the rest of India. Fish curry & rice is a staple & the use of spicy Portuguese peri peri chili common.

All in the group have been to Northern India & while waiting around the airport today we talked about our experience so far. We agreed that the sights of the South aren't as spectacular as the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, or Jaipur in the North but that this was one of the best trips we've taken. And to the person we said it was Charles who made the difference with his unique side trips. He really found experiences off the beaten track & brought his country alive.

Tomorrow we'll probably stumble onto a larger van & be scrunched into Indian sized seats again. We're a compliant group. After all, who would miss seeing old farm machinery & a 400 year old house? That house gets older each time Sahid talks about it.

Toby