Last day in Goa

It's just after four o'clock here and we've already packed a lot into the day. The alarm went off at 7 o'clock and we stumbled out of bed and down to the beach to go dolphin sighting in one of the many boats that ply Palolem's shores. We weren't sure how to go about organising it but we'd been told that it took little more than strolling up the beach, and sure enough, after about 20 metres a man approached us to ask. We quickly negotiated a price and got into the boat - a quite old but very solid wooden vessel - with another three tourists they'd already lined up, and then headed out into the sea. We passed a picturesque island complete with soaring rocks:

We exchanged photo favours with the others on the boat:

We got to the other side of the island and I was beginning to wonder where the bloody dolphins were when one of the others on the boat shouted and pointed and there they were - a pod of around 5 or 6 dolphins lazily loping through the water. There were several other boats of tourists in the area, and as soon as a bunch of dolphins were sighted, all the boats would head over towards them, at which point they would reliably disappear. We spent about half an hour out there watching a few different groups of dolphins, but unfortunately missed out on any decent photos, since once we'd get the camera poised they'd be back under again, only to resurface in another spot altogether. Nevertheless, it was a great experience to see them up so close, and I don't think any photo could really have captured that anyway. And all for around $10 Australian.

After the boat driver had asked us all whether we were 'very happy', we headed back to the beach and settled in a beachside cafe for an Indian breakfast of alu paratha (bread stuffed with mashed potato) and potato masala. Sated (and rather full) from this, we took a dip in the ocean. Even at 9.30 in the morning the water was wonderfully warm, yet refreshing.

After showers and a brief rest back at the hotel, we got in a rickshaw (aka a tuk-tuk) to go to Agoda Beach, around 8 kilometres from Palolem. We went to a very cool beachside bar/cafe called the Turtle Lounge on the recommendation of our hotel owner.

There were a heap of comfy lounges looking out towards the sea:

And a resident dog that chose very unusual places to go to sleep:

The path into the bar was lined with plants, palms and coco huts:

We had a strawberry lassi and a lemon mint lassi, which were both great, followed by a few beers and an awesome, fresh Goan fish curry (which ended up being prawns).

After this we got back in our rickshaw (the driver waited for us) and careered down the narrow roads, with amazing views on either side:

Numerous cows wandering down the road wherever they wanted (the only law seems to be: give way to the cows):

George was very impressed with the rickshaw - so much so that he requested a photo with it, named aptly after its driver, Sudeep:

Back at the hotel, we are currently tucking into a bottle of Indian rose, which tastes remarkably like Rockford Alicante Bouchet, and planning to return to the restaurant we ate at a few nights ago, Dropadi, for dinner for some more delectable curries.

Tomorrow we head off at the ungodly hour of 5.30am to drive the hour to Goa airport, fly to Bangalore and meet a driver who will drive us 2-3 hours to Mysore. We're beginning to feel a bit melancholy about leaving here now, but I think it's the right time to leave. The great thing about Goa is that the main reason we came to India for our honeymoon is so we could get it done before we have kids in the assumption that you couldn't possibly bring kids to such a country. But on the contrary, Goa is full of families with young children, and it really is the kind of place you could come for two weeks (or a month, or two months) and just relax and eat and drink and swim in the ocean.

A few memories of the great place we've been staying... The entrance, with the Portuguese architecture typical of Goa:

The balcony we've had many drinks and conversations with the other people staying here:

And the interesting British dude who lives in Amsterdam and is an avid dope smoker (naturally):

That's probably quite enough for one blog, but there was a lot to say about this place and we'll certainly miss it. No doubt this will be our last blog from Goa, and we're hoping that our subsequent places will have internet access as reliable and quick as it has been here...if not, our blogs to follow may not have as many (if any) photos.