India beaches and bikes: Goa

We headed up to Goa by train and then another 1 hour taxi south to South Goa. Specifically, Canacona (municipal) and Palolem (City/Beach).

Palolem Beach; during peak time

Planning for Goa:
Goa is the smallest state in India but we still only had a few days to decide where to go and so the next question was to determine North or South, literally how the state is divided. We had heard that all the beaches were beautiful but that the North was more commercial and party and the South was more laid back. We decided on the South and that is exactly what we got. Possibly even too laid back.

Laid back at sunset

We arrived without any reservation so we did what all backpackers do when they arrive: walk up the beach and start looking at the beach bungalows. The following are the usual suspects on the beach:

Backpackers on the beach

Indians on the beach

Cows, of course, on the beach

We quickly found that we didn’t have too many options as while we were passed rainy season and it was almost mid October the place really had just started setting up. You see every year these make shift plywood and bamboo houses are built then torn down after high season. One of the reasons we read for why is because the government does not want any permanent buildings on the beach. Whether or not that was true, most all days you could hear some hammering, power drilling and some sawing or watched some painting.

A bar/club in construction

More building of bungalows

Workers hammering, sometimes hardly peaceful

Some bungalows were simply adorable.

We picked up a bungalow, on the sand and steps from the beach for about $10/night. Our hut came with its own makeshift bath and shower, and of course a mosquito net that stretched over our bed. My favorite part was our porch where we could sit shaded and people watch, right from our dorm.

Our place: right on the beach

Our bungalow with awesome porch with views of the beach

There wasn’t much to do here during shoulder season. Bars and “clubs” were still being built up and so the idea that Goa would be our place to party quickly evaporated. But that was fine. We loved to relax, drink beer, eat great seafood, swim and walk on the beach all day. The day bars that were open were so cool. Everyone was just relaxing drinking beer, listening to Bob Marley or some classic rock.

Kingfisher, beach side

Fish and seafood, I loved the sizzling shark.

Hanging on the beach

“Walking” at low tide

Swimming at sunset

We did though manage to get in some activities:

Kayaking
We rented a kayak for the day and took off in the water towards a secluded beach we had read about, Butterfly Beach. It was supposed to be a quick trip and mostly it was but when you add the fact that the beach had no life guards and we would be paddling in open waters by ourselves trying to find this beach, I got a little nervous. We also contended with having to know the tides, which we relied on a local’s advice, and many rocks that we knew were underwater as we had seen them in low tide. But we paddled and made it to our own island! It was awesome. Just us, a little cove, some waves and a big tropical jungle behind us we could hike. We laid out, swam and chilled until we were concerned the tide would go down. The second time out I felt much more confident and I think I was pretty good at rowing, if I do say so myself.

Heading out

Aaron and his ridiculous life vest

Made it! Our own beach

Aaron speaking to the waves

Bye Butterfly Beach

Back we go, much more comfortable

Motorbiking
I was so excited to get on a bike and explore other beaches along the Goa coast. It’s really what you do to be able to see the state. But this excursion would be both fun and trying. Our first issue was getting gas, since rentals come without it. There are no gas stations close, so you have to find this lady who will sell you some gas from water bottles. That was annoying. After that it was great. Wind in our hair (with helmet), open roads (watch out for that cow or huge truck that just decided to stop) and views of the jungle and the beach. It was great. We found a beach, bigger than ours about a 30 min drive away. We parked and headed straight for the ocean. Soon we realized that this place was even more dead than our beach. Just a small group of local boys, a tourist couple and some bungalow making carpenters were all we saw up on the beach. The water was practically all ours. We got back on the bike and it was great. We just had a dip, our skins all salty and sun about to set. But as we were riding, distracted by a monkey above us, we hit a bad patch of road and went tumbling. The bike fell and so did we. I managed to quickly jump off but Aaron, trying to protect me was under the bike. I moved the bike off of him and we stood up, both of us simultaneously asking each other if they were okay and not focusing on ourselves. Aaron was a little bloody but both of us just had scrapes. We were shaken up but we really just wanted to get rid of the bike and tend to our wounds so we got back on and headed home. When returning the bike, the owner noticed Aaron’s leg and immediately became distressed. Not for us of course, but his bike. Then ensued a 20 min argument about paying for damages that we know we didn’t make. We got away with paying him 2000 rupees, about $20. Not bad considering. But we did learn our lesson. Always check the bike before rental and note the condition, oh, and don’t let a monkey distract you.

On our way

Scenic views by bike

Swimming at another beach, more secluded than our own

Before our fall, heading back

And after. Aaron on top, Jami on bottom.

Yoga
I took one class with some “Ashram” who was so uninterested in the instruction that he cut it early. His advice was to come back when I real-time to dedicate – pretentious jerk.

Our days at that beach were amazing. It felt like we had been let in on a secret, as it was just a few of us living it up in the sun by day and walking a deserted beach at night. It was serene and beautiful and certainly not the party or commercial area we expected.

Whole beaches to ourselves

Beautiful and relaxing