Agonda Beach

We made it to the beach. Don’t want to rub it in but this place is amazing! We came from Panaji this morning to the beach town of Agonda in the south. We took three separate buses and then walked for about 5km off the main road. The buses were local- stopping every now and then for people coming on or off. Cheap (Mike’s favorite word)- 130 Rs- a little over 2 bucks for both of us to go over 60km. The last bus was the most challenging- standing room only. Just when you thought they couldn’t cram any more people on they shove in 3 or 4 more. Luckily that ride was only the last 20 minutes or so and I scored a seat when someone got off. After our hike we arrived at the very tranquil Secret Garden Guesthouse. We’re staying in a cottage but they also have Coco Huts which are constructed in October on stilts for the season and taken down in the spring once the rainy season starts. The beach here is beautiful. Looking forward to sitting on a sunbed tomorrow. Goa is a Christian state that was originally colonized by the Portuguese. It has a much different feel then the other places we’ve been in India. Very laid back. The architecture is Portuguese colonial and many of the people who grew up here speak English and Portuguese. The food is very different too. Beef is an option here but the seafood is the best. The owner of our guesthouse said he goes down to the beach every morning to pick out the days catch. We’ve eaten lots of prawns, pomfret, mackerel- all of it delicious and washed down with a cold Kingfisher beer. We chose to stay here Agonda specifically because it is quiet and so far it seems to be. The beaches in the north are notorious party beaches. They were part of the hippie trail back in the 60’s so were known for drugs and parties. In the past they have been popular with the English, Aussies, Kiwis and Continental Euros. Now it seems to be inundated with Russians. One of the newspapers I read yesterday had a whole section in Russian. Speaking of our fellow travelers… We have hardly seen any Americans- really the only ones I can recall were on the plane. Most of the foreigners we meet are Euros- I would say mostly English, Aussies and Kiwis. We have seen some Japanese, met some kids from Israel and a couple travelling with twin baby boys from England. In this guesthouse the neighbors on either side are Russian. At first glance most people think we are Dutch. When we tell them we’re from America they get very excited. They love the USA. Then they ask to have their picture taken with us. We always say we’re from Michigan but most people haven’t heard of that so we say that from “near Chicago.” Close enough… They all know New York and Hollywood but not the Great Lakes. ~Rebecca