Goa

We spent 8 days on the beautiful beaches of Goa, located on the east coast of India, on the Arabian Sea.  It was colonized by the Portuguese, and then became a hippie oasis starting in the 1960s. We stayed in a great little private beach cottage at Hotel Estrela Do Mar, in Calangute, for the week.  Calangute is in northern Goa, and a big tourist hub.  There were mostly Russian tourists here during March, along with the charming locals, who of course want to sell you everything under the sun.  No room in our bags for souvenirs though…

It is HOT!  Mid to upper 90s with high humidity daily.  Perfect weather for swimming, fresh fish dinners on the beach, and cold King Fisher beer.  

On the first night, we found our favorite local beach restaurant/bar, Bubbles.  We became fast friends with our waiter, Paul.  We also loved the friendly hotel staff, and particularly our housekeeper, who made creative towel art incorporating designs like swans and hearts, complete with fresh flowers.  Cute touch.

We spent one day checking out the more northern, quieter cliff beach towns of Vagator and Anjuna.  We adored Vagator, with its rocky cliffs and gorgeous beach.  Far fewer tourists too.  We had an amazing Greek dinner at Thalassa, high up on the cliffs overlooking the sea, at sunset.  Would love to come back here someday.  Not much more to say, except we spent most days eating great food and relaxing on the beach.  All in all, a perfect place to break up our Indian adventure with some relaxing beach time.