Good Old Goa

Goa is famously theeee holiday destination in India for those seeking beautiful beaches and a happenin’ party scene. I’d been told it’s not the “real” India and to not expect a cultural experience there.

But lucky for Maja (my Swedish travel buddy) and me, an honest-to-goodness, born-and-bred Goan named Daniel would be our Couchsurfing host.

Daniel is a master marine who rotates a work schedule of sailing four months on and chillin out four months off. He’s got a family legacy in Goa and has plenty of historical property to back it up. When one of his waterfront houses had an electrical problem, we moved over to his sister’s empty waterfront house and lived in the lap of luxury for three days. Despite his obviously opulent background, Daniel was humble and down to earth. He speaks Hindi, Konkani (the local language), English and Portuguese, and he’s got one of the brightest smiles I have ever seen.

On a visit to the Dona Paula Pier, Daniel pointed out to Maja and me a beach from which his friends take frequent fishing trips. Our eyes lit up and we pleeeaded with Daniel to take us fishing the next day.

Not only did he take us fishing, Daniel took us fishing at sunset. Maja and I sat in awe at the blazing, GIGANTIC red sun as it set majestically over the Arabian Sea (forgive the poor-quality photo).

Between the three of us and the two local fisherman, we weren’t having any luck catching a fish. Maja and I were too stunned by the sunset to even care. But soon after darkness fell over our little fishing boat, we caught an enormous grouper!

Of course, we did the only logical thing immediately after returning to land: We barbecued it on the beach! Holy mother of fishness, it was fresh and tender and oh-so-delicious. And a few other people ended up joining the party as well.

But the night wasn’t over. Daniel would strip down to his Speedo (teehehe, giggles the American), sprint through the darkness and into the ocean. Maja and I quickly followed suit (sans the Speedo though, sorry – we came prepared in our bikinis). The three of us splashed around like kids and jumped over the perfect evening waves.

I took a moment to soak it all in:

Here I am, taking a moonlight dip in the Arabian Sea after watching a magical sunset and enjoying a freshly caught BBQ fish on a Goan beach.

My life is fucking awwwwesome!

It would be just about impossible to match the awesomeness of this evening in Goa. But the remainder of our short time there was filled with plenty more awesomeness.

Our day at Arambol Beach was especially fantastic, although it didn’t start out so. It was a long drive and the skies were dreary and drizzly. We weren’t thrilled that our only planned beach day was a gray one, but we more than made up for it.

Daniel led us on foot through a jungly, muddy, hilly trek to the Arambol backwaters where we were rewarded with a fresh water creek. The water was so clean, I could drink it. And so clear, I could be up to my neck in it and still make out the flip-flip tanlines on my feet.

That wasn’t the best part though. The creek was filled with those super cool rocks, which when crushed and mixed with water, make a perfect exfoliating mud. Two other travelers had joined us, Hanna & Julia from Canada, and the five of us would slather mud all over each other’s faces and bodies.

The result: four very silly, giggly girls and one Speedo-donning man swinging on tree branches. Ohhh the laughter! I can’t remember the last time I laughed for so long and so hard! Ya had to be there I guess.

We left the creek and trekked out of the backwaters as the mud hardened to a crispy film on our skin. As we emerged out of the foliage with our best ooga-booga, National-Geographic-worthy faces, we went straight to the freshwater lake instead of the ocean just meters away.

We washed ourselves off and marveled at how soft our skin was. We then marveled at yet another amazing sunset.

But wait, there’s more! Goa’s not just beaches and parties and mud baths and fishing trips. Daniel would also show us around Old Goa to revel in the Portuguese architecture (the Portuguese ruled here until just a couple decades ago) and the big beautiful churches (Goa is a Christian-dominated region, quite different from the majority Hindu population in India).

All the while, Daniel would point out the unique plant life in Goa and describe them in exquisite detail. The guy’s a plant enthusiast who even took us to his parents’ house, where lives an incredible, expansive garden. It’s filled with exotic herbs and spices and vegetables and very rare plants.

We went salsa dancing (which I suck at) and sang karaoke (which I suck even more at).

And no trip to Goa is complete without eating its delectable seafood! We enjoyed pan-fried Bombay Duck Fish and local crab simmering in buttery garlicky goodness.

We also tried some exotic ice cream flavors such as jackfruit, chiku and custard apple (my fave). Yum!

It might not’ve been the real India, but I think we got a pretty good taste of the real Goa. For me, travel is rarely about the actual destination. It’s about the people and it’s about the food. This fine combination always makes for a more than satisfying experience. And Goa did not disappoint.